Michael Phelps is celebrating the week of his swim lecturer Jon Urbanchek, who died on Would possibly 9 at hour 87.
On Saturday, Would possibly 11, the Olympic gold medalist shared a publish on Instagram to pay tribute to the past due Olympic and collegiate swim lecturer.
“I’m beyond grateful for the time I got to spend with [Urbanchek],” Phelps, 38, started his heartfelt caption.
“I can still hear him saying ‘keep it moving,’ ‘ey , _____ MOVE IT!'” the daddy of 4 endured, reputedly regarding Urbanchek playfully calling him names throughout coaching. “Thinking about what he taught me in and out of the pool… one of the most influential ppl I’ve had in my life…this man is a legend and truly one of one!”
Within the publish, Phelps shared pictures of Urbanchek protecting his now 8-year-old son, Boomer, as a child, and posing with him, spouse Nicole Phelps, their population and a few fellow coaches. He additionally integrated some selfies of himself and Urbanchek taking part in dinner and spending year in combination.
“RIP buddy…. ❤️❤️,” the 28-time Olympic medalist concluded his caption.
Consistent with a press let fall from the College of Michigan’s athletic section — the place Urbanchek was once a former pupil, in addition to an established males’s swimming and diving lecturer — Urbanchek died at his house in Fullerton, Calif.
The past due lecturer, who immigrated from Hungary later the 1956 Soviet invasion, swam for Michigan and nearest changed into a lecturer on the Ann Arbor-based college later his commencement, aiding then-head lecturer Bob Bowman — who coached Phelps throughout lots of his Olympic appearances and all over his celebrated skilled occupation.
Michael Phelps/Instagram
Urbanchek served as a Staff USA lecturer on the Olympics in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, and acted as a different lecturer in 2008 and 2012. He additionally coached “a number of World Championship, Pan American Games and other U.S. International Teams,” the college wrote.
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“All told, Urbanchek coached 44 Olympians to more than 20 medals, including 11 gold, six silver and four bronze medals in five overall Olympic Games, counting four world record holders among his coaching achievements,” the college added.
A number of alternative main figures within the Olympic swimming international spoke out later Urbanchek’s dying to replicate on his storied occupation, together with seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky.
“It is hard to express how much Jon Urbanchek has meant to me since I first met him in 2012,” Ledecky, 27, wrote within the College of Michigan’s press let fall. “He was my coach on the 2012 Olympic team and he has been a coach, a mentor and a friend since then. I learned so much from him.”
“He was a kind and dedicated coach who never forgot his swimmers. I will never forget his dedication to our sport, his humor, his coaching style and his love for Team U.S.A,” she endured of Urbanchek. “He was a coach of coaches. I know that all of my coaches learned something from him. I am so lucky to have had him as a part of my team…he never stopped coaching and encouraging me.”
