Leigh Nugent was an Australian

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He was the head coach of the Australian swimming team at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Geraldine Doogue Geraldine Frances Doogue (born 29 April 1952) is an Australian journalist and radio and television presenter. Career After graduating from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Doogue intended to train as a scho ...

(5 September 2004)
Sunday Profile-Leigh Nugent
''

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

''" Under his leadership, Australia tallied seven gold, five silver and three bronze, its best ever haul at an Olympics outside of Australia, and second only to the team which represented

Australia at the 1956 Summer Olympics Australia was the host nation for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. However, due to Australian quarantine restrictions the Equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden. 294 competitors, ...

. Following the 2004 Olympics, he returned to his previous job as the head youth coach, but took on the top job again in 2009 after Alan Thompson was removed from that position. Under his leadership, the Australian team won half the gold medals at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

, but in the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synchro ...

the national team won just two gold medals. Nugent continued to lead the team at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, but Australia won just a single gold medal there. Nugent announced his resignation as head coach in March 2013 following that deterioration in medal results combined with reports of misconduct within the team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Leigh Australian swimming coaches Olympic coaches for Australia Living people Year of birth missing (living people)