Dave Johnson (swim Coach) - Appointment of Canada's First Female Olympic Swim Coach

Appointment of Canada's First Female Olympic Swim Coach

Johnson appointed Shauna Nolden as Canada's first female Olympic swim coach on June 4, 2000.

The appointment was criticized by the Canadian Swimming Coaches Association, as Nolden was not selected on pre-determined criteria and results. Nolden responded saying "I'm sorry it is out there. It casts a shadow on a really great thing". "Dave Johnson is extremely professional, as am I. You don't make an appointment to an Olympic team and risk the performance of the team." Johnson defended it as an affirmative-action move, as federal government funding agency Sport Canada was pushing national sport bodies to have females make up 30-percent of coaching ranks by 2004, and described Nolden as a "trailblazer personality".

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