Anthony Conrad Nesty (born November 25, 1967) is a former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

who was an Olympic gold medallist in the 100-metre

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

event in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. He is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators men's and women's swim team at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where he attended school. In September 2023, Nesty was named the Head Coach for the US Men's Swimming team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Early years

Anthony Nesty was born in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

in 1967, the youngest of five children in his family. Nesty's family migrated to Suriname when he was seven months old, and he started swimming at the age of 5. Nesty trained and competed in Suriname and the Caribbean through the beginning of his teenage years. He represented Suriname along with his sister, Pauline, at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games, officially known as the IX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Caracas 1983, were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to inclu ...

.Stutgard, Ricky W. (1990
''De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie (1893–1988)''
Alberga, Paramaribo. . p. 137 After placing twenty-first in the 100-metre butterfly at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

in Los Angeles at just 16 years old, Nesty enrolled in

The Bolles School The Bolles School is an American private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. It has a lower school (including pre-kindergarten), a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jackso ...

in Jacksonville, Florida, a prep school with an athletic program known for training elite, world-class swimmers. While training under Bolles coach

Gregg Troy Gregg Troy (born December 19, 1950) is an American professional and Olympic swimming coach. As of April 2021, he was the head coach for the Cali Condors, which was part of the International Swimming League. Until 2018, he was the head coach of ...

, Nesty broke the prep school 100-yard butterfly record held by

Pablo Morales Pedro Pablo Morales Jr. (born December 5, 1964) is an American former competitive swimmer. He set world records in the 100-meter butterfly in 1984 and 1986. He was the 100-meter butterfly gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games, as well as wi ...

. Breaking Morales's record was the beginning of prominent successes for Nesty. He graduated from the Bolles School in 1987.

International swimming career

Nesty returned to international competition at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

in Indianapolis, Indiana, winning a gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly and a bronze medal in the 200-metre butterfly. At the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

in Seoul, Korea, Nesty edged American favorite

Matt Biondi Matthew Nicholas Biondi (born October 8, 1965) is an American former competitive swimmer and water polo player. As a swimmer, he is an eleven-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in five events. Biondi competed in the Summer Oly ...

by one one-hundredth of a second to win the 100-metre butterfly; he finished the event in 53.00 seconds and Biondi in 53.01. Nesty is the only Olympic medal winner from

and after winning his Olympic gold medal, he was unbeaten in the 100-metre butterfly event for three years. Nesty was the first black male athlete and only the second black athlete to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming following

Enith Brigitha Enith Sijtje Maria Brigitha (born 15 April 1955) is a former leading competitive swimmer in the 1970s. She twice represented the Netherlands at the Summer Olympics, starting in 1972 (Munich, West Germany). She won two bronze medals at the 1976 S ...

at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

, and only the second South American swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal after

Alberto Zorrilla Victoriano Alberto Zorrilla (April 6, 1906 – April 23, 1986) was an Argentine swimmer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics and in the 1928 Summer Olympics where he became the first South American to win an Olympic swimming gold medal. ...

in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

. Nesty's victory in Seoul was a momentous social and political event for Afro-Caribbeans. The Suriname government commemorated his gold-medal performance on a stamp and on gold and silver coins. A 25-guilders bank note portraying an illustration of a butterfly swimmer was printed in his honor.

Surinam Airways Surinam Airways (), also known by its initials ''SLM'', is the flag carrier of Suriname, based in Paramaribo. It operates regional and long-haul scheduled passenger services. Its hub is at Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (Zanderij). Sur ...

named one of its planes after Nesty (this plane was destroyed in an accident while operating as Surinam Airways Flight 764), and the indoor stadium in

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

was renamed for him. Nesty won gold medals in the 100-metre butterfly at the

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

in 1990 and the

FINA World Aquatics Championships The World Aquatics Championships, formerly the FINA World Championships, are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. The championships are stag ...

in 1991. At the 1991

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

in Havana, Cuba, he again won a gold medal in 100-metre butterfly and a silver in the 200-metre butterfly. He attempted to defend his 1988 Olympic gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona, Spain, but finished with a third-place bronze. At the

2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations was part of the opening ceremony that originating with the 1896 Olympic Games. The national team from each nation participating in the Olympic Games paraded behind their national flag into the Olympic Stadi ...

of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, while long retired from competition as an athlete himself, Nesty was invited to be Suriname's

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

at the opening ceremony. Nesty was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

(ISHOF) as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1998, and the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great" in 2002.

College swimming career

After winning his gold medal in Seoul, Nesty accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he enjoyed a successful swimming career with the

Florida Gators swimming and diving The Florida Gators swimming and diving program represents the University of Florida in the aquatics sports of swimming and diving. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Coll ...

team under coach

Randy Reese Randy Reese (born 1946) is an American college and Olympic swimming coach. Reese is best known for coaching the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams of the University of Florida to four national championships, and coaching the winners of ei ...

and coach Skip Foster from 1989 to 1992. During his four years of

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) competition, he won three consecutive NCAA individual championships in the 100-yard butterfly (1990, 1991, 1992), one in the 200-yard butterfly (1990), and one as a member of the team's 400-yard medley relay team (1991), and received sixteen

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. Nesty also won eleven

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) titles—five in individual races and six as a member of Gators relay teams. Nesty graduated from the University of Florida with his bachelor's degree in 1994.

Coaching career

In the mid 1990s, Nesty returned to the Bolles School as a member of the swim coaching staff, while also serving as head coach at Nease High School in Jacksonville. Nesty was named the Assistant Men's Coach for University of Florida in 1998 and associate head coach for the Florida Gators men's swimming team in 2006. On April 13, 2021, the university announced that Nesty would henceforth also be head coach of the Florida Gators women's swimming team. In November 2021,

Caeleb Dressel Caeleb Remel Dressel (born August 16, 1996) is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He swims representing the Cali Condors as part of the International Swimming League. He won ...

would move under Nesty's college group at the University of Florida from his former long-time coach

. Notable swimmers currently under Nesty's direction include

Katie Ledecky Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky ( ; born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. She is the List of individual gold medalists in swimming at the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships (women)#Title leaders, most deco ...

Bobby Finke Robert Christian Finke ( ; born November 6, 1999), better known as Bobby Finke, is an American competitive swimmer. He won two gold medals for the United States in the 2020 Summer Olympics: the men's 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle swims. F ...

, and

Kieran Smith Kieran Smith (born May 20, 2000) is an American swimmer specializing in freestyle and individual medley events. He currently co-holds short course world records in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and the 4×100-meter medley relay. He was th ...

. In June 2021, Nesty was named Assistant Coach to the U.S. Men's Olympic Swim Team. In February 2022, he was named Head Coach of the U.S. Men's Swim Team for the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest. In September 2023, Nesty was named the Head Coach for the US Men's team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, with

Todd DeSorbo Todd DeSorbo (1977-) has been the head coach of the Men and Women's Virginia Cavaliers Swim team at the University of Virginia since assuming the position in 2017, and in his initial eight years of coaching has led the women's team to seven ACC ...

as Women's Head Coach.

References

External links