WVU Swim Team Assistant Coach Advances to Olympic Final

It’s time for Mountaineer Nation to rally behind one of their own at the Olympics. Sydney Pickrem, an assistant coach on the WVU swimming and diving team, won her heat in the 200 IM with a time of 2:09.65 on Friday. She will now advance to the final on Saturday.

The West Virginia swimming and diving account on X (formerly Twitter) posted about Pickrem’s accomplishment on social media.

𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙣 🔥🔥🔥

Assistant coach Sydney Pickrem wins her heat in the 200 IM (2:09.65) to advance to the final on Saturday! #HailWV | #OlympiansMadeHere pic.twitter.com/6QiwYJ8O0g

— WVU Swim & Dive (@WVUSwimDive) August 2, 2024

Pickrem, who is representing Canada in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France placed ninth in the breaststroke semifinal earlier in the week.

WVU hired Pickrem to its swimming and diving coaching staff this spring, making the upcoming 2024-2025 season her first with the program.

After wrapping up her Olympic experience, Pickrem will be part of a revamped staff that hopes to get the Mountaineers headed in the right direction following a tough 2023-2024 season. WVU placed sixth out of eight teams and last of five teams at the Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships this March.

WVU fans can watch Pickrem compete in the medal round on Saturday at 3:08 pm ET. The event will air on the Peacock and the NBC Olympics app.

For a related story, a former member of the WVU women’s basketball team helped her country earn an historic Olympic win.