High Performance Director Dan Laak to retire In August

Dan Laak will retire as USA Diving High Performance Director on August 26 after serving in the role since August 2018.

“I took this job to help the athletes and coaches. Making sure they had everything they needed to be successful was my goal,” Laak said. “I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted, but I’m proud of what we did do.”

U.S. divers won 11 medals in four major events – the Olympic Games, two FINA World Championships and one FINA World Cup – with Laak as High Performance Director. He developed and implemented a high performance plan that allowed divers and coaches to continue to succeed while working through the challenging times brought on by the COVID era.

Most recently, U.S. divers won three medals at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary this summer. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer, the U.S. also won three medals, including its first Olympic medal in women’s synchronized 10-meter and its first women’s 3-meter Olympic medal since 1988.

Laak spent 31 years as the diving coach at the University of Georgia, where he was named NCAA Coach of the Year three times. He coached at three Olympic Games (2008, 2012 and 2016) before taking over as USA Diving’s High Performance Director.

“Our divers have had tremendous success under Dan’s leadership,” said USA Diving President Lee Michaud. “We wish Dan the best in his retirement. We are thankful for his service and for all he has done for USA Diving the past four years.”