With an opening for the head coach position of the track and field program at Minot State, the Director of Athletics, Kevin Forde, is handing the keys to the program over to someone who brings experience from the pinnacle of the sport.

Greggmar Swift, a Barbados native, who competed in the 110-meter hurdles in the 2012 London Olympics and in the same event one year later in the 2013 World Championships, has been named the new track and field coach at MSU, the school announced on Monday.

Swift will be responsible for running the show for both the men’s and women’s track and field teams. He will begin the next chapter of his career at MSU starting on Monday, Aug. 22.

Most recently, he spent the last three years at Merritt College, a junior college in Oakland, Calif. where he wore many hats, filling the roles of assistant track and field coach, women’s soccer head coach, and kinesiology instructor.

Before his time at Merritt College, Swift was an assistant track and field coach at Indiana State University, his alma mater, and served as the Vice Chairman of the Olympic Athletes Commission in Barbados.

During his time as an athlete at Indiana State, he put together a very decorated collegiate career that saw him earn NCAA Division I All-American status five times in the 60-meter hurdles and in the 110-meter hurdles.

His success, however, would not stop after he was a student-athlete in the collegiate ranks. In addition to his success at Indiana State, Swift holds the Barbados record for the indoor 60-meter hurdles where he finished in 7.54 seconds.

With the importance of overseeing two teams, Kevin Forde was able to secure a new head coach in Greggmar Swift that brings success from multiple levels of track and field to Minot State.

Swift’s personal success paired with his coaching experience make for an exciting hire and one that should be of benefit to the MSU track and field program moving forward.