Longtime Ames High School swimming coach Dan Flannery died Tuesday of a brain aneurysm, Ames Athletic Director Judge Johnston said.

 

Flannery was the coach of both the girls and boys swimming teams. He started coaching the boys’ team in 1998 and the girls’ team in 2002.

It is a “devastating loss not only to our swim community, but to the community of Ames,” Johnston told the Des Moines Register.

 

Flannery’s 2015-2016 girls’ swimming and diving teams were named national champions by the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association, and he led the girls’ teams to eight state titles in a nine-year stretch. He led the boys’ team to a state title in 2018. His teams have broken seven state records in the boys’ division and 13 state records in the girls division.

 

Flannery was a member of the Iowa State men’s swimming team and was captain of the team in 1998. He was part of the Big 8 Championship team in 1995 and the undefeated team in 1998.