Greg MakosDaily Egyptian
SIU swimming and diving head coach Rick Walker has made countless strides for open water swimming, and once the Beijing Summer Olympics kick off in 2008, he will be rewarded for his efforts on an international level.
The International Olympic Committee Executive Board recently announced that it would add the men's and women's 10K open water races to the Olympic program in Beijing, China.
This day was a long time coming for Walker, who began touting the event as assistant coach at SIU in 1987.
Outside the collegiate ranks, Walker has been coaching the USA Open Water National Team since 1996. Walker said the delay for the inclusion of open water swimming was largely due to finding just what place it would have in the Olympics.
"There were too many sports and too many athletes," Walker said. "It became difficult to decide how to justify removing one sport over another."
Once the Olympic Committee dropped baseball, the door swung open for alternative sports like open water swimming. TV stations were left with a two-hour void that needed to be filled. The choice to include open water swimming made perfect sense.
"The two-hour gap is just about how long it takes for the open water competition to complete," Walker said.
In addition to his own satisfaction, Walker mentioned how happy the SIU swimming and diving teams were that open water swimming is now an Olympic event.
"They all know how hard I have been working for this over the years, especially Briley Bergen," he said.
Bergen, an 11-time U.S. Open Water National Champion since the age of 13, has competed for Walker at four World Championships. After the SIU season is finished, she said she will turn her attention toward qualifying for the Olympics.
"I knew his style of training and we get along very well," Bergen said of Walker. "That's pretty much the reason I came here. We are all very happy and excited for Rick because he has a great chance of being the coach of the Olympic team."
