Alan Bircher
Personal information
Born21 September 1981 (1981-09-21) (age 42)
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2004 Madrid 5 km open water

Alan Bircher (born 21 September 1981) is a British former long-distance swimmer. After finishing a long international career he entered into coaching, following successful coaching posts at West Suffolk where he coached his wife Stefanie Bircher to the World Championships 7th-place finish (Rome 2009) and had multiple national champions. He then went on to coach at Wyre Forest Swimming Club in Worcestershire. After a highly successful 2011/2012 season, Alan moved to his current coaching position at Ellesmere College Titans (ECTM). In 2021, he was suspended and stopped from forming part of Team GB's Tokyo coaching squad.[1][2]

Bircher won two senior international medals a brace of silvers in 2004: World Championships Dubai 10 km and European Championships Madrid 5 km. He also narrowly missed out on medals in the Open Water Swimming at the 2005 / 2006 / 2007 World Aquatics Championships in the 10 km open water swim, finishing in 4th / 7th / 7th respectively.

References

  1. ^ Woods, Rebecca. "Ellesmere College Titans swimming club to close after damning report". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  2. ^ Byrnes, Liz (17 July 2021). "Alan Bircher Suspended by Swim England After Investigation Into Allegations Of 'Toxic Culture' At Ellesmere College". Swimming World. Sports Publications, Inc. Retrieved 20 February 2022.