Cliff English

--ASU triathlon coach Cliff English pioneers NCAA triathlon (by Brevan Branscum, Cronkite News, May 1, 2024) --Cliff English joined the Sun Devil Extra show to preview the 2024 season --Dominating Sun Devils leading the effort to make triathlon a sanctioned NCAA championship sport (by Madisen Carter, ASU Cronkite News/Dec. 5, 2019) --Cliff English Receives 2020 Linda Vollstedt Coach of the Year Award --ASU Triathlon: Coach English has Olympians in the making (WCSN) Over the last three decades, Sun Devil Triathlon Head Coach Cliff English has established himself as one of the world’s premier high-performance triathlon coaches, leading athletes to all the major games (Olympic, Pan American and Commonwealth), earning world titles and winning in most major events around the globe. English is a four-time Olympic coach, having coached in the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 games.  He has led the Sun Devil triathlon team to seven Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship in November 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The end goal upon his hiring was to utilize his ability and experience to build the foundation for the first NCAA Power Five women’s triathlon team with the outcome resulting in development of future champions, exceptional student-athletes and high integrity individuals. "Heading into our ninth season this fall, our goals remain constant. Be the standard. Raise the standard. Be a better version of ourselves each and every year," notes English.  RECOGNITION For his efforts, he has also earned the first three College Triathlon Coaches Association (CTCA) Coach of the Year Awards in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 to earn the award in every season since its conception in 2017. English was named the first head coach of women's triathlon at Arizona State in October of 2015. English, with 15 years of elite-level triathlon coaching experience, including as USA Triathlon’s Elite National Team Coach, built the foundation of the first NCAA Power Five women’s triathlon team. In 2021, English was named the USAT collegiate coach of the year, as well as the Linda Vollstedt coach of the year in 2020.  BACKGROUND Coach English started coaching swim teams as a teenager and then progressed through the early nineties, as a personal trainer, masters swim coach and coaching age-group triathlon clubs. By 1999 and early 2000’s he started to have results on the national and international triathlon scene with elite and age group athletes garnering results, national team berths, national titles and his first Olympic athlete (Samantha McGlone) in 2004 Athens. From there Coach English was a development coach in Victoria Canada at the national training center and was awarded Triathlon Canada Elite Coach of the year in 2004. He then coached as USAT Elite National Coach from end 2005 to 2008 guiding his athletes’ to ITU world championship medals, Pan Am medals and world cup podiums.  Athletes under his tutelage continued to develop and perform over the next two decades on the world stage.  Coach English’s athletes have produced wins, podiums and top 10’s at every major elite and professional triathlon around the globe since 2000. He has produced major non-draft wins and podiums in Chicago, Wildflower, St. A’s. Alcatraz, L.A Triathlon, New York City, Lifetime Fitness, Columbia, Philly, Noosa, Nepeana and Beijing. In 2014 after three consecutive runner up positions Hunter Kemper took firset at the Hy Vee Triathlon title which was a $500k prize purse against Olympic gold medalists and all top triathletes. Three of his pros won Ironamn titles in one weekend, as TJ Tollakson won the Ironman Mt Tremblant in record time, Justin Daerr took home IM Boulder honors and Leanda Cave set IM Sweden course record in 8:54.    English has had nine wildflower half ironman wins with three separate athletes winning three each: Sam McGlone, Heather Jackson and Liz Lyles. Including a women’s podium sweep in 2015 with first, second and third with Liz Lyles, Heather Jackson and Rachel McBride.   BY THE NUMBERS --57 pro 70.3 wins and 146 pro 70.3 podiums --23 pro Ironman wins and 67 pro IM podiums --278 pro wins to date with 793 pro podiums worldwide.  PAST PRO ATHLETES Tim O’Donnell, Matt Reed, Hunter Kemper, Liz Lyles, Heather Jackson, Leanda Cave, Rachel McBride, Ashleigh Gentle, Josh Amberger, TJ Tollakson, Michael and Amanda Lovato, Asa Lundstrum, Leo Chacon, Sarah Haskins, Lauren Goss , Rebecca Wassner, Laurel Wassner , Sam McGlone, Peter Reid, Mel McQuaid, Justin Daerr, Blake Becker, Kaitlin Donner, Kelly Guest,    ITU Highest ranking ITU athlete (second) with Ashleigh Gentle with three second-place finishes at WTS races with Yokohama in 2015 and 2016 and second at Abu Dhabi in 2016 and three world cup podiums.   TOP ACHIEVEMENTS 2002 Development Coach at the National Training Center in Victoria, Canada. 2004 Triathlon Canada Elite Coach of the year. USAT Elite National Team Coach from 2006 to 2008. 2005, 2006, 2007 USAT ITU World Championship Elite Team Coach. 2006 World Team Triathlon Championship Title Team, USA. Personal coach to Olympic Triathletes in 2004,2008,2012 and 2016 Olympic Games Personal to coach to Pan Am Games athletes at 2007 including silver medalist Sarah Haskins, Hunter Kemper 8th in 2015 and Commonwealth Games 2006, 2014 World Championship titles: 2006 70.3 World Championship Clearwater winner Samantha McGlone, 2009 ITU Long Course World Championship Perth winner Tim O’Donnell,  2010 ITU Long Course world championships 2nd Tim O’Donnell ITU World Championship medals: Jasmine Oeanck 2007, 2008 ITU U 23 World Championships 70.3 world Championships:2006 1st Sam McGlone, 4th Leanda Cave,  2007 Silver Sam McGlone, 2010 Bronze 70.3 worlds Tim O’Donnell , 2013 Silver Medal Heather Jackson Ironman World Championships Kona: 2005 Peter Reid 3rd , 2007 2nd Sam McGlone ,  2009 5th Sam McGlone, 2012 Tim O’Donnell 8th, 2013 5th Tim O;Donnell, 2014 Liz Lyles 7th, 2015 Heather Jackson 5th, 2016 Asa Lundstrom 8th, 2017 Liz Lyles 8th Coach English will utilize his ability and experience to build the foundation for the first NCAA Power Five women’s triathlon team at ASU with the goal to develop future champions, exceptional student-athletes and high integrity individuals.  ICYMI: We won national championship #?4? today ?? Get a recap of what went down: https://t.co/rKpUgFGcvH — Sun Devil Triathlon (@sundeviltri) November 17, 2019 THE KEMPER CONNECTION Adding to the list of coaches at ASU with Olympic experience, English has coached triathletes at the last four summer games in Athens, Beijing, London and most recently Rio. In both 2008 and 2012, English was an advisor and then personal coach to four-time U.S. Olympian Hunter Kemper, who finished the Beijing Games triathlon in 2008 with an Olympic career-best seventh place finish. Under English, Kemper distinguished himself as an elite athlete winning his seventh career USA Triathlon Elite National title, and finished on the podium at more than 15 races between 2011 and 2013. In 2015 alone, English’s athletes won an Ironman, two half-Ironman races, and two other triathlon competitions. "I was thrilled to hear that my coach of six years, Cliff English, is the new head coach of women's triathlon at Arizona State University,” said Kemper. “The Sun Devil women's triathlon team is very fortunate to have a coach that is so positive, knowledgeable, and hardworking, as they strive to bring championships to Tempe.  It is evident that Arizona State is committed to excellence and I applaud their decision to be the first Division I (Power Five) program to add women's triathlon." In addition to Kemper, English has coached two World Championship medalists, a silver medalist at the Pan American Games, three International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup champions and 10 top-five finishers, and a 2006 ITU World Team Relay Championship title team. In long course triathlon, English coached Samantha McGlone to the 2006 Ironman70.3 World Championship, triathlete Tim O’Donnell to the 2009 ITU Long Course World Championship, and he has coached dozens of Ironman and Ironman 70.3 race medalist, including eight Ironman winners and over 30 Ironman 70.3 pro victories. THEY SAID IT “The chance to build an emerging NCAA triathlon program at Arizona State is an amazing opportunity, not only as the next step in my career, but for the sport of triathlon. I have been involved with the triathlon community for over 25 years and have seen the changes, successes and challenges as the sport continues to grow. I want to thank Ray Anderson, Deana Garner-Smith and Rocky Harris for the ability to build an NCAA team and help lead the charge in the evolution of the sport of triathlon.” -- Cliff English upon being hired by Arizona State.   “Cliff English is an accomplished coach in the sport, and Arizona State and its athletes will benefit from his expertise. Cliff has worked with athletes at a variety of distances and formats, including Olympians and Ironman champions, and this will translate well for developing emerging talent at the NCAA level as the sport continues to gain momentum within the NCAA landscape.” -- Rob Urbach, former USA Triathlon CEO, at the time of his hire. “We have made a concerted effort to bring in top-tier coaches that not only strive for excellence within the sport, but coaches that will seek to develop our student-athletes as high-integrity individuals. The depth of Coach English’s experience and his ability to coach triathletes to success at every level in the sport made it clear he was the right choice to spearhead the creation of the Sun Devil Triathlon program.” -- Sun Devil Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson. EMERGING SPORT GRANT In April 2015, Sun Devil Athletics was one of 10 NCAA schools to receive the multi-year Women’s Triathlon Emerging Sport Grant from the USA Triathlon Foundation. The grant was created to drive the establishment of NCAA women’s varsity triathlon programs. ASU is the first NCAA Power Five conference school to officially adopt the sport of triathlon. Along with the 10 grant recipients, 12 NCAA schools pledged their intention to sponsor varsity triathlon, including several Pac-12 institutions, by signing the NCAA Emerging Sport proposal. A GROWING SPORT The sport of triathlon is growing exponentially with annual membership in USA Triathlon increasing from 127,824 in 1999 to nearly 500,000 annual and one-day members. Among women, USA Triathlon has seen over 450 percent growth in the sport with annual and one-day memberships over the last 15 years with current athletes numbering around 190,000. In 2000, triathlon became an Olympic sport during the Sydney Games. MORE OPPORTUNITIES Arizona State previously adopted the emerging sports of water polo and beach volleyball, which now have accumulated the 40-plus NCAA member institutions to elevate the sports to full varsity championship status.