John Gatfield (born 15 June 1990) is a former

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and current swimming coach from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. At age 13, Gatfield was the youngest person to swim

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, ...

. Gatfield is a multiple-time New Zealand and Australian Age Swimming Champion, finaling at the Fina World Junior Championships in 2008 and medaling at the 2009 Fina World Cup in Singapore in the 200m IM. At 24, Gatfield was named Head Coach of Coast Swim Club NZ, placing swimmers on Commonwealth Games and World Championship Teams. In 2018, Gatfield was named as Assistant Head Coach of the powerhouse swimming club St Peter's Western QLD, Australia. Gatfield was named as Team Coach to the 2019 Fina World Championships in Gwanju, Korea.

References

Living people 1990 births Sportspeople from Upper Hutt New Zealand male medley swimmers Cook Strait swimmers New Zealand long-distance swimmers New Zealand lifesaving athletes {{NewZealand-swimming-bio-stub