Mike Bottom

 

California Co-Head Swim Coach Mike Bottom has established himself as one of the world's top sprint coaches. During the summer of 2001, Bottom was selected to be an assistant coach for the United States at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. At the World Championships, several of the sprinters Bottom has coached excelled - Cal's Anthony Ervin won both the 50 and 100-meter freestyle; South Africa's Roland Schoeman was third in the 50 free (first medal ever for South Africa at a world championship) and fourth in the 50 fly. Therese Alshammar from Sweden won the silver medal in the women's 50 free and 50 fly.

Bottom was the assistant coach for the World Team that finished second at the Goodwill Games this summer in Brisbane, Australia as well. Poland's Bart Kizierowski, a former Cal standout, won both the 50 free and 50 back, breaking a Goodwill Games' record and two Polish national records in the process. Kizierowski also won the 50 freestyle and was second in the 100 freestyle at the University Games in Beijing, China. In the 50 free at the 2001 summer US Nationals, Gary Hall, Jr. won the gold medal and three of Bottom's other swimmers finished in the top nine. Cal's Alex Lim won both the 100 and 200 back at the South East Asian Games held in Malaysia. Bottom was also the head coach for team Stars and Stripes at the first-ever Norvo Nordisc Sprint Challenge. His team, made up of American swimmers, won the competition against strong European and World teams. For the first time in Olympic history in 2000, two men tied for the gold medal, and both were coached by Bottom. Gold medallists Anthony Ervin and Gary Hall, Jr., swimming for the United States, were joined by Kizierowski, swimming for Poland, in the finals of the Sydney Olympics.

During the 1999-2000 NCAA season, Bottom coached Ervin to wins in both the 50 and 100-meter freestyle at the NCAA Championships (Cal's Bart Kizierowski was third and Matt Macedo fourth in the 100 free). In 2000-2001, Ervin repeated as the NCAA champion in the 100 free, tying the legendary Matt Biondi with a time of 41.80. In all, Bottom's sprinters won five Olympic medals in Sydney and he has coached four different NCAA champions and 10 different Pac-10 champions at Cal.

While at Auburn from 1991-94, Bottom created the ultra sprint program, taking two then unheard-of athletes, Bill Pilczuk and Dean Hutchinson, to the NCAA finals. He assisted in the rise of the Auburn men's team that won the 1997 and 1999 NCAA titles. In 1995, Bottom moved to USC to become the Trojans' sprint coach, and in 1997, the USC women's team won their first ever NCAA title. He joined Cal head coach Nort Thornton in July of 1997.

From 1995-98, Bottom summered in Phoenix, AZ where he coached outstanding sprinters such as Hall, Jr., a four-time medallist at the Atlanta Olympic Games, and Jon Olsen, a four-time Olympic gold medallist. In the summer of 1999, Bottom worked with Hall at Cal. This team effort resulted in a U.S. National Championship and Hall's then best time in the 50-meter freestyle, 22.13. In addition, Cal senior Matt Macedo, training under Bottom that summer, lowered his 50-meter free by over 1.5 seconds to 22.67 to place third. Macedo's third and sixth place finishes at his first ever Phillips 66 National Swimming Championship earned him the Rookie of the Meet Award.

Bottom graduated Summa Cum Laude from USC with a bachelor's degree in psychology and received the Scholar-Athlete Award for the graduating athlete with the highest GPA. He received a master's degree in counseling at Auburn and is pursuing a Ph.D in sports psychology from USC. In his swimming days, Bottom was a member of the 1980 Olympic team, a member of a world record 4x100 freestyle relay and part of three NCAA Championship teams at USC.