Olympian Gideon Louw Joins Pitt Swimming & Diving Program as Associate Head Coach
8/27/2024 4:25:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
PITTSBURGH – Former Olympian and Olympic head coach, Gideon Louw, has been named as the associate head coach of the Pitt men's and women's swimming and diving program, as announced today by head coach Chase Kreitler.
"We are incredibly excited to add Gideon to our staff as an associate head coach." said Kreitler. "It is clear that Gideon's mentorship-based coaching approach and focus on positive relationships with student-athletes will fit right in with our coaching staff at Pitt."
Louw has spent the past six years at Auburn University as an assistant coach for the swimming and diving program, where he helped mentor 32 All-Americans. In addition, two of Auburn's women's relay teams broke numerous SEC and school records with the women's 400 free relay claiming the SEC title in 2019.
Over the past two seasons, Louw coached the Auburn men's team to two top-12 finishes overall at the NCAA Championships, including a 10th place showing in 2023. Last season, he collaboratively led the Tigers women's team to a 19th place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
In addition to his coaching success at the collegiate level, Louw has also made an impact on the international stage. He served as the head coach of Guatemala's national team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and was a two-time U.S. national team coach. Louw coached a contingent of five Olympians from various countries in Tokyo and produced multiple Olympic Gold Medal winning athletes while with the U.S. national team.
"His experience working with Olympians, NCAA All-Americans, SEC Champions, and Big Ten Champions will make an immediate impact on the performance of our team as we continue to build the program and seek to move up nationally," Kreitler added. "Gideon will primarily serve as the lead coach with our sprint athletes and have a significant impact on our relays as we look to build on the momentum we've started the past two years. We are excited to welcome Gideon, his wife Shanda and their two kids AJ and Lyndee to Pittsburgh!"
Prior to arriving at Auburn, Louw helped engineer a turnaround for the Minnesota men's relay teams in 2016 as an associate head coach. After sending no relays to the NCAA Championships in 2015, the Golden Gophers sent four in 2016 and then five in 2017 and 2018, with the 200-medley relay scoring in both 2016 and 2018 and the 400 free relay team scoring in 2017.
Louw went to Minnesota after serving two seasons as a graduate assistant at Florida State where he provided planning and implementation of workouts and provided analysis and instruction of swimming techniques, among other duties. While at FSU, Louw helped the Seminole men to a 14th-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
A 2008 and 2012 Olympian for South Africa, Louw finished fifth as a member of the 400m free relay and ninth in the 50m free at the 2012 London Olympics. He finished 12th in the 50 free at the 2008 games in Beijing.
Louw remains one of the top sprinters in Auburn swimming and diving history, still holding top-10 times in both the 50 free (18.99/8th) and 100 free (41.95/8th) and part of the school record in both the 200 and 400 free relays.
As a student-athlete at Auburn, Louw played an integral role in helping Auburn claim its eighth NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championship as a junior in 2009. That season he was a three-time NCAA Champion as a member of the 200 free relay and 200 and 400 medley relay teams, with the 200-medley relay team setting the NCAA record (1:14.08). As a senior in 2010, he placed third in the 100 free and fifth in the 50 free individually and second in the 200 free relay and both medley relays.
Louw began his collegiate career at Indian River State College in Ft. Pierce, Fla., where he was named 2008 NJCAA Swimmer of the Year and a seven-time NJCAA champion, winning the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 800 free relay and 400 medley relay.
Louw was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2014 and into the Indian River State College Hall of Fame in 2013. He earned a degree in exercise science from Auburn in 2011 and earned a master's degree in exercise physiology from Florida State in 2014.