Bellarmine University Athletics

Gord Veldman took over the reins as head coach of the Bellarmine University swimming program in the 2023-24 season. The 2024-25 campaign will mark his second overseeing the Knights.

However, Veldman's tenure at Bellarmine began several years prior, as he had been an assistant coach with the Knights since the 2015-16 season. Between the two teams, 45 of 49 program records have been set during his time with the Knights squads.

In the Division-I era, Bellarmine has earned three medals in conference championships, including a gold by Matthew Sims in the 200 butterfly at the 2021 CCSA Championship. The Knights have accumulated 13 conference Swimmer of the Week awards since the transition. Haley Todd was named the co-CCSA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2021.

Prior to its arrival in D1, Bellarmine had seven All-Americans combine to amass 18 All-America awards. The Knights also tallied 13 All-GLVC acknowledgments. In the last two seasons before making the transition, Sims became the first conference champion for either program, repeating in the 200 butterfly in 2019 and 2020 at the GLVC Championships.

In the 2019-20 campaign, Sims repeated as a D2 All-American in the 200 butterfly. Sophia Noren, Rachel Walker, Maya Sorensen and Grace Roegner earned All-America accolades in the 200 and 400 medley relays. Noren added another All-America plaudit in the 100 breaststroke, as did Walker in the 500 freestyle.

In 2018-19, Sims became the swimming program's first-ever first-team All-American after he finished fourth in the 200 butterfly at the NCAA Championships. Noren landed the program another All-America honor after she secured second-team plaudits with an 10th-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Between the women's and men's teams, the Knights earned berths in a program-record 11 events at the NCAA II Championships. Sims (200 butterfly), Noren (100 breaststroke), Walker (1650 freestyle) and the women's 200 and 400 medley relay teams garnered All-GLVC status, the first such distinctions in program history.

The 2017-18 campaign was a historic one for Bellarmine swimming. Noren became the first individual in program history to qualify for the NCAA II Championships and receive All-America recognition, earning a berth in the 100 breaststroke and following with a 13th-place finish that landed her second-team All-America plaudits. Another unprecedented feat occurred when the 200 medley relay team of Noren, Kathryn Vulich, Kandis Arlinghaus and Emily Zawadzki became the first Knights relay squad to compete in the NCAA Championships.

In 2015-16, Veldman's first season with the team, Bellarmine's women were ranked inside the top 30 of CollegeSwimming.com's Division II rankings. In addition, freshman Marc McCormick secured three national B cut times to become the first swimmer in program history to earn the marks.

In his swimming career, Veldman competed for Western Kentucky University, where he became a conference champion in the backstroke and finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships all four years.

The 2002 WKU graduate — who went on to receive his master’s degree from WKU in recreation administration — set the Hilltoppers records in both the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes and was twice appointed team captain.

A member of the Canadian national swim team, Veldman began his coaching career with Island Swimming Club in Victoria British Columbia, Canada. He's coached the Lakeside SeaHawks Swim Team in Louisville and trained Olympic and Paralympic medalists.

Veldman earned a diploma in high-performance coaching from the National Coaching Institute of British Columbia.

Veldman is married to Laura Graves Veldman.