Starting on July 27, Francis' duties will predominantly involve developing and implementing the emerging talent and development plan for Paralympics New Zealand, the development of a swimming development pathway and providing technical and planning support to athletes and their coaches.

He will also continue poolside coaching of a group of top Paralympic swimmers training in Auckland.

"As part of the Paralympics New Zealand Para-swimming strategic plan we committed to having full time performance coaches leading in each area of the athlete development pathway," said Malcolm Humm, high performance director at PNZ.

"Gary's appointment will allow development athletes and their coaches to be exposed to quality coaching and planning support."

Gary Francis is perhaps best known as the coach of Paralympic champion Mary Fisher ©Getty Images



Francis is best known for his work with five-time World Championship gold medallist and Paralympic champion Mary Fisher, as well as other London 2012 Paralympians Daniel Holt, Rebecca Dubber and Aine Kelly-Costello.

His appointment is the third in recent months following Jon Shaw's introduction as head performance coach and Roly Crichton as performance coach.

"I am thrilled to be joining the team on a full time basis," said Francis.

"It is an exciting time to join the programme as the number and quality of athletes coming through talent identification and development continues to grow.

"I am looking forward to building on this and making New Zealand Para-swimming better and stronger in the years ahead."

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