PARALYMPIC COACH RETIRES FROM SWIMMING
Colin Hood who guided numerous athletes to Paralympic glory
in Sydney and Athens has retired from coaching.
Hood, 56, had previously coached Matthew Walker, Sascha Kindred
and Sarah Bailey amongst others to considerable success and
has been involved in British Disability Swimming for over
a decade.
Hood began his coaching career at the City of Salford and
helped place able-bodied swimmers onto World and Commonwealth
squads.
Colin is a former recipient of the British Swimming Coaches
& Teachers Association Coach of the Year award in 2003,
and was inducted into the UK Coaching Hall of Fame in 2003.
More recently, Hood guided Walker onto the England Commonwealth
Games squad in 2006 as well as the IPC World Championships
December 2006 where Walker returned with one gold and two
bronze medals.
National Performance Director Tim Reddish expressed his gratitude
to Hood.
"Colin has been part of British Disability Swimming
for over 10 years and the athletes he has coached have constantly
delivered on the international stage," said Reddish.
"We are grateful for all of Colin's work through the
years."
Multi-Paralympic medallist Walker was full of praise for
the work Hood has done with him.
"Colin is a tremendous coach - the best I have had to
date. He is down-to-earth, and helped me not only to win medals
but my confidence also.
"We had a great understanding and relationship which
is vital for any swimmer to succeed."
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