Ryan Cochrane and Ryan Mallette got through an emotionally draining 2015 together. So it鈥檚 only fitting Cochrane was announced as the Swimming sa国际传媒 male swimmer of the year and Mallette as coach of the year on the same day.
Mallette, assistant to the late head coach Randy Bennett at the High Performance Centre-Victoria at Saanich Commonwealth Place, stepped up to the main role when Bennett died of cancer in April at the age of 51. Bennett had coached Cochrane for 13 years and to two Olympic medals.
鈥淚t was a tough year. I don鈥檛 think we understood the toll it took on us until we noticed how exhausted we were at the end of the season,鈥� said Cochrane, the most decorated swimmer in Canadian history at the world championships.
鈥淚t was a really difficult healing process. We didn鈥檛 know how long it would take [until looking back now]. But we got good results and showed what we can do,鈥� added the 27-year-old, named Canadian male top swimmer for the eighth consecutive year.
Cochrane won gold in the 400- and 1,500-metre freestyle events at the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games and followed up with bronze in both of those events at the 2015 FINA world aquatics championships in Kazan, Russia.
鈥淩andy鈥檚 legacy was beyond just results,鈥� said Cochrane, of his late mentor.
鈥淲e have the best support team in the world here in Victoria and Randy put those people in place.鈥�
After bronze in the 1,500 metres at Beijing in 2008 and silver at London in 2012, there is only one level remaining on the Olympic podium for Cochrane to achieve.
鈥淣obody puts as much pressure [on going for gold at Rio 2016] as I do on myself,鈥� said Cochrane.
鈥淚鈥檓 not nervous. I鈥檓 excited by the process it takes to get there. There will be so many Victoria athletes on the podiums at Rio. I鈥檓 hoping to join them.鈥�
The man who is now charged to get Cochrane there is Mallette.
鈥淩yan is a champion. And he is a pro. Every day he comes to the pool so he can be the best he can be on that ultimate day in August,鈥� said Mallette.
Considering the situation into which he was thrust, it is truly a remarkable achievement for Mallette to be named Canadian swim coach of the year.
鈥淚t was an emotional year. It was a hard year,鈥� admitted Mallette.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 appreciate how hard until the end. I didn鈥檛 want to screw it up and I approached it just how I thought Randy [Bennett] would have handled it. Randy was demanding and Ryan got a lot out of Randy鈥檚 mentorship over the years, and we just carried on unrelenting, and were honest with each other. All this credit goes to Randy.鈥�
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