John Gatfield and Jessicah Schipper to take the reins of Iona swimming

Iona College is delighted to share some exciting news about the Iona swimming program with our community, with John Gatfield appointed as the new Head Coach of Iona Swimming, and the Iona Swim Club.

John is currently the assistant coach of Coast Swim Club in Auckland under head coach and current New Zealand team coach Michael Weston, where they have just won their fourth successive New Zealand National Championship.

John also served three years as assistant coach to Dean Boxall at the St Peters Western Swim Club and St Peters Lutheran College. John was appointed head coach of the New Zealand team for the recent World Junior Swimming Championships in Romania.

He has been a member of the New Zealand National High Performance Swimming coaching team since 2014.

Incoming Iona Swim Head Coach John Gatfield is a member of the New Zealand High Performance Swimming coaching staff. Pictures: Instagram

John and his family will move to Iona from New Zealand in the coming weeks, and we look forward to welcoming him to our Iona community then.

Until John’s arrival, it means the Iona swimming program will be without a head coach and assistant coach.

But we are delighted to announce that former world-record holder, two-time Olympic gold medal winner – and current Iona mum – Jessicah Schipper OAM has accepted the position of Interim Iona Swim coach until 11 October.

Olympic champion Jessicah Schipper OAM has accepted the position of Interim Iona Swim coach until 11 October. Pictures: Delly Carr / Swimming Australia

A five-time World Championship gold medalist, Jessicah’s incredible experience and expertise will ensure a smooth and successful transition to the new program, with coaches Nathan Dortmann and Alex Fahey also continuing, when Iona’s AIC Swim program takes to the blocks in Week 2 of Term 4.

The Iona College community warmly congratulates John and Jessicah on their appointments.