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Nort Thornton, who was inducted into the ASCA (American Swimming Coaches Association) Hall of Fame in September of 2002, enters his 33rd season as the director of the California men's swimming team. Thornton, the dean of all Pac-10 swimming coaches, continues to combine great determination and dedication in helping his swimming team reach its potential and maximum success level.
Last season, Cal briefly held the top national ranking and wound up with a No. 3 ranking at the end of the season. The Golden Bears took second place at the Pac-10 Championships and finished sixth at the NCAA Championships. Senior Henrique Barbosa ended his outstanding Cal career by winning two NCAA crowns - the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes. He also won the 100-yard breaststroke at the Pac-10 Championships.
A true indication of Thornton's success is the fact that Cal has finished in the Top 10 nationally 27 of the 32 years he has been at the helm of the Bears' program. In 2005, Cal completed a remarkable season with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Bears defeated rival Stanford, 129-114, for the first time since Feb. 23, 1991, and compiled their first undefeated dual-meet season (9-0) under Thornton. Duje Draganja, the 2004-05 Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year and 2005 Cal Most Valuable Swimmer, concluded his career by winning two individual crowns - the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard freestyle - and helping the Bears win three relays - the 200-freestyle relay, 200-medley relay and 400-free relay - at NCAAs. Cal freshman Dominik Meichtry was named the 2004-05 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year.
In his 32 years at Cal, Thornton has led the Bears to two national championships, 27 NCAA Top-10 finishes and a stellar cast of All-Americans. He has an even more impressive collection of Olympians-including world record holder Matt Biondi, Anthony Ervin, who won the gold medal in the 50-meter free at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Draganja, who took silver in the 50-meter free at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The veteran coach has an impressive 226-82 (.734) career dual-meet record, has been National Coach of the Year twice and has been the Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times, most recently in 1999.
It is a credit to Thornton's recruiting and coaching ability that the Bears are consistently in a position to compete for the national crown. For more than three decades he has cultivated squads that combine some of the top local California talent with national and international blue chippers. Thornton's office is a testimony to his coaching ability with Olympic banners, photos of world record holders, NCAA championship trophies and mementos that span through his long and illustrious career. The veteran coach was honored for all of his accomplishments in May 1995 with his induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Championship performance at Cal is synonymous not only with Thornton's teams, but with the numerous individuals he has coached over the last 32 years. Since Thornton took over the Cal program, 48 Cal athletes have represented several countries in the Olympic Games, winning 29 medals, including 14 gold, 10 silver and five bronze.
During the 1992 Olympics, Thornton was selected as an assistant coach, and 13 of his Bears competed in Barcelona, Spain, six of whom swam for the United States. Cal swimmers earned a total of six medals for their respective countries, including three by Biondi and one each from Joel Thomas, Tommy Werner and Scott Jaffe. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, nine of Thornton's swimmers competed, including Mark Henderson (1988-91), who was a member of the United States' gold medal winning and world record-setting 400 medley relay. At the 2000 Olympics, besides Ervin's exploits, four other Bears competed with Bart Kizierowski reaching the finals of the 100-meter back and 50-meter free, and Gordan Kozulj making the finals of the 200-meter back. In 2004, 11 current or former Bears joined Draganja in Athens, including returning swimmers Cavic (Serbia & Montenegro), Meichtry (Switzerland), Henrique Barbosa (Brazil), Miguel Molina (Philippines) and Jernej Godec (Slovenia).
Thornton has been a part of Cal's swimming excellence since the 1973-74 season when he took over the Bears program. Five years after his arrival, Thornton guided Cal to its first national championship in 1979 and successfully defended the national crown in 1980. He claimed National Coach of the Year honors in both of those seasons.
Thornton's coaching record shows a long history of success at every level of competition. When he was the head coach at Los Altos High School in the late '50s, his team won the national prep championship and his swimmers broke 13 of the 20 standing national records. Before his hiring at California, Thornton was the head swimming coach at Foothill Junior College from 1960-73, where he constructed one of top junior college programs in the nation.
On the international level, Thornton has coached numerous United States teams in world competition. In 1979, he coached the U.S. squad in the FINA Cup in Tokyo, Japan, and then in 1981 coached the U.S. team at the World University Games. In the summer of 1983, Thornton was an assistant coach for the United States team at the Pan American Games at Caracas, Venezuela. He served in the same capacity at the 1986 World Championships in Madrid, Spain, and in Perth, Australia, in January, 1997, as well as the August '97 Pan Pacific Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
A past president of the American Swimming Coaches Association, Thornton has served on the ASCA Board of Directors and is a past member of the NCAA Rules Committee. He was also awarded the National Collegiate and Scholastic Award (which is in the International Hall of Fame) for his contributions to swimming as a healthful recreation activity for schools and colleges.
Thornton, 73, graduated from San Jose State in 1956 with a degree in education and earned his master's degree from Stanford. Thornton and his wife, Carla, have three sons, Richard (48) and twins Marc and Gregg (45).
Thornton's Cal Coaching Record Year Rec NCAA Finish 1975 4-4 14th 1976 7-4 11th 1977 5-3 8th 1978 7-2 3rd 1979 9-2 1st 1980 11-2 1st 1981 9-1 6th 1982 8-6 4th 1983 7-1 8th 1984 7-3 6th 1985 5-5 4th 1986 6-3 2nd 1987 10-3 4th 1988 10-2 4th 1989 11-1 6th 1990 8-5 7th 1991 5-5 13th 1992 6-3 4th 1993 8-3 7th 1994 6-3 5th 1995 7-2 5th 1996 6-4 13th 1997 7-2 15th 1998 5-2 8th 1999 9-2 4th 2000 6-3 5th 2001 5-1 8th 2002 6-2 6th 2003 6-1 4th 2004 5-1 7th 2005 9-0 4th 2006 6-1 6th Total 226-82 (.734) 32 years
