Darian Townsend won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He was an NCAA champion at Florida as a college freshman.
By 2006, however, Townsend was struggling. A phone call from Tucson changed all that.
“Frank took a chance on me,” Townsend said of former UA coach Frank Busch. “I wanted to go to Arizona, but I wasn’t swimming well at the time and Frank offered me a scholarship. I have a lot of respect for Frank and what he’s done for me. He got me back to myself. The first year, I transitioned and got back to where I was and (in my) senior year I took off.”
Townsend joined the UA roster in time for the 2007 season, and became a key part of a Wildcats team that won the NCAA men’s swimming championship in 2008. He went on to compete in two more Olympics before retiring from professional swimming last year.
Now, Townsend has followed in Busch’s footsteps. The former Wildcat now serves as senior aquatics director at Southwest Valley YMCA in Phoenix. He is also head coach of the YMCA Westside Silver Fins in Goodyear.
The new gig isn’t a surprise to those who know the 33-year-old Townsend best.
“I could have guessed that he’d be a great coach,” said UA assistant coach Cory Chitwood, a former teammate. “He had a … calm demeanor and has patience. Being around someone, as an athlete, who puts you at ease in high pressure situations … being around that is an X-factor. I think coaching is natural for Darian. It’s what he is meant to do.
“Darian was one of those people — his actions speak louder than words, a good quality for any leader to have. He was cool under pressure and let things roll off his back. But deep down inside he was a serious competitor. You want people on your team to perform their best when they are feeling the pressure the most. It brings more out of them. That’s Darian. He has that mindset. Him being a coach, he innately passes that to his athletes. It’s him being who he is.”
Darian Townsend said two of his favorite years in the pool came with the Wildcats. He’s now a coach in the Phoenix area.
Townsend counts Busch, his former UA assistants and South Africa Olympic coach Wayne Riddin as his mentors. Even today, he falls back on what they taught him.
“I think back to those lessons I learned with Frank about being patient, trying to get more out of your kids than they think they can give, which is what he did for swimmers at Arizona,” Townsend said.
“I definitely bring all the experiences I had to my coaching. Both ups and downs, life lessons I learned. I try to teach my kids the same. I had a high standard as a swimmer for myself and now, as a coach I have a high standard. Being a role model and a leader is important to me.”
Townsend says the Wildcats’ championship team in 2008 had uncommon team chemistry. The team trained together on dry land and ran in the football stadium.
“We were closer than other teams. We worked longer and harder and I attribute that to our success,” Townsend said.
“The NCAAs were fun. We were close with Texas in points. We broke the NCAA record the year before in the 800-meter free relay. Texas broke that a few weeks before the NCAAs. We went into the relay in Day 2 getting so pumped up. We went into the race knowing we were going to win. We ended up beating them by four or five seconds, which is big. We had no doubt in Day 3 we were going to win the meet. We had established our dominance by then.”
It was another big moment for Townsend.
Four years earlier, he teamed up with three other Wildcats — Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns and Ryk Neething — to set a world record and win an Olympic gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay. The victory, and what happened after, was “so fun,” Townsend said.
“I didn’t cry — I had a huge smile on my face for a couple of days. I was wide-eyed. My mom and dad cried. I think if I won a medal at my second or third Olympics, there would have been tears shed. I was so naïve as to what was going on around me. But the second or third time, knowing what goes into it, I might have been a little more emotional.”
Townsend returned to the Summer Olympics four years later. He went again in 2012, proud to have made his third Olympic team.
Now an American citizen, Townsend continues to rack up wins. He has set 25 records in Masters (adult) swim meets, but concedes it isn’t the same as competing professionally.
“It’s still hard now,” Townsend said. “I’m in a window where I’m only 33 and guys my age are competing at the highest level. But swimming is a young people’s sport. When you hit 30, typically you are done. I still believe physically and mentally that I can be in the water and compete. But I wanted to move on with my life and get married and have a family. I’m glad I still swim in Masters. It fulfills a competitive edge I have and I can relate to my kids better; I haven’t lost touch with reality. I relate to them in water with the drills they are doing. I think it’s a good balance to have.”
Arizona was the right move at the right time for Townsend. And, looking back, it was a major turning point in his life. He found his swimming groove, his calling, and long-lasting friendships with teammates and a coach, Busch, who served as the officiant at his wedding last year.
“Arizona was two of my most fun years swimming in my career,” Townsend said. “Swimming is such as small sport; we still see each other. When you go through something like that — trying to win for two years and finally winning it — you have a special bond. It’s fun to reconnect. One relay or one meet always comes up in those conversations. It’s fun to re-live those days.”
