Ryan Cochrane says it was a ‘tough’ summer without coach Randy Bennett
This season was utterly exhausting for Ryan Cochrane, who is Canada’s best chance for a swimming medal at Rio 2016.
And for way more than distance races.
Early the morning of April 28th Cochrane was awoken to learn his coach of 13 years, Randy Bennett, had died the night before. Bennett had been in end-of-life care for cancer, unable to fully coach since January.
Randy Bennett was head coach of the Olympic swim team at London 2012.
Following August’s world championships, where he won two bronze medals, Cochrane said this: “Indirectly I think it’s been really hard. We went right back to work after Randy passed away because that’s what he’d want us to do. I think we did everything possible to be the best athletes we could be in the water. We really pushed ourselves but that being said the emotional toll at the end of the year was tough.”
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Cochrane called Bennett’s impact on his life ‘profound’, and the 26-year-old along with his Victoria teammates including Olympians Hilary Caldwell and Alec Page gritted through Pan Am Games and World Championships without their mentor.
Burgeoning coach Ryan Mallette was installed as the interim, and then permanent head of the Victoria program. When Cochrane disappointingly missed the 800m freestyle final at worlds, Bennett wasn’t there for support, “That’s someone I usually lean on so that was really difficult. It took a lot of energy to try to right myself. I think we’ve developed these relationships with our coach Ryan now and this kind of process is that much more encouraging for next year because we know how to lean on each other and trust each other more,” Cochrane said.
The 1500m podium at Kazan 2015. Canada’s bronze medallist Ryan Cochrane (right), with Italy’s winner Gregorio Paltrinieri (centre), and American Connor Jaeger who won silver (left).
He came back to win a bronze in the 1500m freestyle, and wasn’t happy but through post-race exhaustion said ‘it’s another medal, I’ll take it.”
Mallette is the man speaking as coach now, “I don’t want to get into the mindset if they swim well that means they persevered through Randy’s loss. No matter how they do this summer it’s not an indication of how they handled the loss of their coach. They grieved and they continue to grieve,” he told Swimming Canada in July.
Cochrane with his 2015 world championship bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle.
Cochrane is one swimmer, among others who will have to slough off the emotional toll of 2015, and learn to live with an irreplaceable absence.
Athletes shouldn’t be defined by their accomplishments, humans aren’t defined by loss. Those blurred lines were never more real than during Ryan Cochrane’s pre-Olympic season.
Cover photo: Ryan Cochrane at London 2012 (CP Images)
