Ryan Lochte to be inducted into ISHOF as Honor Swimmer in Singapore as part of Class of 2025
photo courtesy: World Aquatics
by: John Lohn
From the moment Ryan Lochte made his Olympic debut for the United States at the 2004 Games in Athens, he became a critical cog of American success on the international stage. As a four-time Olympian (2004-2016), Lochte obviously possessed the talent necessary to flourish at the elite level.
But the Floridian also owned another key attribute: Belief. Package those traits together and it’s no wonder that Lochte is now an inductee of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
“I believe in myself,” Lochte said. “A lot of people look at Michael (Phelps) and think he can’t be beaten. That’s not me. I know I can beat him. That’s the competitive edge that I have. I never feel like I’m going to lose, no matter who I’m racing. I always feel like I can win.”
Lochte’s portfolio is stunning, thanks to 12 Olympic medals (six gold), 27 medals from the World Championships and 38 medals from the World Short Course Championships. He is one of the greatest collegiate swimmers in history and stood out in both the long-course and short-course pools.
While his pure talent and work ethic certainly elevated Lochte to the top of his sport, his mental toughness and belief in his abilities played equally critical roles on his road to Hall of Fame status.
Learn more about Ryan Lochte and the other 11 outstanding Honorees who will be inducted this year at ISHOF’s Diamond Anniversary in Singapore! Buy your tickets NOW for ISHOF’s 60th Anniversary of the Honoree Induction Ceremony in Singapore in conjunction with the World Aquatics World Championships
WHEN: Monday, July 28, 2025, 1:00 PM
WHERE: Park Royal Collection, Marina Bay, Singapore
Tickets are NOW ON SALE ~ purchase them HERE!
Buy your tickets NOW for ISHOF’s 60th Anniversary of the Honoree Induction Ceremony
ISHOF Class of 2025
Anthony Ervin (USA) Honor Swimmer
Ryan Lochte (USA) Honor Swimmer
Federica Pellegrini (ITA) Honor Swimmer
Joseph Schooling (SIN) Honor Swimmer
Ous Mellouli (TUN) Honor Open Water Swimmer
Chen Ruolin (CHN) Honor Diver
Endre “Bandi” Molnar (HUN) Honor Water Polo Player
Andrea Fuentes (ESP) Honor Artistic Swimmer
Gregg Troy (USA) Honor Coach
Captain Husain Al Musallam (KUW) Honor Contributor
Sachin Nag* (IND) Honor Pioneer Swimmer
Guo Jingjing (CHN) Honor Diver (Class of 2016)
*deceased
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is proud to announce this truly international Class of 2025. This year, ISHOF will induct 12 honorees from nine countries. In addition, ISHOF will be inducting Honorees from four new countries that we have never had Honorees inducted from before, Kuwait, India, Tunisia, and Singapore.
Breaking: IOC Approves Addition of 50 Strokes for Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Photo Courtesy: LA 2028
by Matthew De George – Senior Writer, Swimming World Magazine
09 April 2025, 10:07am
Breaking: IOC Approves Addition of 50 Strokes for Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced the addition of the 50-meter breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The decision was taken after an executive board meeting and publicized in a press conference by Olympic sports director Kit McConnell. The plan was proposed by World Aquatics and has been approved by the IOC. The full list of alterations is available here.
This will increase the number of individual medal events for both men’s and women’s competition from 14 to 17. Olympic competition has already expanded from eight days in 2016 to a nine-day meet for the first time at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and again in Paris in 2024.
In all, 41 medal events will be contested in the pool at SoFi Stadium, with 55 total medal events across all five aquatic disciplines.
This is the first addition to the Olympic swimming program since Tokyo, when the 800 freestyle was added for the men and the 1,500 free for the women to equalize the programs. The mixed medley relay also debuted in Tokyo.
The Pros and Cons of the Stroke 50s Being Added to the Olympics
The 50 stroke events join the 50 freestyle on the Olympic program. The 50 free was only added in 1988. The 50 stroke events debuted at the World Championships slate in 2001.
World Aquatics hailed the decision, noting that the IOC Executive Board was unanimous in the decision.
“Today’s decision is a testament to the continued evolution of swimming at the Olympic Games,” World Aquatics president Husain Al Musallam said in a press release. “Including these six new events enhances the programme’s balance and adds more opportunities for athletes to showcase their skills on the world’s biggest stage. We thank the IOC for their support in expanding Olympic swimming and can’t wait to watch these incredible athletes compete under the Southern California sky and stars in SoFi Stadium.”
Wednesday’s meeting affirmed the five sports that the Los Angeles 2028 committee put forth in 2023: baseball/softball, flag football, T20 cricket, lacrosse sixes and squash. It also confirmed the full slate of sports with the return of boxing, finalized last month. It also set the athlete quota at 10,500 athletes, equivalent to the Paris numbers, over 31 sports. Of those, 5,333 will be women, a majority for the first time in Olympic history. The five new sports account for 698 spots.
Two other aquatics related changes were announced:
The Olympic water polo tournaments will achieve gender parity in 2024, with the number of women’s teams increased to 12. The Paris Olympics and others before it had featured 12 men’s teams and 10 women’s squads, creating imbalanced group-play schedules.
The Youth Olympics, to be held in 2026 in Dakar, Senegal, will have the addition of the 800 freestyle for both men and women.
Other non-swimming additions include:
A mixed team event in archery for the compound bow to go with the recurve bow team event
Addition of eight more national teams in both men’s and women’s 3×3 basketball
A 4 x 100 mixed relay in track and field, to complement the 4 x 400 mixed relay that debuted in Tokyo
A reversal of the gender split for the soccer tournament, with 16 women’s teams and 12 men’s. In Paris, it had been 12 women’s and 16 men’s, though the women’s tournament is more central as a prize for the women’s soccer environment, with the men’s competition limited to Under-23 with overage players.
A mixed team event in golf
Artistic gymnastics will add a mixed team event, as will table tennis
Three events in coastal rowing, which will replace lightweight rowing
Diver Chen Ruolin (CHN) to be inducted in Singapore at ISHOF’s 60th Anniversary Celebration
CHEN RUOLIN (CHN)
FOR THE RECORD: 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (women’s 10-meter synchronized platform); 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (women’s 10-meter platform, women’s synchronized 10-meter platform); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (women’s 10-meter platform, women’s synchronized 10-meter platform); 2015 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (women’s synchronized 10-meter platform), bronze (mixed 3m & 10m Team); 2013 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (women’s synchronized 10-meter platform), silver (women’s 10-meter platform); 2011 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (women’s synchronized 10-meter platform, 10-meter platform); 2009 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (women’s synchronized 10-meter platform), silver (women’s 10-meter platform); ); 2007 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (women’s synchronized 10-meter platform), silver (women’s 10-meter platform); DIVING WORLD SERIES: gold: 48, silver: 5, bronze: 1; DIVING GRAND PRIXES: gold: 17, silver: 5, bronze: 0; DIVING WORLD CUP: gold: 8, silver: 1, bronze: 0; ASIAN GAMES: gold: 2;
Chen Ruolin won two gold medals at her first performance at an Olympic Games. In 2008, she won the 10-meter platform event and the 10-meter synchronized event. She went on to replicate her performance in London in 2012, winning gold in the same two events. The year prior, in 2011, at the FINA World Championships, she again won the same two events, the 10-meter, individual and synchronized. Chen became the first female Chinese diver who claimed gold medals in all the women’s platform events in the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup. At the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, she won her fifth Olympic gold medal, in the 10-meter synchronized event, and became only the third Chinese athlete to win five Olympic gold medals. Unfortunately, Chen had to retire in late 2012, due to a neck injury.
She is considered one of the greatest female divers in Chinese diving history. She won 100 medals in major competitions, 84 of which were gold, 14 silver and 2 bronze.
Join Chen Ruolin and the other 11 outstanding Honorees who will be inducted this year at ISHOF’s Diamond Anniversary in Singapore! Buy your tickets NOW for ISHOF’s 60th Anniversary of the Honoree Induction Ceremony in Singapore in conjunction with the World Aquatics World Championships
WHEN: Monday, July 28, 2025, 1:00 PM
WHERE: Park Royal Collection, Marina Bay, Singapore
Tickets are NOW ON SALE ~ purchase them HERE!
Buy your tickets NOW for ISHOF’s 60th Anniversary of the Honoree Induction Ceremony
ISHOF Class of 2025
Anthony Ervin (USA) Honor Swimmer
Ryan Lochte (USA) Honor Swimmer
Federica Pellegrini (ITA) Honor Swimmer
Joseph Schooling (SIN) Honor Swimmer
Ous Mellouli (TUN) Honor Open Water Swimmer
Chen Ruolin (CHN) Honor Diver
Endre “Bandi” Molnar (HUN) Honor Water Polo Player
Andrea Fuentes (ESP) Honor Artistic Swimmer
Gregg Troy (USA) Honor Coach
Captain Husain Al Musallam (KUW) Honor Contributor
Sachin Nag* (IND) Honor Pioneer Swimmer
Guo Jingjing (CHN) Honor Diver (Class of 2016)
*deceased
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is proud to announce this truly international Class of 2025. This year, ISHOF will induct 12 honorees from nine countries. In addition, ISHOF will be inducting Honorees from four new countries that we have never had Honorees inducted from before, Kuwait, India, Tunisia, and Singapore.
Swimming’s Miraculous Journey
100 freestyle start at the 1961 AAU National Championships, Yale University
by Rich Burns, MISHOF HonoreeIf you’ve paid any attention to the NCAA Swimming Championships the last few weeks, or watched the Olympic Trails last summer, you’ve been treated to extraordinary athletic competitions. While swimming has always been in a state of evolution, it seems like the last few years have produced results that no one could have predicted. As often as you’ve heard, “they can’t go any faster,” they always do. I am most amazed at the parity in the sport. The 50 free in the recent men’s NCAAs saw 19 swimmers who clocked 18+ seconds. The winner squeaked by with 17.9.Having been at this sport for 68 years, I’ve had a front-row seat for this progression. Explanations can be attributed to many factors – rule changes, training techniques, equipment advances, and technology. I find myself engaged in lots of conversations about the way swimming used to be. I recently revisited these two videos from the 1961 AAU National Championships. Watching them will, in no uncertain terms, depict the magnitude of then and now. The 100-yard freestyle features Pacific’s own Steve Clark. Steve was a senior in high school and won the race in the first swim under 47 (46.8 – no hundredths back then) despite no underwater turns, no tech suits, no goggles, crude lane lines, antiquated facilities, touching the wall on turns … you get the picture. Look at the turbulence at the end of the race. At that event with my high school team, I watched as the crowd gave Steve a 5-minute standing ovation.The 220-yard butterfly (yes, they actually finished in the middle of the pool) includes Fred Schmidt, my best friend from 5th grade, and Mike Troy, my roommate for a year at IU. Both were Olympic gold medalists, Mike in 1960 and Fred in 1964. I think you’ll agree that swimming has come a long way.
Steve Clark at the 1961 AAU National Championships, Yale University
Steve Clark winning the 100 free at the 1961 AAU National Championships, Yale University
ISHOF to Induct First Tunisian ever in Singapore, Open Water Swimmer, Ous Mellouli
On Monday, July 28, 2025 in Singapore, ISHOF will induct its very first Honoree from the country of Tunisia. Ous Mellouli, both pool and open water swimmer, will be inducted as an Open Water Swimmer. He won 66 international medals in his extraordinary career, which includes six Olympic Games, beginning in 2000 and ending at the Tokyo 2020/21 Games. At the London Games in 2012, Mellouli won a bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle in the pool and three days later he jumped into the Serpentine and won the gold medal in the 10 km, which became known as the “Mellouli Double”. In addition, Mellouli won a gold medal in the 1500m freestyle four years previously in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Ous may have finished in 12th place, but it was just seven seconds behind gold medalist, Ferry Weertman.
Oussama Mellouli Tunisia Gold Medal
Men’s Marathon 10Km Open Water Swimming – Nuoto Acque Libere
London 10/8/2012 Hide Park
London 2012 Olympic games – Olimpiadi Londra 2012
Foto Andrea Staccioli Insidefoto
Mellouli was an extremely versatile swimmer, swimming the freestyle events, ranging from 200-1500 meters to eventually the 10k, to the IM, where he swam the 200 and 400 meters. His first World Championship competition was in 2003 where he came away with a bronze in the 400m IM. His first title came the following year at the 2004 short course edition of Worlds in Indianapolis where he won the gold medal in the 400 IM and the bronze in the 200 IM. He was a consistent presence at the World Championships, both long and short course, winning bronze in the 400 IM and 400 freestyle in 2005; In 2009, he won gold in the 1500m freestyle and silver in both the 400m and 800m freestyle; At the 2010 Worlds, he took the title in 1500m free, a silver in the 400 IM and bronze in the 200 and 400m freestyle.
MELLOULI Oussama, TUN
Open Water Men 5km
15 FINA World Aquatics Championships
Day-01
Barcelona 19 July – 4 August 2013
Photo L. Salvemini/Insidefoto/Deepbluemedia.eu
Then in 2012, he began swimming Open Water, thanks to the help of coach Catherine Vogt. After surprising the Open Water world and taking the gold in the 10km in London, he competed at the 2013 World Championships, winning gold in the 5km and bronze in the 10km races. Mellouli continued swimming both in the pool and in the open water until his retirement after the Tokyo Games.
Oussama Mellouli Tunisia Gold Medal
Open Water 5 Km Men Nuoto Acque Libere fondo Uomini
Barcellona 20/7/2013 Moll de la Fusta
Barcelona 2013 15 Fina World Championships Aquatics
Foto Andrea Staccioli Insidefoto
Mellouli was the first male African swimmer to win Olympic gold in an individual event (1500-meter freestyle (2008) ~ his country’s second gold medal ever. In 2012, he was named FINA Open Water Swimming Athlete of the Year, Swimming World Magazine Male Open Water Swimmer of the Year; and was won the Swammy Award awarded by SwimSwam for Open Water Swimmer of the Year, all for 2012. At the London Olympic Games, he was Tunisia’s flag carrier in the closing ceremony and in the 2016 opening ceremony in Rio, Tunisia gave him the honor again to carry the Tunisian flag. In 2018, he was inducted into the University of Southern California Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ous Mellouli recently made a post about his upcoming ISHOF induction on social media:
“This coronation or honoring or commemorating that the health of the phrase is important. It’s a great confession that enters me again in history, but this time it wasn’t about the pursuit of the winners but with the votes of the men and the top game specialists in the world. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. The love of sports unites me and I am grateful to them that I have lived this noble honor.
In my career, I had an important share of honors and honors from presidents of Tunisia, governors, princes of Arab countries and senior officials in many countries of the world. They are all dear to me and as a token of love and appreciation that words cannot describe. But this tribute has an exceptional and special tone. I am very proud that my name and the name of my country Tunisia are organized to the list of swimming legends in the world and there are those who had a great influence on me in my beginnings and I consider them the main reason for my love and attachment to this sport like Russian Vladimir Salnikov (the first swimmer to break the 15 minute barrier in 1500 freestyle) or Australian Kieran Perkins (Barcelona 92 went, Atlanta 96) and many other swimming champions in the 90s. And I was talking to my brothers, mother, and father those days and saying to them, I wish I was like Fulan!
And in fact, there are other names worthy of this crowning and I dedicate this unique honor to them. All those people who shared my career and believed in me when I was young and I did not have enough confidence or courage in myself to dream of one day being a world champion or an Olympic champion. Every trainer I trained under his guidance and advice, every official honored and contributed to my career, every journalist followed and commented on the events of the championships I participated in in Tunisia and abroad, and the price of my efforts, and every doctor helped me overcome and resist injuries, and every friend and brother stood by my side. And help me in difficult times and share my joy in the days of victory and every lover wrote to me with thanks and congratulations, and increased in me determination and insistence. And my mother and father, and it is impossible for me to explain why or express the right of expression the giant role they played. Thank you for everything and only. And thank you all. I wish you with sincerity and sincerity that victory will be your ally and success will be your portion and everyone you love.
And the last thing to say is Thank God.”
Join Ous Mellouli and the other 11 outstanding Honorees who will be inducted this year at ISHOF’s Diamond Anniversary in Singapore! Buy your tickets NOW for ISHOF’s 60th Anniversary of the Honoree Induction Ceremony in Singapore in conjunction with the World Aquatics World Championships
WHEN: Monday, July 28, 2025, 1:00 PM
WHERE: Park Royal Collection, Marina Bay, Singapore
Tickets are NOW ON SALE ~ purchase them HERE!
Buy your tickets NOW for ISHOF’s 60th Anniversary of the Honoree Induction Ceremony
ISHOF Class of 2025
Anthony Ervin (USA) Honor Swimmer
Ryan Lochte (USA) Honor Swimmer
Federica Pellegrini (ITA) Honor Swimmer
Joseph Schooling (SIN) Honor Swimmer
Ous Mellouli (TUN) Honor Open Water Swimmer
Chen Ruolin (CHN) Honor Diver
Endre “Bandi” Molnar (HUN) Honor Water Polo Player
Andrea Fuentes (ESP) Honor Artistic Swimmer
Gregg Troy (USA) Honor Coach
Captain Husain Al Musallam (KUW) Honor Contributor
Sachin Nag* (IND) Honor Pioneer Swimmer
Guo Jingjing (CHN) Honor Diver (Class of 2016)
*deceased
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is proud to announce this truly international Class of 2025. This year, ISHOF will induct 12 honorees from nine countries. In addition, ISHOF will be inducting Honorees from four new countries that we have never had Honorees inducted from before, Kuwait, India, Tunisia, and Singapore.
Announcing the 2025 ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s annual ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal (formerly the Paragon Awards 1996-2022). The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal are presented annually to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to aquatics. This year’s recipients include Craig Hunter (GBR) for Competitive Swimming, Mitch Geller (CAN) for Diving, Ana Maria Lobo (BRA) for Artistic/Synchronized Swimming; Bret Beecher Bernard (USA) for Water Polo, Lisa Zarda (USA) for Water Safety and Mick and Sue Nelson (USA) for Recreational Swimming. This year’s awards will be held Saturday evening on September 13, 2025, in conjunction with the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction ceremonies, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Make your plans now to attend the event, Saturday, September 13, 2025!
The annual awards are a spectacular event that celebrates the unsung heroes who make competitive and recreational aquatics possible. These are the people who save lives, promote water safety and further aquatic education around the world. We are proud to recognize these important individuals at the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
About this year’s award recipients:
Craig Hunter (GBR) – Competitive Swimming
Craig Hunter has been involved in aquatics for Great Britain for most of his life. He has served Great Britain in many capacities including as the Olympic Swimming Team Manager, as Chef de Mission at the Commonwealth Games, for the British Olympic Association, and with the Paralympic Association.
As an experienced swimming official, Hunter became the Chair of the FINA Technical Swimming Committee, adding to the same role that he held with LEN, now European Aquatics. He has been a referee at Olympic, World and European Championships in previous years. His first Olympic appointment as a FINA judge was the 2016 Rio Games, followed by his participation as referee at the 2020/21 Tokyo Games and Paris 2024 Games, where he was Chairman of the Technical Swimming Committee. Hunter is currently serving World Aquatics as the Chairman of the Technical Swimming Committee, a position he began in July, 2022. Prior to that he was the Vice Chair of the committee, as well as serving on the committee as a member, dating back to 2017.
Mitch Geller (CAN) – Competitive Diving
Mitch Geller has a storied career in Canadian sport and international diving. For nearly three decades, he served as a transformative leader at Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC), first as National Team Head Coach and later as Chief Technical Officer. During his tenure, Mitch’s visionary leadership elevated Canadian diving to new heights, establishing it as a world-renowned powerhouse.
Under his guidance, Canada achieved remarkable success, including medals at seven consecutive Olympic Games, along with numerous world championship, world cup, Pan Am, and Commonwealth Games victories. Mitch’s legacy also includes revolutionary innovations in sport development, program expansion, and cultivating global respect for Canadian diving.
Ana Maria Lobo (BRA) – Artistic Swimming
As an athlete, Ana Maria won a bronze medal at the 1963 Pan American Games, marking the first international participation of a Brazilian team in synchronized swimming. More than a personal achievement, this journey allowed her to introduce the sport to Brazil, coaching top-level teams at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, Clube Paineiras do Morumby, and serve as the first coach of the Brazilian national team.
She later became an international judge for FINA, officiating at five editions of the Olympic Games, as well as numerous world and South American championships. Her passion for the sport also influenced her family, including her daughter and granddaughter, Cristiana and Maria Clara Lobo, both becoming Olympic athletes in the sport.
Bret Beecher Bernard (USA) – Water Polo
Bret Bernard has been involved in Aquatics most of his life, spanning almost 60 years, but water polo is his true passion. He has played on the national and international level, NCAA, World and Olympic level. He has coached at many different teams in water polo, been an international referee in two Olympic Games, 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta, and two editions of the World Championships, 1991 Perth and 1994 Roma. He has refereed too many international competitions to count, including FINA World Cups, Junior World Championships, Summer Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournaments, Goodwill Games, and the lists goes on. He has served on the FINA Technical Water Polo Committee, among others and was the first non-European AIA President.
Bernard has also been involved on numerous Championship planning and organizing site planning committees all the way up the Olympic Games. He has held the position of President, Vice President and Executive Director of United States Water Polo on a national level, and for his service to the sport he has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fames, recieved the Jimmy R. Smith Award in 2001, US Water Polo’s highest honor and in 2010, the sport named an award after him, The Bret B. Bernard Distinguished Referee Award.
Mick and Sue Nelson (USA)– Recreational Swimming
Mick and Sue Nelson have not only influenced the sustainable development of hundreds of pool projects, their “Save-A-Pool” efforts have kept aquatic facilities in danger of closing viable – increasing the opportunity for recreation swimming across the United States. They provide expert advice to anyone from individuals to working with municipalities, private businesses and even major public-private projects. The scope of projects they have been involved in are unmatched by anyone in the industry.
The Nelsons also had careers at USA Swimming for more than a decade, Sue working as a Programming Specialist providing resources and information for members, and Mick, the Club Facilities Development Director. The Nelsons have mentored so many in the industry, have held volunteer leadership positions on numerous boards and advisory councils, presented at dozens of aquatic industry conferences and consistantly nominated others for awards.
Lisa Zarda (USA) –Aquatic Safety
Lisa Zarda is the executive director for the United States Swim School Association (USSSA). Her career in association management spans over twenty-five years and includes earning the certified association executive (CAE) designation in 2010. Over the years she has held volunteer leadership positions with both the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the Arizona Society of Association Executives (AzSAE). For the learn to swim industry, she has been involved in the Aquatics Coalition and Water Safety USA. In 2021 she received the Guiding Light Award from the USSSA for her dedication and leadership.
AquaCal® has been the leading swimming pool heat pump manufacturer since 1981, offering a full range of units to meet any heating need. AquaCal® can maintain anything from small above ground pools up to very large commercial facilities. (Currently heating and chilling the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Aquatic Center pools) The chillers, as well as the heat and cool units, can be used to create cold plunge pools for therapy too. Whatever your pool heating/cooling needs, AquaCal® can help!
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards, presented by AquaCal, will be held Saturday, September 13, 2025 at the Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Beach, 999 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL (954) 315-1460. In addition to the ISHOF Aquatic Awards, presented by AquaCal, we will also be honoring the recipients of the ISHOF Specialty Awards which include theVirginia Hunt Newman Award, the Every Child A Swimmer Award and many others. They will be announced next week.
Ticket information for all events, including the 2025 ISHOF Awards and MISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremonies will be forthcoming very soon.
For more information call Meg Keller-Marvin at 570.594.4367
#ISHOF #Aquaticawards #AquaCal #USASwimming #Fortlauderdale #Diving #Waterpolo #Artisticswimming #EverychildAswimmer #swimlessons #WorldAquatics
ISHOF Honoree Ron O’Brien: Renaming of the MAC Dive Well The “Dr. Ron O’Brien Dive Well”
PRESS RELEASE
Mission Viejo, California – The Mission Viejo Nadadores Diving Team announces the renaming of the dive well at the Marguerite Aquatics Complex, the “Dr. Ron O’Brien Dive Well.” The City Council approved the proposal at its March 25th Meeting.
“To honor Ron and name our dive well after an 8-time Olympic Coach who had such a historical impact on the team and community is just the right thing to do,” said Michele Mitcell, Ph.D., two-time Olympic Silver Medalist and Executive Director of the Nadadores. “Ron was the genesis of our program. In 1980 six Nadador divers earned their place on the US Olympic Team (the American team did not compete in the boycotted Games). In 1984, three of his divers medaled (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) at the Games in Los Angeles. His contributions to both the sport of diving and the community cannot be overstated. With the Olympics returning in just a few short years, the timing of the dedication is ideal.”
The unveiling ceremony will take place during the opening ceremonies of the 2025 USA Dvinig Junior National Championships, July 26th at 6:00 pm at the Marguerite Aquatics Complex (27474 Casta Del Sol, Mission Viejo) with many retired Nadador divers, staff, and family in attendance.
ISHOF 60th Anniversary Honoree Tickets Available Now!!!!
Doctor of Success: How Doc Counsilman Built a Legendary Coaching Career (USOPC Hall of Fame Candidate)
by John Lohn – Editor-in-Chief
26 March 2025, 04:29am
Doctor of Success: How Doc Counsilman Built a Legendary Coaching Career (USOPC Hall of Fame Candidate)
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced its finalists for the USOPC Hall of Fame earlier this week and legendary Indiana coach James “Doc” Counsilman is a candidate in the coaching category. How Counsilman is not already in the Hall of Fame is difficult to understand, given his stellar career and status as one of the coaching greats in the swimming world. Here is a feature on Counsilman, who will hopefully earn induction into the USOPC Hall of Fame.
Indiana University (1959-1990)
Led Indiana to 23 Big Ten Conference Championships (20 consecutive – 1961-1980)
Led Hoosiers to Six Straight NCAA titles (1969-1974)
1964 and 1976 United States Olympic Coach
1976 U.S. Olympic Team Won 12 of 13 Gold Medals
International Swimming Hall of Fame Inductee
Big Ten Champion Breaststroker at Ohio State University
Multiple Coaching and Technological Innovations
***************************************************
Words were not necessary. All that was required was a glance around the natatorium. A look at the banners that celebrated past championships. A look at the honor roll of Olympians. The intensity and purpose that defined the workouts taking place in the pool. The concentration in the eyes of the coach monitoring the work that was underway.
Indiana University sits in the southern portion of the state, the city of Bloomington its home. And in the late 1960s into the early 1970s, the school was a focal point of the sport, its program a dominant presence not just on the collegiate scene, but also on the international stage.
When James “Doc” Counsilman took the reins of the Indiana program in 1957, the Big Ten Conference belonged to Michigan and Ohio State. Within a few years, though, Counsilman shifted the balance of power to the Hoosier State, and that control endured for two decades, with Indiana also emerging as a national force.
From 1961 to 1980, Counsilman led the Hoosiers to 20 consecutive Big Ten Conference crowns and Bloomington became a hub for top talent. Athlete after athlete, and team after team, passed along vast expectations in two departments. First, the Hoosiers were going to win, plain and simple. They were going to contend for championships and compete at an elite level. More, they were going to conduct themselves with class, and honor the traits of their coach – humility, dedication and loyalty.
“I don`t think there has ever been a coach in any American collegiate sport that has done more for his sport or more thoroughly dominated his sport than Doc Counsilman.”
Photo Courtesy: ISHOF Archives
The above quote was once uttered by legendary Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight, a man who shared a campus with Counsilman. While the two men were opposites – Knight’s explosiveness contrary to Counsilman’s serenity – there was an appreciation for the success each maintained. And, boy, did Counsilman excel in his profession.
Nothing matched what Indiana was able to conjure up during the height of the Counsilman era, defined as the mid-1960s into the mid-1970s.
At the 12 NCAA Championships held between 1964 and 1975, Indiana put together a sensational run that included six team titles and five runnerup finishes. During that stretch, the rivalry between Indiana and the University of Southern California was second to none – regardless of the sport. Every year in which Indiana was the second-place finisher at the NCAA Champs, USC was the victor. Meanwhile, in four of Indiana’s championships, Southern Cal was the runnerup.
What the University of Texas has done under the guidance of Eddie Reese is certainly worth mentioning in the same breath as Counsilman’s Indiana heyday. Since Reese arrived at Texas in 1979, he has led the Longhorns to 15 NCAA championships (a record) and 13 runnerup finishes.
Before both Counsilman and Reese, Robert Kiphuth had his own dynasty at Yale, where he compiled a 528-12 dual-meet record and won four NCAA titles between 1918-1959. The Bulldogs added eight runnerup finishes at the NCAA Championships, and Kiphuth was known as an innovator through the implementation of interval training and dryland work that emphasized weightlifting.
No, swimming is not a contact sport like football, where players from rival teams can physically punish one another through a crushing blow in the open field. Still, the rivalry between Indiana and USC was fierce, and neither the Hoosiers nor Trojans were likely to rescue a downing foe.
“I wouldn’t say there was hatred. That might be a little too strong,” said Gary Hall Sr., a three-time Olympian who competed collegiately for Indiana. “But we didn’t like one another. That wasn’t a mystery.”
Photo Courtesy: International Swimming Hall of Fame
The truth is, Indiana could easily have captured its first NCAA team title in the early 1960s. Fueled by Hall of Famers Chet Jastremski, Mike Troy, Ted Stickles and Kevin Berry, the Hoosiers were loaded, and had little difficulty reigning atop the Big Ten Conference. However, due to infractions by the football team, all Indiana teams were barred from NCAA championship contention from 1960 to 1963.
Finally, in 1968, the breakthrough came for Counsilman’s program, as the Hoosiers raced away from their NCAA counterparts. That championship marked the first of six straight titles, a record that has not been matched. As Indiana rolled through the opposition, it did so behind rosters that were stacked with talent.
Actually, calling these Indiana squads loaded would be an understatement. A fan of the program once quipped that Counsilman went to battle with an atomic bomb, compared to the water gun of his foes. Meanwhile, experts suggested that if Indiana had faced any country in the world in a dual meet, it would have prevailed.
The biggest weapon in the Indiana arsenal was undoubtedly Mark Spitz. The 11-time Olympic medalists, who is best known for his seven gold medals at the 1972 Games in Munich, flourished for the Hoosiers from 1969-72. Although Spitz rated as the world’s premier swimmer, he was treated like any other member of the Indiana roster.
“What Doc had was this great ability to make you feel like the most important person in the pool,” Spitz said. “Everyone came away with that feeling, whether he was a Mark Spitz or a walk-on.”
Among the other standouts at Indiana during its heyday years were Hall and Charlie Hickcox. Hall was a world-record holder in multiple events and medaled in three Olympiads (1968, 1972 and 1976). As for Hickcox, he won double-gold in the 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley at the 1968 Olympics, where he also picked up a silver medal in the 100 backstroke.
Also hailing from Indiana’s most-dominant days were individual Olympic titlists Don McKenzie (100 breaststroke) and Jim Montgomery (100 freestyle), with Mike Stamm (100 backstroke/200 backstroke) and John Kinsella (1500 freestyle) capturing silver medals.
Not surprisingly, the atmosphere at the Midwestern school was intense, team members pushing one another to reach their goals and to achieve the next significant milestone within their reach. The option to coast through a workout did not exist – not with teammates, and not with Counsilman.
“When I got there, I knew the tradition was rich,” Hall said. “Everyone knew about the past and that’s why they gave themselves to the program. There was an obligation to carry on the tradition by stepping up and doing your part. We came to be part of this family and it was important to do whatever was needed to maintain a high level. Nothing less was accepted. Every day, we tried to one-up each other. We were all trying to get Doc’s attention.”
Photo Courtesy: Minor Studio
The trust the athletes had in Counsilman was immeasurable, and that faith came from two primary areas. More than anything, Counsilman’s track record spoke for itself, and his troops knew exactly what his leadership produced. As a complement, Counsilman was an innovator and unafraid to introduced new tactics and training methods.
Counsilman placed an emphasis on strength training and film analysis, and he frequently called his athletes into his office to analyze 16-milimeter film and study ways they could cut time. Counsilman also emphasized underwater filming and was known to place lights on the fingers, hands and arms of his swimmers and, with the natatorium lights shut off, use the lights to detect proper hand and arm entry into the water.
However, the Indiana program was not suffocating. Rather, it stressed accountability and taught the swimmers the importance of self-reliance and responsibility to others. This mentality was engrained in the Hoosiers and passed along from class to class.
“Great swimmers usually have an innate sense of how they function. They seem to know instinctively how hard they need to work, and when they need to ease off,” Counsilman said. “There’s no need for the slave-driver approach to coaching. By respecting the swimmer’s perceptions about his swimming, and by good communication, a coach can develop the sensitivity to understand the swimmer’s basic needs. The great coach must have two basic abilities – he must be a good organizer and a good psychologist. The good organizer will have the large team, will attract the good swimmers from other teams, and develop (Mark Spitz) and (Gary Hall) The good psychologist will be able to handle the parent problems, get along with the city council, and be able to communicate successfully with the swimmers. He will have the super teams.”
Outside of the pool, Indiana’s legendary teams were tight knit, a common gathering place the home of their coach. While Counsilman monitored his athletes’ academic progress and allowed the use of his personal office as a work or study center, his wife, Marge, played the role of team mom. Marge Counsilman often cooked meals for the Hoosiers and provided them with a comfort zone, especially those feeling homesickness.
The potential of an NCAA program, including top guns Texas and Cal-Berkeley, winning six consecutive team championships is low in the current era, due largely to greater depth from coast to coast. So, Indiana’s record is likely safe, the passing of time only adding to legend of what Counsilman constructed.
“Doc was unusual in a lot of ways compared to others I’ve known in the sport,” Hall said. “He was intelligent and had incredible personality traits. He made everyone feel special and that was a key with the superstars. He related to everyone on the team and spoke a vernacular that resonated with the guys on the team. He used his share of four-letter words and he was funny. He showed such humility and the team followed his example. It was an honor to be coached by him and to be part of that program.”
ISHOF 2023 Honoree Missy Franklin Johnson and husband Hayes Johnson Announce Birth of Second Daughter
Photos Courtesy: Missy Franklin Johnson via Instagram
by Dan D’Addona — Swimming World Managing Editor
24 March 2025
Missy Franklin Johnson and Hayes Johnson announced the birth of baby girl No. 2.
Chase Campbell Johnson was born on March 19, the couple proclaimed on Social Media.
“Chase Campbell JohnsonMarch 19th, 2025 at 4:54 amWelcome to the world baby girl”
Their first child, Sarah Caitlin was born Aug. 11, 2021.
Missy Franklin Johnson and Hayes Johnson were married in 2019. Johnson is a former swimmer at the University of Texas.
Franklin burst onto the scene when she was just 15. She was 16 when she won her first three world titles, including in the 200 backstroke, and then she won four gold medals (including both individual backstroke events) at the 2012 Olympics. That’s when she set the world record in the longer backstroke race that would last for seven years. She was a Rio Olympian as well.
Missy Franklin earned six gold medals at the 2013 World Championships, and then she swam for two years at Cal before turning professional. She remains the American-record holder in the 200-yard free with her 1:39.10 from the 2015 NCAA championships when she led the Golden Bears to an NCAA team title.
Johnson was an accomplished swimmer at the University of Texas, where he swam at two NCAA championships and at the 2012 Olympic Trials. The couple was married in 2019.
Read Missy’s Honoree bio here: https://ishof.org/honoree/missy-franklin/
And watch her Honoree video here:
Congratulations Momma Missy!