Ryan Cochrane named Canadian male swimmer of year for 8th time
Victoria native won double gold at Pan Am Games, 8th world championship medal
Ryan Cochrane, who has persevered through a trying year with the loss of his longtime coach, has been rewarded with an eighth consecutive Swimming Canada male swimmer of the year award.
The 27-year-old Victoria athlete was recognized in part for his all-time Canadian record eighth FINA world championships medal, a bronze medal performance in the 1,500 metres in Kazan, Russia in August.
Among his other achievements in 2015:
- Double gold medal performance in the 400 and 1,500-metre races at the Toronto Pan Am Games.
- Bronze in the men's 4x200 relay freestyle relay at Pan Ams.
- Bronze in the 400 freestyle in Kazan.
In late April, Canadian swim coach Randy Bennett, who helped Cochrane reach the podium at the last two Summer Olympics, died at 51 of metastatic malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Together, they won nine world and Olympic medals.
"After a year filled with ups and downs," Cochrane said in a statement released by Swimming Canada, "it's nice to be recognized for the hard work my team and I have put in to perform on the world stage.
"Representing Canada at the Pan Am Games, as well as the world championships, was incredible and I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to stand on the podium multiple times."
Ryan Mallette, who took over from Bennett as High Performance Centre-Victoria coach, was also honoured as Swimming Canada's coach of the year for males.