Hansen names Pinter to staff
May 23, 2008 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Robert Pinter, a three-time All-American swimmer at Wisconsin and 1992 Olympic finalist, has been named an assistant swimming and diving coach at the University of Wisconsin, head coach Eric Hansen announced Friday.
'I'm excited to have Robert back in Madison as part of our program, ' Hansen said of Pinter, a 32-time Romanian national champion. 'The UW means a lot to him and his background and expertise will greatly benefit our student-athletes.'
Pinter, who holds the second-best time in the 500-yard freestyle in UW history, currently serves as the assistant swimming coach at the University of Iowa. In his four years in this role, he helped the Hawkeyes finish in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships, move up two places in the final Big Ten standings and coached two NCAA qualifiers, 10 NCAA provisional qualifiers and more than a dozen U.S. national qualifiers.
Pinter spent two years (2002-2004) as the co-head senior coach for the Badger Aquatics Club and received the 2004 Wisconsin Senior Coach of the Year award. During his time in Madison, he coached two 2003 national top-16 finalists, six national qualifiers and one U.S. National relay team.
As the head coach at the Oregon (Wis.) Community Swim Club, Pinter coached two age group Wisconsin state champions, coached 24 Wisconsin state championship qualifiers and increased the number of club members from 58 to 89 in his four years (1999-2002).
Pinter was the head coach for Stoughton (Wis.) High School's varsity boys swim team for the 1999-2000 season. He coached one school record holder in the 100 butterfly and had an unprecedented two wins during the dual season.
Pinter served as the head coach of the Aqua Racers in Stoughton, Wis., from 1998-2000. In this role, he coached one YMCA Wisconsin state championship finalist, three Wisconsin state championship qualifiers and increased the number of team members from 18 to 29.
Pinter was awarded the Presidential Medal of Athletic Achievement in 2004 by Romanian President Ion Iliescu. He took seventh place at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain in the 20-meter butterfly finals. Pinter was the 1984 European Junior Champion in the same event. From 1990-1992, he was ranked in the top-20 worldwide in the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter freestyle.
Pinter earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994.
