Fernando Canales (swimmer): Difference between revisions

| name = Fernando CanalesCañales

| fullname = Fernando J. CanalesCañales

'''Fernando J. CanalesCañales''' (born November 2, 1959 in [[Huntsville, Alabama]]) is a former [[freestyle swimming|freestyle]] [[swimmer]] from [[Puerto Rico]] and swimming coach. Up until the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he was the Head Assistant Coach for Men's Swimming & Diving at his Alma Mater, The University of Michigan, and also for the USA National Championship Team, Club Wolverine, home for numerous Olympic champions and medalists. He is a member of the [[USA Swimming]]'s International Relations Committee as well as the United States' technical representative for the [[Amateur Swimming Union of the Americas]] (ASUA/UANA). He is an Assistant Director of Development for The University of Michigan Athletic Department. He is currently the head coach at [[Colgate University]]. In his first season at Colgate, the Women's Team took home the 2011 Patriot League Championship, and the Men's Team finished the meet in fifth place.

His father is Francisco CanalesCañales Roman, from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico and his mother is Carmen Alvarez CanalesCañales, from Mexico City D.F. Fernando has two brothers (swimmer [[Francisco CanalesCañales|Francisco]]-Harvard '78 & Stanford '82; Harry Noel-Michigan '87) and one sister (Sandra Lee-CMU '88 & Grand Valley State '89). He graduated from Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola in 1977 and was honored for civic service and athletic achievements with the symbolic key to the City of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico in 1978.

He graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology of Exercise and a Bachelor of Arts in History and English from the [[University of Michigan]]. After his graduation he worked with legendary Olympic coaches [[Jon Urbanchek]] and [[Dick Kimball]] from 1982 to 1987 and helped the Wolverines reclaim the Big Ten Championship Title after a 24-year drought in March 1986. CanalesCañales was the Head Swimming and Water Polo Coach at the [[University of California, Santa Cruz]] from 1990 to 1992 where he also taught classes within the Physical Education Department.

He became a National Swimming Champion at an early age by becoming the top ranked 17 and under, 100 meter freestyler in the USA in 1977 while training under Coach [[Brad Glenn]] in [[Huntsville, Alabama]]. CanalesCañales was ranked 25th in the world that very same year in the 100 Free. His triumphs brought him to the University of Michigan from 1977-1982. He excelled at the national and international level by winning All America Awards in each of his four years of competition. He earned a total of 13 Big Ten Championship titles. CanalesCañales was the first swimmer in Big Ten Conference history to capture an individual title (100 yds. Freestyle) during his four years of competition while training under Head Olympic Coach [[Gus Stager]] and 1964 USA Olympian [[Bill Farley]].

CanalesCañales was a 100-meter freestyle finalist in the [[1978 World Aquatics Championships|1978 World Championships]] in West Berlin, Germany, earning a 5th place.-- He was the "first" Puerto Rican swimmer to final in the World Championships along with Jesse "Cheyenne" Vassallo. He earned five gold medals and one silver medal during the [[1978 Central American and Caribbean Games]] in [[Medellín|Medellín, Colombia]]. He became the first Puerto Rican to win an individual medal in the [[Pan American Games]] by winning silver in the 100 meters free in [[Swimming at the 1979 Pan American Games|1979]] (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and repeating that feat in [[Swimming at the 1983 Pan American Games|1983]] (Caracas, Venezuela). He also won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 meters medley relay in 1979.

Fernando became a National Champion while representing Club Wolverine in 1986, when he won the 4 x 100 meter free relay alongside three other Wolverines, [[Joe Parker]], [[Greg Varner]] and [[Dave Kerska]]. This was the fastest Club Relay in the World for that year. He won the 100 meter free gold medal during the Soviet Spartakiade National Championships in 1979. He won the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle events during the Swedish and German World Cup events in 1983 and 1984. He won the Latin Cup in 1978, 1979 and 1981. He won sprint freestyle titles in [[Italy]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Brazil]], Puerto Rico, The United States, [[Germany]], [[Sweden]], [[Dominican Republic]] and [[Guadeloupe]].

CanalesCañales made three Olympic Teams: [[Puerto Rico at the 1976 Summer Olympics|Montreal '76]], [[Puerto Rico at the 1980 Summer Olympics|Moscow '80]] and [[Puerto Rico at the 1984 Summer Olympics|Los Angeles '84]]). He was honored as the Flag bearer for the Puerto Rican Olympic Team during the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles, 1984. CanalesCañales, a 13 time Big Ten Champion and 4 year All-America at Michigan, is featured in the book "Paths to the Olympics - Maize and Blue to Olympic Gold" by Marc Parrish, Colemar press 1997.

CanalesCañales was inducted into the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame with the class of 1993 which also included internationally famous sports personalities: Orlando "Peruchin" Cepeda, Carlos "Charlie" Passarell, Raymond Dalmau, Amado Morales and Osvaldo Gil. In addition, he was also inducted into the City of Bayamon, P.R. Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Fernando is married to [[Mona Nyheim]]-CanalesCañales, a Norwegian National Swimming Champion and Arizona Wildcat, she is the Head Assistant Coach for Club Wolverine in Ann Arbor. They have two sons, Francisco Enrique CanalesCañales and Thor Bjorn CanalesCañales. CanalesCañales coached in Texas from 1992 to 2006 with the City of Richardson Swim team. He speaks five languages and has lived in Canada, Italy, Brasil, USA and Puerto Rico. He is an active volunteer with the American Red Cross.

| NAME = Canales, Fernando J.

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