Carol Capitani
From Openwaterpedia
Carol Capitani is an American swimming coach.
Swimming Highlights
- She serves as the Head Coach of the University of Texas Women's Swimming, completing her 12th season as the head coach of the Texas Women’s Swimming and Diving program in 2024, guiding the Longhorns to a third consecutive national runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships.
- The three consecutive runner-up results marked the best three-year stretch for the Longhorns since 1990-1992.
- She served as the head coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team three times including at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, as well as an assistant with USA Swimming at the 2022 FINA World Championships.
- During her 12 seasons at Texas, she has led the Longhorns to 10 Top 10 finishes, including a four Top 3 finishes the last four seasons and seven Top 5 results in the last eight national meets held.
- Tabbed as one of the 100 Greatest College Coaches by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America’s (CSCAA) during the organizations Centennial Celebration in 2021. Capitani has guided UT to 12 consecutive Big 12 Conference Championships and earned conference coach of the year honors 10 times. All told, 56 Longhorns have earned All-America accolades during Capitani’s tenure at Texas and three student athletes have won NCAA Championships – Laura Sogar (2013, 200-yard breaststroke), Lydia Jacoby (2023, 100-yard breaststroke) and Emma Sticklen (2023-24, 200-yard butterfly).
- She has trained several of Team USA’s top performers. At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, the United States women's and men's teams combined to win 38 medals (7g, 20s, 11b) – 13 more than any other competing federation – with Kate Douglass (200m IM) and Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle) winning World titles in their respective events. In the relays, the 4x100 medley relay final of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Douglass also won gold, combining for a time of 3:52.08, with prelim swimmers Katharine Berkoff, Jacoby, Torri Huske and Abbey Weitzeil also earn medals. At the 2022 FINA World Championships, Leah Smith won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay and collected bronze in the 400m freestyle. Smith followed that with a gold-medal performance in the 200m IM at the United States National Championships, while winning silver in the 400m IM. In 2017, Capitani coached Madisyn Cox to a bronze medal in the 200m IM at the FINA World Championships.
- She led Team USA’s women’s team during the 2017 World University Games after previously serving as the women’s head coach at the 2013 Duel in the Pool. She also worked as an assistant coach for the United States at the 2011 and 2013 World University Games, and was an assistant for the Team USA women at the 2016 FINA World Championships – 25m.
- She was the Singapore head coach for the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos.
- On 4 September 2024, she spoke at the ASCA World Clinic Women's Symposium together with Jennifer LaMont, Ellen Johnston, Emily Melina, Micha Shaw, and Abi Liu.
