Columbia University Men's Swimming & Diving

As head coach of the Columbia men's swimming team since 1984, Jim Bolster has forged one of the Northeast’s most successful programs. Over the last decade, B...

Butts joined the Columbia Men's Swimming & Diving Program as an Assistant Diving Coach in December 2024.

Gustavo Leal began at Columbia in 2008 as assistant coach for men's swimming. For more than a decade, Leal has continued to lead the development of sensation...

Nathan Freeman started his college coaching career at Columbia in 2021. After serving as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons, Freeman was named the assistant coach for men’s swimming in June 2023. He currently coaches the sprint group and was part of the Lions’ staff that coached Columbia to four new school records in the 200 F.R., 200 M.R., 400 F.R. and 100 breast during the 2024-25 season. Freeman's passion for swimming and coaching predates his time at Columbia. For a decade, while working at prestigious law firms in New York City, he actively engaged with Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics. He served as a part-time assistant coach for Masters and club swimming and also provided private swim instruction, which he continues to present. Freeman, a native of Phoenix, Arizona, is a graduate of Seattle University, earning his bachelor’s in political science in 2009 and his master’s of science in sports business from New York University in 2022 graduating magna cum laude and summa cum laude respectively. Freeman has swum for two different Olympic Coaches during his career, was a USA Swimming Open Water National Junior Team member in 2002, a member of Brophy College Preparatory’s national championship team during the 2004-05 season, a four-time top scholarship recipient and letterwinner at S.U. and two-time NCAA Division II Academic All-American. Upon graduating he held the school record in the 800 F.R. Freeman remains an active athlete and philanthropist. In 2024 he raised m

Now entering his ninth season, Olympic medalist Scott Donie has made a big splash on both the Ivy League and national level since arriving to Columbia as head diving coach in 2016. In 2024, Donie coached Joseph Nicol to second consecutive A Final at Ivies in the 1-meter. On the women's side, Alice Diakova won the CareerHigh Point Diver award at the 2024 Ivy League Championships, as thee graduating senior who scored most points in her Ivy League career. In 2023, Donie helped coach Jonathan Suckow to an amazing end to his career. Suckow was named an All-American once again on the 3-meter, and won both the 3m and 1m events at the Ivy League Championships en route to being named Ivy League Diver of the Meet. Suckow completed a sweep of both events for the fourth time in his career, becoming the first diver in Ivy League history at win all eight titles. Suckow was also named Connie S. Maniatty Award winner for most outstanding senior student athlete at Columbia. Donie oversaw the Lions' continued emergence on the platforms in 2022. Jonathan Suckow earned All-America in the 1- and 3-meter dives with fourth place finishes in both events at NCAA Championships, including the highest scoring single dive of the Championships. Suckow was named Ivy League Diver of the Meet after winning both events for the third time in his career. Additionally, Columbia saw a program-best seven student-athletes post NCAA Zone qualifying numbers. In 2020, Donie led five Lions to NCAA Zone qualifying score