Nort Thornton

Nort Thornton served as head men’s swimming coach at the University of California at Berkeley before retiring in 2007 after 33 years of service. His teams consistently finished in the top 10 nationally while Thornton was at the helm of Golden Bears swimming. Thornton coached Cal to two NCAA Championships and was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1979 and 1980. An inductee into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, he has coached the U.S. national team at the Olympics and Pan American Games. Forty-eight of his athletes at Cal have gone on to compete in the Olympic Games, winning 14 gold, 10 silver, and 5 bronze medals. He has also served the swimming community as president of the American Swimming Coaches Association.

Thornton continues to remain active on the Cal pool deck as a volunteer coach. His recruits, Milorad Cavic and Nathan Adrian, both earned medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Adrian took home a gold medal as part of the United States’ 400-meter freestyle relay. Cavic won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly after being out-touched at the wall by Michael Phelps by one-hundredth of a second. Thornton resides in Moraga, California.