Tom Wolf (USA) to be inducted as part of MISHOF’s Class of 2023
Tom Wolf began swimming Masters after quite a successful high school and college career. A job change in 1983 took Tom to Washington DC where he was introduced to DC Master’s swimming. After a six-year hiatus, Tom rediscovered his passion for swimming, joined the DC club and after just four months back in the water, attended the 1983 U.S. Masters Long Course Nationals in Indianapolis where he proceeded to set FINA world records in the 50, 100, and 200 backstroke and win his age group’s 200 and 400 IM.
Tom’s Masters career has been exceptional despite being plagued with fits and starts. After six years out of the water from 1991-1996, Tom started working his way back to world record form, culminating with an outstanding year in 2004 as he turned 50, setting six world records. However, between 2005 and 2021, Tom had all his major joints repaired or rehabilitated – both shoulders and both knees. Returning to the pool after these rehabs was a slow climb, with only one new world record through 2023.
As of his induction in 2023 to the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame, Tom has set 28 FINA/World Aquatic backstroke and individual medley world records. 2024 marks his entry into the 70-74 age group, his tenth, where he has already added five individual and seven relays to his record count.
Come join Wolf and the other Masters on October 4th. If you can’t, won’t you please consider a donation to ISHOF? click here: https://www.ishof.org/donate/
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Honorees include:
HONOR SWIMMERS:
Clary Munns (AUS)
Glen Christiansen (SWE)
Tom Wolf (USA)
HONOR DIVER: Tarja Liljestrom (FIN)
HONOR SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER: Lizzi Jakobsen* (USA)
HONOR WATER POLO: Jose Luis Martin Gomez (ESP)
HONOR CONTRIBUTOR: Nadine Day (USA)
The International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2024 includes:
Honor Swimmers:
Lars Frölander (SWE)
Daniel Gyurta (HUN)
Dana Vollmer (USA)
1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Gold Medal Relay Team (USA)
(Includes Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton*, Jill Sterkel)
Honor Divers:
Alexandre Despatie (CAN)
Yulia Pakhalina (RUS)
Wu Minxia (CHN) 2023
Honor Artistic Swimmer:
Virginie Dedieu (FRA)
Honor Water Polo Players:
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci (ITA)
Vladimir Akimov* (USSR)
Honor Coach:
Dennis Pursley (USA)
Honor Contributor:
Dale Neuburger (USA)
ISHOF 59th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
~ HOTEL INFORMATION ~
Host Hotel: Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50757008
321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 467-1111. Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $229 per night,
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $199 per night
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION
#ISHOF #WorldAquatics #CityofFortLauderdale #USMS #Masters #USASwimming #AquaCal #Olympics #SwimmingHallofFame #SwimmingWorld #2024Paris
ISHOF Silent Auction is now LIVE!
BID NOW !!!!
Click here: SilentAuction
Don’t forget to Buy Your Tickets!!!!
October 4 – FRIDAY NIGHT AWARDS CEREMONY MASTERS/AWARDS October 5 -SATURDAY NIGHT HONOREE CEREMONY INDUCTION October 6 – SUNDAY DIVE SHOW DIVE October 4-6 ISHOF COACHES CLINIC COACHESCLINIC Don’t forget to get your event tickets today!
Making waves in August with “Every Child A Swimmer”
Every Child a Swimmer: Making Waves in Water Safety and Drowning Prevention
The Every Child a Swimmer (ECAS) team has had a busy month, attending several key events to strengthen our mission and expand our outreach. We were excited to participate in the Heritage Business Development Workshop
Gorman Company Customer Appreciation BBQ
and the FSPA East Central Chapter Baseball with the Daytona Tortugas event.
These gatherings provided incredible opportunities to network with industry leaders and forge new partnerships, bringing us closer to our goal of making water safety a priority for all.
Additionally, Casey recently flew to Dallas, Texas, to participate in not one, but two episodes of the Pool Nation Podcast. The first episode shared Casey’s personal story, highlighting how the pool industry can support the ECAS mission. During this podcast, Todd Pieri from AquaStar Pool Products called in with an extraordinary announcement—AquaStar has committed $10,000 to support ECAS’s efforts. Following this, Todd Pieri and Steve Barnes scheduled a second podcast to further discuss collaborative strategies on how we can maximize our impact together. On August 3rd, Todd, Steve, Casey and the Pool Nation team met again for Part 2 of the Pool Nation Podcast to discuss the importance of having a conversation about water safety with your clients. Together, we can move the needle and save many lives together!
We were also honored to participate in the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA) – United to End Drowning event on August 6th held at the iconic International Swimming Hall of Fame pool. This event was a vital part of our continued efforts to address Florida’s public health crisis related to childhood drowning. We understand that there is much more to be done to make meaningful progress in saving lives, and we are steadfast in our commitment to this cause.
Why We Do What We Do:
Drowning is a global health issue that claims an estimated 236,000 lives annually. The highest rates are seen among children aged 1-4 years, followed closely by children aged 5-9 years. In the United States alone, approximately 3,960 unintentional drowning fatalities occur each year, which equates to about 11 deaths every day. Non-fatal drowning incidents are equally alarming, accounting for over 8,000 emergency department visits each year.
There are also stark racial and socioeconomic disparities when it comes to drowning. African American children aged 5-19 are 5.5 times more likely to drown in swimming pools than their white counterparts, often due to limited access to swimming lessons and safe swimming environments.
However, there is hope. Research shows that participation in formal swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning among children aged 1-4 by as much as 88%. That’s where ECAS steps in—by providing swim lesson scholarships to children from low-income families, we are breaking down the economic barriers that prevent many from learning essential, life-saving skills.
Our Mission Continues
We are proud to collaborate with high-quality swim schools that share our mission to create a generation of swimmers. Together, we can significantly reduce drowning rates and promote water safety among vulnerable populations. By working hand in hand with dedicated partners and sponsors, ECAS is making a difference—one swimmer at a time.
149 Years ago today, Capt. Matthew Webb was the first person to successfully cross the English Channel
Captain Matthew Webb (GBR)
Honor Swimmer (1965)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: First swimmer to cross the English Channel, 1875.
Immortality doesn’t come often and once is enough for most swimmers, but not for Captain Matthew Webb, who was first to swim the English Channel in 1875. This feat was an accomplishment of the impossible, according to all estimates up to that time. Many tried but it was 36 years before anyone else (Burgess, 1911) ever made it across the Channel. But Webb was not around to greet No. 2. Webb’s feat lasted 28 years longer than he did. In an effort to bolster lagging attendance for his vaudeville act in 1883, just 8 years after his Channel swim, Captain Webb decided to try for immortality a second time by swimming across the rapids just above Niagara Falls. Once again considered opinions said, “impossible” and this time they were right. Webb is buried at Niagara Falls, Ontario.
But enough of Webb’s failure and on to his accomplishment, a swimming record that stood 59 years until 1934. It all started in 1862 when merchant seaman William Hoskins rode a bundle of straw from Griz Nez to South Foreland. Captain Matthew Webb decided to try it without artificial bouyancy. His first attempt failed, but as his fatigue faded, he planned again. On August 25, 1875, he was successful. The start was from Admiralty Pier at Dover; the time 4 minutes to one on Tuesday, August 24th. With the southwesterly stream running at considerable speed, he ran into difficulty from the start. Although ships had navigated the Channel for centuries, swimming it was a different proposition. Tidal calculations, accurate enough for ship navigation, were by no means accurate for man navigation. Therefore, in comparing Webb’s effort with more recent ones, one great point must be constantly appreciated. Not only was the swimmer attempting a new and colossal task, but so were the boatmen and pilots. The present specialized knowledge has been built on the experience of the preceding years. So, as a result of combined inexperience at that time, Webb was last seen from the English shore being swept vigorously westwards into the main English Channel.
For the main part of the passage, he swam breaststroke at 26 strokes a minute. At one period in mid-Channel, a jellyfish sting temporarily slackened his pace. And for the last two and a half hours he was so exhausted that his stroking became weak and irregular; indeed, much anxiety was felt about his ability to finish at all. His cross-Channel diet was beer, brandy and beef tea. Lack of modern knowledge was in some little way compensated by the lack of modern rules. For instance, he had an attendant lugger and two rowing boats throughout. And at the finish an outsize rowing-boat accompanied him on the weather side to keep the cresting waves from getting at him.
Webb finally reached the Calais sands at 19 minutes to eleven on Wednesday, August 25th. A crowd of thousands massed on the French beach. They gave him a rousing welcome as he was assisted into a horse-drawn vehicle in shallow water and taken to recuperate. In England, of course, he became one of the greatest heroes that has ever arisen in peacetime. The whole nation was depressed 8 years later when, at the age of 35, Captain Webb drowned. He went over Niagara Falls, but not successfully.
Note: A special thanks to Cdr. Gerald Forsberg for excerpts from his book, Long Distance Swimming.
Swedish Olympian Glen Christiansen to be inducted into MISHOF
This lifelong swimmer was very reluctant to water at first, and then other interests delayed him fully immersing himself in the sport until he was 13, but within a few months he was demonstrating his full potential.
Glen Christiansen was coached by 1960 Olympian, Berndt Nilsson and once together, his talents grew. Within a few years, he was competing at national championships, setting national records and eventually he made the Swedish National Team, competing in European and World Championships, until ultimately, the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, where he finished 11th in the 200-meter breaststroke. The following year, 1981, Glen posted the fastest Short Course Meters time in the world in the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.60.
Just three years after leaving elite swimming, he returned to his winning ways as a Masters swimmer. He competed in the very first FINA Masters World Championships, in Tokyo, walking away with three gold medals and a world record in the breaststroke events. Over the course of nine age groups, 25 to 69, Glen’s Masters resume has been outstanding.
Since 1986 he has set 24 Masters world records, winning 15 gold medals in FINA World Championships. In 2000, the men’s high point award at the Swedish Masters Championships was named after Glen’s honoring his success as a Masters swimmer.
In 2013, Glen’s Masters career was interrupted by a stroke he experienced which caused him to fall down a flight of stairs, only to awake three weeks later in the hospital. Paralyzed on the left side, he had to re-learn how to speak, eat, and do everything again properly. Of course, swimming became Glen’s measure of recovery and just six months later he won a 2.5km open water race.
In 2022, Glen won his first international title in the 200 butterfly at the European Masters Championships. “New world records are coming slowly” Glen says, but he is “just happy to be alive and back into swimming.”
Today, Glen runs his “Swimmers without Borders” camp on the beautiful island of Tenerife, coaching and spreading his swimming wisdom to people of all ages. Christiansen will be inducted, Friday, October 4, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach, during the ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend. If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://www.ishof.org/donate/
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Honorees include:
HONOR SWIMMERS:
Clary Munns (AUS)
Glen Christiansen (SWE)
Tom Wolf (USA)
HONOR DIVER: Tarja Liljestrom (FIN)
HONOR SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER: Lizzi Jakobsen* (USA)
HONOR WATER POLO: Jose Luis Martin Gomez (ESP)
HONOR CONTRIBUTOR: Nadine Day (USA)
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2024 includes:
Honor Swimmers:
Lars Frölander (SWE)
Daniel Gyurta (HUN)
Dana Vollmer (USA)
1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Gold Medal Relay Team (USA)
(Includes Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton*, Jill Sterkel)
Honor Divers:
Alexandre Despatie (CAN)
Yulia Pakhalina (RUS)
Wu Minxia (CHN) 2023
Honor Artistic Swimmer:
Virginie Dedieu (FRA)
Honor Water Polo Players:
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci (ITA)
Vladimir Akimov* (USSR)
Honor Coach:
Dennis Pursley (USA)
Honor Contributor:
Dale Neuburger (USA)
ISHOF 59th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
~ HOTEL INFORMATION ~
Host Hotel: Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50757008
321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 467-1111. Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $229 per night,
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $199 per night
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION
#ISHOF #WorldAquatics #CityofFortLauderdale #USMS #Masters #USASwimming #AquaCal #Olympics #SwimmingHallofFame #SwimmingWorld #2024Paris
2007 ISHOF Honoree, Ratko Rudic documentary premiers at the OLY House Film Festival in Paris
“It Happened – Ratko Rudić premiered recently at the OLY House Film Festival in Paris. This is the true life story of Hall of Fame coach Ratko Rudic, produced by Dejan Aćimović.
The 115-minute film tells about the journey of the most trophy-winning water polo expert in the world, from his beginnings as a player in Zadar to his fantastic coaching results. He played his first matches for Zadar, won his first trophy under the cap of Split’s Jadran, and also marked a significant part of the Belgrade Partizan era. Rudić made 297 appearances for the water polo national team of Yugoslavia and won seventeen club titles and nine national team medals.
However, as a coach whose career spanned 39 years, he was even more successful. He won as many as 39 medals, 16 of which were gold, which makes him the best Croatian coach of all time in all sports. He is also the second most successful coach in the history of all sports after Brazilian volleyball specialist Bernardo Roche de Rezende, who has 52 medals.
At the Olympic Games, world and European championships, he won 16 medals, ten of which were gold. He won medals leading five different national teams – Yugoslavia, Italy, USA, Croatia and Brazil. He is the only water polo coach who won four Olympic gold medals and the only one who won a medal at the Olympic Games four times in a row, three times in a row.
With Yugoslavia, he won two Olympic and one world gold. He was an Olympic winner, European and world champion with Italy. He repeated the same with the Croatian national team. He led the USA national team to gold at the Pan American Games, and Brazil to silver at the same competition.
Currently the film is viewable online on the e-OLY House platform, which is open only to Olympians. An english language and USA release date will be announced in the future.
Decades-long Volunteer and Masters Superwoman, Nadine Day to be inducted into IMSHOF’s Class of 2023 as Honor Contributor
Nadine Day has devoted the last 25 years of her life to Masters swimming. Her volunteer work began in 2001 when she became the Illinois Local Masters Swimming Committee (LMSC) Sanctions Chair. Attending her first USMS convention a year later, she soon joined several USMS committees, all the while continuing to take on more responsibility within her local MSC. Nadine served as her LMSC’s Vice Chair and subsequently its Chair in addition to balancing the demands of multiple USMS Committee assignments.
In 2005, Nadine was elected to the USMS Board of Directors for the first time. After serving two terms as the Great Lakes Director, she was elected Vice President of Community Services. In 2012, Nadine was elected the youngest President in the history of United States Masters Swimming. During her 16 years as a leader on the USMS Board, Day was involved in numerous task forces and committees. In the late twenty-teens, Nadine was named the United States Aquatic Sports Convention Chairperson, which is no small undertaking. Day and her committee took it over flawlessly from a crew that had been running it for years and years.
Nadine continued serving in leadership positions on committees and international organizations, once off the USMS board. In Nadine’s own words: “To me it’s about giving back to a sport I love and encouraging other adults to love swimming—it’s about providing opportunities for others. Making sacrifices for others is easy when you want our sport to be successful”. Nadine’s contributions to USMS have touched countless lives and helped USMS to grow and evolve.
Nadine has received numerous awards through the years, showing her continued dedication to Masters swimming. She won the USMS Dorothy Donnelly Service Award; in 2015, USMS, gave her the Ted Haartz Staff Appreciation Award and in 2016, she received USMS’s highest honor, the Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award. In 2018 Swimming World Magazine named her “One of the 10 Most Impactful People” in Swimming. And lastly, in 2020 United States Aquatic Sports presented Nadine with the Women in Swimming Award.
Nadine Day will be inducted, Friday, October 4, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach, during the ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend. If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://www.ishof.org/donate/
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Honorees include:
HONOR SWIMMERS:
Clary Munns (AUS)
Glen Christiansen (SWE)
Tom Wolf (USA)
HONOR DIVER: Tarja Liljestrom (FIN)
HONOR SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER: Lizzi Jakobsen* (USA)
HONOR WATER POLO: Jose Luis Martin Gomez (ESP)
HONOR CONTRIBUTOR: Nadine Day (USA)
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2024 includes:
Honor Swimmers:
Lars Frölander (SWE)
Daniel Gyurta (HUN)
Dana Vollmer (USA)
1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Gold Medal Relay Team (USA)
(Includes Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton*, Jill Sterkel)
Honor Divers:
Alexandre Despatie (CAN)
Yulia Pakhalina (RUS)
Wu Minxia (CHN) 2023
Honor Artistic Swimmer:
Virginie Dedieu (FRA)
Honor Water Polo Players:
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci (ITA)
Vladimir Akimov* (USSR)
Honor Coach:
Dennis Pursley (USA)
Honor Contributor:
Dale Neuburger (USA)
ISHOF 59th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
~ HOTEL INFORMATION ~
Host Hotel: Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50757008
321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 467-1111. Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $229 per night,
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $199 per night
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION
#ISHOF #WorldAquatics #CityofFortLauderdale #USMS #Masters #USASwimming #AquaCal #Olympics #SwimmingHallofFame #SwimmingWorld #2024Paris
Tom Daley Retires After Olympic Career Spanning 16 Years & A Full Set Of Medals
Tom Daley & Noah Williams: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia
by Liz Byrnes – Europe Correspondent
12 August 2024
Tom Daley Retires After Olympic Career Spanning 16 Years & A Full Set Of Medals
Tom Daley has retired from diving after a senior international career that spanned 16 years and brought Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles.
The 30-year-old has been winning national titles since 2007 and in March 2008, Daley became the youngest person to win gold at the European Championships in Eindhoven when he claimed the 10m platform title aged 13.
He made his Olympic debut later that year before becoming world champion aged 15 in Rome in July 2009.
Tom Daley: Photo Courtesy: Jim Thurston
Since then, Daley amassed a further three world titles among seven medals, four more European golds and as many Commonwealth titles.
With his appearance at Paris 2024, Daley became the first diver from Great Britain to compete at five Olympics.
There he won silver alongside Noah Williams in the men’s 10m synchro as he claimed his fifth Olympic medal.
The pair replicated their finish at the World Championships in Doha where Daley also won gold as part of the team event.
Olympic Roll Call
Gold: 10m synchro, Tokyo 2021
Silver: 10m synchro, Paris 2024
Bronze: 10m platform, London 2012
Bronze: 10m synchro, Rio 2016
Bronze: 10m platform, Tokyo 2021
Daley has now brought his career to a close, telling Vogue that he’d already made his decision ahead of the Games: “It was emotional at the end, up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive. But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time. It’s the right time to call it a day.”
He also posted to social media, saying: “Thank you, diving ❤️ over and out ❤️”
Passages: The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66
by Swimming World Editorial Staff
10 August 2024
The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66
By CHUCK WARNER
Legendary United States distance swimmer and coach Casey Converse lost his battle to cancer earlier this week at the age of 66. Here is a tribute to Casey, written by Chuck Warner.
Are you a swimmer or coach with an attitude of gratitude? You might take a moment to consider appreciating the incredible gift that the life of Casey Converse has brought to all of us.
If the sport of swimming’s greatest aspiration is for someone to be able to work their way from nothing to something, from no name to know name, from entrant to champion, then Casey Converse is one example of what we can all aspire to. Growing up in Mobile, Alabama swimming for the Chandler YMCA, in his junior year of high school, he took the big leap out to California to join, enhance and invigorate the “Animal Lane” at the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Beloved by his teammates, he worked hard, improving the practice environment for everyone around him. Occasionally it was tough to get out of bed in the morning to get to practice. His coach Mark Schubert rewarded him with recording a “20,000 for time” and a lesson to meet his commitments. Casey completed the distance with no malice, accepting his responsibility as a team member.
On a winter holiday training trip to Hawaii, he was one of the first to crow joyously over the rainbows spanning the mountains, the racing between the lane lines and the laughter in the locker room. He described a 5000 for time racing in and around “the animals,” as “the most fun a teenager could ever have.” The skinny kid from the south etched himself into the team and became bold enough to begin another training session by pointing the groups minds toward their goal, when he bellowed, “I declare the Olympic Games of Montreal OPEN!”
Photo Courtesy: Air Force Academy
Casey climbed onto the 1976 Olympic team back before the USA was punished for its Olympic domination and three swimmers could qualify in each swimming event—just as is still the case in track today. In Montreal Casey didn’t medal, or even make the finals of the 400 freestyle, but he was the kind of “glue guy” that helped make that team the best Olympic men’s swimming team there has ever been.
You know Casey’s type? Every team has them. Teammates that make going to practice not only a physical workout but a social celebration. Some teammates you tolerate, others you delight in. Casey’s love and kindness for his teammates generated the same emotion back to him, forging a permanent bond.
We met in 1985 when I became the head coach of the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlins. I inherited his help as an assistant coach on the CPM staff. For me, a slow swimmer and coach from Connecticut, I had never been around an Olympian. Just like he’s done with so many colleagues, Casey quickly made it clear how he saw our relationship. We were standing by the “weight room” at the Keating Natatorium which was 50 plus meters, a stairway and a balcony away from our office. Casey said to me, “I want to clarify our relationship. If your pencil breaks, I will run up to the office and get you a new one.” He went on, “If it breaks again, I will run and get you another one.” His forthright humbleness launched a wonderful coaching rapport and friendship. And reenforced in me what kind of qualities a human is capable of.
Two years later my swimmers helped me become an assistant coach on the USA Pan Am Games staff. Skip Kenney was the head coach. Eddie Reese and Jonty Skinner, were assistant coaches with me. At our first staff meeting I told Skip that I wanted to make my relationship clear with him. I said if his pencil broke and there was a sharp one on the tenth floor of the hotel, I would run and get it for him. Other coaches echoed my sentiments.
In part, because of Casey’s example, our staff and team gelled into an egoless unit representing the USA with every ounce of emotional swimming or cheering we could give. Because of that, we were inspired to sing “America The Beautiful” together when we met our competition goals (okay, a self-conscious Eddie Reese just hummed the words).
The American Swimming Team is much more than Olympic finalists and medal winners. Our big broad tapestry of clubs, coaches, swimmers and national teams that make our sport’s flag wave with grace and pride, needs people that are seamstresses to sew our varied individual interests, backgrounds, or fabrics if you will, together.
Casey Converse was a seamstress to all who swam and coached on our team. Casey brought people together because of his love for the sport, and most especially, the people like you, that are in it.
Casey was a barrier breaker doing things others couldn’t and wouldn’t do. In his freshman year at Alabama, he became the first human to swim faster than 15:00 in the 1650. Ten years after becoming the head men and women’s coach at the US Air Force Academy, the school moved from Division II to Division I competition. It also decided to split the men and women’s programs with a head coach for each. It was much easier to recruit male national class swimmers to Air Force than women. Coach Converse was given his choice and elected to coach the women. He explained in a private moment then, “I wanted to do the most good for the most people I could.” In a recent phone call, he went further,
“Once we went into Division I, I knew that, overall, our women’s team wouldn’t be able to compete at the NCAAs. In many ways it was going to be harder to coach the women’s team. But those ladies had the same values to develop that the guys did from their experience in the sport of swimming. I wanted to help them do that.”
Courtesy: Rosie Converse-Soriano
About 2014, well into his cancer diagnosis he decided to give again by writing the book Munich To Montreal, because of the way he felt our women had been cheated by the East German systematic doping of their swimmers leading into Montreal. Casey wanted the women on his 1976 team to be recognized for what they had earned but had been denied. Wanting to fully vet his story, he flew to East Germany to interview some of the DDR women. The book helped support USA Swimming’s superb documentary “The Last Gold” about the 400-meter freestyle relay in Montreal for which he served as a consultant.
Casey was the waiter in a restaurant full of stars and egos, that provided each table the most timely, meaningful, satisfying and loving experience most could dream of. Casey Converse helped make us, The American Swimming Team, or more likely, showed us what role we could play: as a teammate, as a coach and, for those lucky enough, as a friend. Even more importantly he set an example as a father, a grandfather and husband.
Always on the search for a way to give to others, his life on earth was a gift to all who knew him, but also to every member of the swimming community that didn’t because his kindness and service reverberates throughout the sport he loved.
What a gift the life of Casey Converse has been.
Dale Neuburger to join ISHOF Class of 2024 as Honor Contributor
Dale Neuburger has spent a lifetime in service to aquatic sports and Olympic ideals. He was elected as Vice President of FINA on five occasions (2000, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017) representing the 45 National Federations of the Americas. In 2021, he was elected as FINA Treasurer, and, in 2023, he was elected as World Aquatics Treasurer for a term ending in 2027.
Since 2005, he has served as the Bureau Liaison to the FINA/World Aquatics Technical Swimming Committee and Chairman of the FINA Technical Swimming Commission, overseeing all FINA/World Aquatics swimming competitions.
Mr. Neuburger has been appointed by FINA/World Aquatics and the International Olympic Committee to be the Technical Delegate for the swimming competition for five Olympic Games: 2008 Beijing, through 2024 Paris. The technical delegate roles encompass competition director duties, as well as general oversight of all venue-related issues.
Since its creation in 2009, Mr. Neuburger has been the Chairman of the FINA Development Commission, appointed by FINA President Julio C. Maglione. In this role, he has helped to create its extensive Athlete Scholarship Program, implement the Swim for All/Swim for Life Program and Pools for All Program, and created five global training centers for athletes from developing countries.
In 2015, Mr. Neuburger was elected as President of UANA (now known as Pan Am Aquatics), the Continental Association for aquatics serving the 45 National Federations of the Americas. Simultaneously, he was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of ACODEPA, the council of continental sport organizations that oversees sport competition in the Pan American Games. In 2019, he was elected First Vice President of ACODEPA, and he retained a position on its Executive Committee in the run-up to the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago (CHL) and served as Technical Delegate for Swimming at the Games.
Mr. Neuburger was a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Olympic Committee for eight years, from 1994 to 2002, and a member of its Executive Committee from 1996 to 2000. In recognition of his prominence within the USOC structure, Mr. Neuburger was designated to serve as Deputy Chef de Mission of the 531-member United States delegation for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games that won 101 medals, topping the medals standings.
If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://www.ishof.org/donate/
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees include:
Honor Swimmers:
Lars Frölander (SWE)
Daniel Gyurta (HUN)
Dana Vollmer (USA)
1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Gold Medal Relay Team (USA)
(Includes Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton*, Jill Sterkel)
Honor Divers:
Alexandre Despatie (CAN)
Yulia Pakhalina (RUS)
Wu Minxia (CHN) 2023
Honor Artistic Swimmer:
Virginie Dedieu (FRA)
Honor Water Polo Players:
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci (ITA)
Vladimir Akimov* (USSR)
Honor Coach:
Dennis Pursley (USA)
Honor Contributor:
Dale Neuburger (USA)
ISHOF 59th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
~ HOTEL INFORMATION ~
Host Hotel: Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50757008
321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 467-1111. Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $219 per night,
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $199 per night
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION
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