Singapore Swimming Association gets new high-performance manager

The Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) announced yesterday that it has hired Australian Sonya Porter as its new high performance manager (swimming).

Porter, 46, will be assisting national head coach Sergio Lopez in developing the country's elite swimmers.

She takes over from Condrey Liu who has stepped down owing to family commitments.

In a press statement, the local swim body said Porter will work with Lopez and the 28-strong national training centre (NTC) squad.

Said Porter: "I've met the NTC squad earlier in the week, and am very thrilled at the prospect of working with such a talented pool of dedicated swimmers to cultivate world-class athletes."

Her job scope includes overseeing "the pathway development and implementation of an effective structure for athletes and coaches, focusing on the holistic advancement of swimming in Singapore".

Porter has more than two decades of experience coaching in the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division 1.

Her previous experiences include being the associate head coach at the University of Alabama, where she coached Germany's Anne Poleska - who won the women's 200m breaststroke bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics - and Austria's national record holder Hunor Mate.

Said SSA executive director Edwin Ker: "With Sonya's vast experience of working with the USA NCAA system, we strongly believe that she will be a huge asset, assisting us to continue to bring high performance swimming in Singapore to the world's stage."

Lopez added: "Sonya has a great track record, helping many swimmers she worked with achieve international success.

"I am confident she will develop our athletes into elite swimmers, and her expertise and knowledge will also benefit the greater swimming fraternity, including coaches and affiliates."

siangyee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 10, 2015.
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