Bio

Ivan Bondarenko enters his second season as the Head Diving Coach of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps swimming and diving program in 2020-21. 

Bondarenko comes to CMS with over 20 years of experience coaching divers, also serving as the head diving coach at Rose Bowl Aquatics in Pasadena since October. Previously, he spent three years as the interim head diving coach for the Mission Viejo Nadadores diving team, where he was responsible for coaching, administration, budgeting and program development. 

Previously, Bondarenko has had extensive coaching experience in the United States at both the collegiate and scholastic levels, beginning with a volunteer assistant position at the University of Kansas in 2001. He also assisted at the University of Northern Iowa, before spending eight years as the co-head coach of the Montgomery Dive Club in Rockville, Maryland, where his program was recognized as one of the top six in the country.

While at Montgomery, Bondarenko coached divers who earned their way to elite Division I programs such as Maryland, Virginia, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Southern Cal and California, and coached two divers as far as the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2008 and 2012. After leaving Montgomery, he served as the head diving coach/program director for the City of Coral Springs from 2011-14, while also spending one year as the head diving coach at Boca Raton High School, where he led four divers to the national championships. 

An accomplished diver in his own right, Bondarenko competed for 10 years (1992-2001) on the national team for his native Kazakhstan, representing his country in numerous international events such as World Cups and Asian Championships. He began his coaching career in 1996 while still an active international diver, providing coaching assistance to the Kazakhstan Junior National Team for the next five years. 

Bondarenko earned his bachelor of science degree in physical education from the Academy of Sport in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He has both USA Diving and AAU certifications and currently resides in Rancho Cucamonga.