A float goes through downtown Ann Arbor during the 2011 Fourth of July Parade.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file
When Mike Bottom takes to the streets of Ann Arbor this Fourth of July, he will have a full international contingent in tow.
Mike Bottom
The current Michigan swim coach, two months removed from winning an NCAA title, has been named grand marshal of the annual Ann Arbor Fourth of July Parade, the Ann Arbor Jaycees announced this week.
Bottom, along with his wife Lauralyn and their three young daughters, will lead the parade when it starts downtown the morning of the fourth.
The role will allow Bottom to revive a tradition from his time in California, when he helped train athletes for the 200 and 2004 Olympics. During those summers, Bottom said he would find a local Fourth of July parade to take international athletes to, and follow the trip with a barbecue.
The tradition waned when he came to Ann Arbor five years ago, but Bottom said he plans to use the grand marshal opportunity to revive it. The rosters of the Michigan men’s and women’s teams -- Bottom coaches both -- include athletes from South Africa, Japan, Denmark, China and Canada and more.
“This has got a lot of meaning to me personally,” Bottom said. “It’s a way I can share an understanding of the freedoms we have with some of these guys that come in from all these different places.”
The 23rd annual parade will start at 10 a.m. at the corner of State and William streets. The route goes north to Liberty, west to Main, then south one block back to William before ending at William and Thompson.
Parade line-up starts at 8 a.m., and judging in the children’s bike decorating contest will begin at 9:30 a.m.
This marks the second straight year a Michigan coach has been the parade’s grand marshal, after Kim Barnes-Arico led last year’s parade shortly after being named the school’s new women’s basketball coach.
Bottom came to Ann Arbor with no background in the area, but with what he said was a deep understanding and respect for Michigan and its swimming programs.
When he took the job, he sat down with an assistant and mapped out a plan to win a national title in five years. When the Wolverines’ 12th swimming national title and first since 1995 in late March, it was right on time.
“The plan worked out, which was kind of fun,” Bottom said.
The celebration hasn’t stopped since, and will continue at least another week and a half.
“It’s a thankful celebration and what a great way to do it in a Fourth of July parade,” Bottom said. “I am moved that I can stand for the team and the coaches that work so hard to get us here in the short time that we got here.”
Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.