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GA swimming coach Shoulberg takes leave of absence

Germantown Academy's revered swimming coach, Dick Shoulberg, is on leave because of "a personnel issue," a school administrator said Monday.

Germantown Academy's revered swimming coach, Dick Shoulberg, is on leave because of "a personnel issue," a school administrator said Monday.

In an e-mail to parents last month, the school announced that assistant coach Claire Crippen would serve as acting director and acting head coach of the girls' team in Shoulberg's absence. Assistant coach Chris Lear will be acting head coach of the boys' team, athletic director Jim Fenerty said.

Head of School Jim Connor said he could not comment on Shoulberg's leave but said he hoped it would be resolved "very soon."

Calls to Shoulberg went unanswered Monday.

Shoulberg, founder and head coach of the elite co-ed swimming team since 1969, has trained 11 Olympians and coached the U.S. team through numerous international championships, according to Germantown Academy's website. He is on the board of directors for the American Swim Coaches Association.

Crippen, a 2007 alumna of Germantown Academy, set Atlantic Coast Conference records at the University of Virginia and led the team to a championship in 2011.

She comes from a family of champion swimmers. Her sister, Maddy, competed in the 2000 Olympics, and her brother, Fran, won international open-water swimming titles before his sudden death in 2010 during an event in the United Arab Emirates. Their younger sister, Teresa Crippen, competed in the Olympic trials in 2012.