| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Fernando J. Canales |
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| Men's Swimming | |||
Competitor for  Puerto Rico |
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| Pan American Games | |||
| Silver | 1979 San Juan | 100m Freestyle | |
| Silver | 1983 Caracas | 100m Freestyle | |
| Bronze | 1979 San Juan | 4x100m Medley | |
Fernando J. Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through Water, usually without artificial assistance Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} The Pan American Games are a Multi-sport event, held every four years between competitors from all nations of The Americas. The Swimming Tournament at the 1979 Pan American Games took place in the Piscina Olimpica del Escambron in San Juan Puerto Rico from The Swimming Tournament at the 1983 Pan American Games took place in Caracas Venezuela from August 17 to August 22, The Swimming Tournament at the 1979 Pan American Games took place in the Piscina Olimpica del Escambron in San Juan Puerto Rico from Canales (born November 2, 1959 and grew up in Bayamon and Guaynabo, Puerto Rico). Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Guaynabo (pronounced as ˌɡwaiˈnabo also known as Guaynabo City or GC is a municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located Fernando is the Assistant Coach for men's swimming at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is a member of the U.S. Swimming International Relations Committee as well as the United States' technical representative for the Amateur Swimming Union of The Americas (ASUA/UANA). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
His father is Francisco Canales Roman, from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico and his mother is Carmen Alvarez Canales, from Mexico City D. F. Fernando has two brothers (Francisco Luis-Harvard '78 & Stanford '82; Harry Noel Michigan '87) and one sister (S. Lee CMU '88 & Grand Valley State '89). Fernando graduated from Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola in 1977 and was honored for civic service and athletic achievements with the symbolic key to the city of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico in 1978. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar)
He graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology of Exercise and a Bachelor of Arts in History and English from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor ( U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a top-ranked Coeducational public research Ann Arbor is a city in the US state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. After his graduation he worked with legendary Olympic Coaches Jon Urbanchek and Dick Kimball from 1982 to 1987 and helped the Wolverines reclaim the Big Ten Championship Title after a 24 year drought in March of 1986. Dick Kimball (born c 1935 is an American former Diving champion and diving coach at the University of Michigan. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Fernando was the Head Swimming and Water Polo Coach at the University of California-Santa Cruz from 1990 to 1992 where he also taught classes within the Physical Education Department. The University of California ( UC) is a Public university system in the state of California.
He became a National Swimming Champion at an early age by becoming the top ranked 17 and under, 100 meter freestyler in the USA in 1977 while training under Coach Brad Glenn in Huntsville, Alabama. Huntsville is a city in Madison and Limestone Counties in the U Canales was ranked 25th in the world that very same year in the 100 Free. His triumphs brought him to The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1977 to 1982. He excelled at the National and International level by winning All America Awards in each of his four years of competition. He earned a total of 13 Big Ten Championship titles. Canales was the only swimmer in Big Ten Conference history to capture the 100 Freestyle title during his four years of competition while training under Head Olympic Coach Gus Stager and 1964 USA Olympian Bill Farley. Augustus P "Gus" Stager Jr (born circa 1927 was the swimming coach for the 1960 U
Canales was a 100 meter freestyle finalist in the 1978 Berlin FINA World Championships, earning a 5th place. He was the "first" Puerto Rican swimmer to final in the World Championships. He earned five gold medals and one silver medal during the 1978 Central American Championships in Medellín, Colombia. Medellín, officially the Municipio de Medellín (Spanish or Municipality of Medellín (English pronunciation mɛdəˈjiːn or, Spanish: or) is the second Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. He became the first Puerto Rican to win an individual medal in the Pan American Games by winning silver in the 100 meters free in 1979 (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and repeating that feat in 1983 (Caracas, Venezuela). The Pan American Games are a Multi-sport event, held every four years between competitors from all nations of The Americas. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) He also won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 meters medley relay in 1979.
Fernando became a National Champion in 1986 when he won the 4 x 100 meter free relay alongside 3 other Wolverines, Joe Parker, Greg Varner and Dave Kerska. This was the fastest Club Relay in the World for that year. He won the 100 meter free gold medal during the Soviet Spartakiade National Championships in 1979. He won the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle events during the Swedish and German World Cup events in 1983 and 1984. He won the Latin Cup in 1978, 1979 and 1981. He won sprint freestyle titles in Italy, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, The United States, Germany, Sweden, Dominican Republic and Guadalupe. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with
Canales made three Olympic Teams: Montreal '76, Moscow '80 and Los Angeles '84). The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, He was honored as the Flag bearer for the Puerto Rican Olympic Team during the 1984 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles. Canales is featured and has his own chapter in the book "Paths to the Olympics - Maize and Blue to Olympic Gold" by Marc Parrish, Colemar press 1997.
He attributes his triumphs to the support of his mother, brothers and sister, the memory of his father, John Daly's tutelage, his teammates, and the wonderful coaches that helped him during his career: Kika, Julia, Mr. Forte, Carlos Sala, Brad Glenn, Gus Stager, Bill Farley, Dick Kimball and Jon Urbanchek. All of these coaches shared one thing in common; they participated in the Olympics or the Pan American Games, thus instilling the Olympic dream and the desire to rise above the rest of the competition from an early age.
Canales was inducted into the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame with the class of 1993 which also included internationally famous sports personalities: Orlando "Peruchin" Cepeda, Carlos "Charlie" Passarell, Raymond Dalmau, Amado Morales and Osvaldo Gil.
Fernando is married to Mona Nyheim-Canales, a Norwegian National Swimming Champion and the Senior Coach for Club Wolverine in Ann Arbor. They have 2 sons, Francisco Enrique Canales and Thor Bjorn Canales. Fernando coached in the Great State of Texas from 1992 to 2007. He speaks five languages and is an active volunteer with The American Red Cross Chisolm Chapter in Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventeenth-largest city in the United States.