David McNulty's impact on the landscape of British Swimming has been recognised with his induction into the University of Bath's Hall of Fame for Sport.
The Bath National Centre Lead Coach has coached swimmers to medals at the last four Olympic Games, with the pinnacle of those returns coming as part of BritishSwimming's historic performance at Tokyo 2020.
At that Games, Tom Dean and James Guy became double Olympic champions (Dean in the 200m Freestyle and Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay, Guy in that relay and the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay), while Freya Anderson's role in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay also saw her claim maiden Olympic gold. Matt Richards and Calum Jarvis, part of Jol Finck's group at Bath ahead of the Games, also tasted Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay success.
Before Tokyo, McNulty - whose senior international debut as a coach came in 2001 - had overseen a quartet of silvers at Rio 2016 after memorable swims from Siobhan-Marie O'Connor (200m Individual Medley), Jazz Carlin (in both the 400m and 800m Freestyle) and Charlie Walker-Hebborn (Men's 4x100m Medley Relay), a Home Games medal at London 2012, courtesy of Michael Jamieson's 200m Breaststroke silver and bronze in the 400m Freestyle for Jo Jackson at Beijing 2008.
It was following the Beijing Games that David began his time leading the British Swimming programme at the Bath National Centre, part of the University's Sports Training Village - and his impact on the sport has continued to be felt since.
Speaking on becoming the 29th inductee into the Hall of Fame, McNulty said: "Thank you to the University of Bath for this award. I remember seeing the Hall of Fame pillars going up a few years ago and thinking, 'I would love to be a part of that some day', so this is a great honour.
"I think this is an amazing place - what a city, what a university - and the STV is just outstanding. I've been to a lot of venues around the world and I've never been to a place that feels like this, with so many different sports under one roof and so many coaches. It absolutely oozes performance and it's an amazing place to work.
"I've done three Olympic Games here and we've won 13 medals. It's a legacy I want to keep going, I want more medals for British Swimming and I want to do it here at the University of Bath. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Double Olympic champion Dean, who has trained under McNulty since 2018, was one of many swimmers at the ceremony and said: "There are three main attributes I can think of that make Dave such a great coach from an athlete standpoint. The first is his incredible breadth and depth of knowledge and experience within the sport; then there’s his attentiveness and care for his athletes, you can approach him with any question be it in or out the pool.
"Most importantly, something I’ve learned in the last year, is his prowess on the world arena. Some people crumble but when Dave walks out at an Olympic Games he is so comfortable and that confidence is infectious."
British Swimming CEO Jack Buckner added: "Across all the major Championships - Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth level - Dave's swimmers have won a total of 111 medals. That's a quite incredible achievement, but I think more important is Dave the man. He's a great coach and you have the sense he is always there for his swimmers."
Among the other British Swimming inductees into the University of Bath's Hall of Fame for Sport is multiple Paralympic champion Stephanie Millward, five-time Olympian Mark Foster and London 2012 Olympic medallist Michael Jamieson.
Back in November, McNulty was named Team GB’s Coach of the Year for 2021.