Eddie Sinnott

Sinnott was born in Greenwich, CT on February 24, 1954, to Anita and Lawrence Sinnott, one of eight siblings.

He attended St. Mary's High School in Greenwich and held many state and local swimming records.

He excelled in swimming, but played other sports as well.

In the summer Sinnott played baseball, and was a capable hitter, knocking in 17 runs and hitting three home runs as a sixteen year old in the Saugerties Softball League playoffs.

Helping his Stamford Dolphins Swim Club win the meet on points, Sinnott won both the 400 freestyle and the 200 Individual Medley at the Region 1 AAU Long Course Swimming Championships in Princeton, New Jersey on July 21, 1970.

By winning the regional meet, the Dolphins and Sinnott advanced to the Eastern Championships.

He was a few days shy of his 70th birthday.

At the Connecticut Long Course Junior Swimming Championship in New London on July 15, 1971, swimming for Stamford, Sinnott demonstrated early stroke skills, swimming a 1:07.9 for the Boy's 110-yard backstroke, and a 2:28.0 in the 220-yard medley in the 15-17 age group.

Again swimming for the Dolphin Swim Club of Stamford, Connecticut, Sinnott placed third in the 400-meter individual medley at the Eastern USA Swimming Championships on August 7, 1971.

By 1972, he had distinguished himself as a High School All American, placing third in the 200 freestyle at the AAU Metropolitan Championships in Roslyn, Long Island in July, 1972.

Swimming at SMU from 1972–76, he earned All-America honors in 1973 and 1974, was a four-time letter winner, and in 1973 captured the Southwest Conference Championship in the 400 IM.

In addition to working as a U.S. Coach, Sinnott worked for the Olympic International Organizing Committee from 1984 to 1992.

Sinnott served as head coach of the U.S. National Team in 1987 during its European Tour, and was the U.S. Olympic Team assistant manager during the 2008 Olympics.

In his first coaching position, he Assistant Coached Louisiana State University in 1988 when they were winners of the Southeastern Conference Title.

He also did some coaching for Iowa State.

Eddie Lawrence Sinnott is an American former All-American competition swimmer for Southern Methodist University, who coached the Southern Methodist swim team for thirty years from 1989–2019, leading them to 16 league crowns and 11 top NCAA Division 1 finishes.

Taking the position as Head Coach at SMU the following year, from 1989–2019, his teams won 16 conference championships, consisting of four WAC Championships from 1997–2000, five in the NIC conference from 2001–2005, and seven in Conference-USA from 2006–2010, and 2012–2013.

He had 16 Coach of the year honors with 3 with the Southwestern Conference, 3 with the Western Athletic Conference, 3 with the NIC conference, 6 with Conference-USA, and 1 with the Big 8 Conference.

The 1990s were the peak of SMU swimming performance for Sinnott, as the Mustangs finished in the top 10 at the NCAAs every year from 1991 through 1998.

Sinnot coached 11 Olympic athletes at 7 Olympic Games.

In 1996, Sinnott coached SMU swimmer Ryan Berube to a gold medal as a team member of the U.S.A. 4×200 free relay team.

During Sinnott's coaching tenure, both Berube and Frolander were recipients of the NCAA Swimmer of the Year award within two years, with Berube receiving the award in 1996, and Frolander in 1998.

He was the head coach for Haiti at the 1996 Olympic Games and was Assistant Coach for Colombia, Denmark and South Africa at the World Short Course Championships.

Sinnott also helped raised funds for the new Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center at SMU and the Barr-McMillion Natatorium.

After coaching retirement, Eddie and wife Sioux relocated to Stover, Missouri to spend more time with family.

The couple gravitated toward The Dale Hollow Winery, gaining a greater sense of community and friendship.

Eddie expanded his friendships, volunteered, and found new hobbies in his retirement.

He fought melanoma skin cancer in his final years, and died on February 20, 2024, in Stover among friends and family.

In the summer of 2000, Lars Frolander became the fourth SMU swimmer to capture a gold medal at the Olympic Games, winning the 100 butterfly in Sydney, Australia.