Penticton coach and athlete duo receive prestigious Swim Canada bursary award

Photo: KISU swimmer Justin Fotherby

A Penticton swimmer and his coach will be recognized for their high performance training and competition opportunities with an upcoming award. 

Local KISU Swim Club swimmer Justin Fotherby and coach Tina Hoeben have been selected recipients of Swimming Canada’s 2020-21 Dr. Jeno Tihanyi Bursary, which recognizes great potential with coach-swimmer tandems.

“The emphasis of the award is on the athlete-coach relationship as it relates to training and competition” Hoeben said in a press release. “I’m thrilled to receive this award, especially with Justin.” 

The award highlights the legacy of Dr. Tihanyi’s, whose 51 years of experience in amateur sports in Canada has been paramount in the development of numerous elite swimmers, with the most noteworthy being Alex Baumann. Tihanyi, also known as “Doc”, trained his swimmers to "perform with purpose," achieving a goal of every action ending in success.

Fotherby is a student at Penticton Secondary School and is currently training for the upcoming Olympic trials being held in Toronto, April 7-11, 2021.  It is at this venue, in front of peers, where he will be officially awarded.  

“This bursary will provide my coach and I the training and competitive opportunities that will play a key role in furthering my potential for performance excellence,” Fotherby said. “I am both humbled and honoured to have been chosen for this award.”

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the tandem team will be off to the High-Performance Centre in Vancouver when safe to do so, to learn and benefit from the enhanced skills for continued high performance in swimming.

Past recipients of the bursary include Olympians Ryan Cochrane, Kierra Smith and International Swimming League professional Cole Pratt.