Thursday 12 / December / 2024
Muscat: Oman national swim team head coach Srdjan Filipovic died in Muscat on Friday, 5 February, at the age of 49.
An Olympic-level coach, Filipovic was given the national team job in 2019, with the view of improving the quality and competitiveness of Oman’s swimmers.
It was an objective he made positive strides towards achieving: Omani swimmer Abdulrahman Al Kulaibi, under his direction, became an accomplished athlete in the 50m freestyle, and the 100m and 200m variants of the butterfly.
Ayman Al Qasimi was being groomed for long-distance competitions, such as the 5000m, the 800m, and the 1,500 metre, while Nayef Al Qasimi was preparing to represent Oman in 50m freestyle events.
Nasser Al Kindi was another target for development by Filipovic, in 200m backstroke and freestyle events. Under his leadership, Oman won three medals at the 27th GCC Swimming Championships, held in Kuwait between 5 and 8 September 2019.
Al Kulaibi was also champion of the Hamilton International Swimming Championship, which was held on 6 and 7 December 2019, winning the gold medal in the 200m individual race, and silver in the 100m butterfly event.
A coach with Serbia’s national swim teams, Filipovic also contributed to the development of a swimming development programme for the country, improving the qualifications of the coaches registered under the Oman Swimming Association.
While sports activities were suspended in the country during the pandemic, he conducted virtual training sessions for one or two hours at a stretch, to help maintain the technical and physical conditioning of the swimmers.
He also oversaw the behind-closed-doors swim camp held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Boushar from 20 to 30 September, as part of the team’s preparation for upcoming athletic events. This helped his technical staff implement the training programmes they’d devised for the team.
Filipovic’s involvement in the day-to-day training of the athletes also provided the other coaches with the incentive to contribute to their development, and increase their technical abilities, given the many events Omani athletes are expected to take part in over the coming months.
During camps such as these, the time athletes took to complete their courses, and their abilities in the water were worked on, to improve their abilities.
The Oman Swimming Association also mourned the passing of Filipovic, saying in a statement: “The Omani Swimming Association mourns the death of the Serbian national swimming coach, Srdjan Filipovic, who passed away on Friday.”
