First-class redesign of Fort Lauderdale’s Swimming Hall of Fame on way. Expect some noise and dust first.
The dive tower, one of the tallest in the world, has become a landmark at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center. Plans are now underway to build a new Ocean Rescue headquarters behind the dive tower along with two International Swimming Hall of Fame buildings. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Article from Sunday, January 18, 2025 Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel
By Susannah Bryan | sbryan@sunsentinel.com | South Florida Sun Sentinel
UPDATED: January 18, 2025 at 7:04 AM EST
FORT LAUDERDALE — The Aquatic Center’s sky-high dive tower, a breathtaking 101 feet high at its peak, is taller than anything else on the waterfront peninsula home to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
For now, anyway.
That will change with an upcoming makeover expected to transform the currently closed Swimming Hall of Fame into a landmark destination expected to draw scores of families, locals and tourists.
The project is expected to break ground in late January and open as soon as 2028.
When it’s done, two modern buildings more than 100 feet tall will sit like bookends on either side of the Aquatic Center and its head-turning dive tower at 501 Seabreeze Blvd.
“It’s going to elevate the beach as a destination even more than it already is,” Vice Mayor Steve Glassman told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It’s going to be another transformative project on the barrier island and give us amenities we never really had before. It’s really first class.”
The east building will serve as a gateway to the Aquatic Center and feature a streetside cafe and leasable commercial space. The west building overlooking the Intracoastal will include a welcome center, a new International Swimming Hall of Fame museum with interactive exhibits, an aquarium showcasing marine life and a theater designed to engage and entertain visitors.
The makeover, expected to cost more than $218 million, will come with heavy construction noise and plenty of dust starting this spring.
But it’s the vibration that comes with the high-impact force required to drive sheet piles 40 feet into the seabed that has some nearby condo residents worried, they say.
The process, necessary to create a stable foundation for the building, will likely take several months.
A long-awaited makeover is planned for the eastern and western corners of the International Swimming Hall of Fame campus. (Architectonica/Courtesy)
Noisy work to begin in March
John Burns, president of the Venetian Condo Association, shared his concerns with the commission during a recent meeting.
“One of our big concerns is the pile driving,” Burns said. “We’ve been through it before with just days and days of vibrations. Some of our residents are really concerned about buildings that are sinking now or buildings that are falling down.”
The developer plans to conduct vibration monitoring while installing sheet piles for the seawall.
The work, known for being noisy, will begin in mid-March and could take as long as seven months.
“We want to get it done as fast as we can,” said Greg Jennings, the project manager with Hensel Phelps Construction. “We certainly recognize it affects the neighbors.”
Mayor Dean Trantalis questioned the timing.
“That’s when Spring Break is starting,” he told the project manager. “The height of our tourist season you guys are going to start driving sheet pilings.”
Most of the construction will take place on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The noisiest work won’t begin until 8 a.m.
“There will be heavy equipment on site,” Acting Assistant City Manager Ben Rogers said. “There will be cranes operating. Right now the plan is to operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be times when extended hours may be requested. And there may be weekend work.”
Divers from Babson College dive from 3-meter boards on Thursday at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Opening day a few years away
Trantalis also worries that the new Ocean Rescue headquarters that will sit right behind the dive tower might take away from the tower’s iconic look.
“I do believe Ocean Rescue is important, but we need to keep in mind how it will interact with the dive tower, which we spent a lot of money on,” he said.
The dive tower was built during a $50 million renovation of the Aquatic Center completed in September 2022. The tower alone cost taxpayers $5.1 million. An observation deck that sits to the north cost another $2.7 million.
The entire Swimming Hall of Fame project will be done in four phases and require at least three years of construction. It might even take four, pushing the opening into 2029, Jennings said.
The project’s first phase involves building a new seawall around the 5-acre peninsula; demolishing the east building; and building a new Ocean Rescue headquarters.
The west building will go up in the second phase; the east building in the third; and water docks and more site work will be done in the fourth phase.
Original plans called for a five-story east building that would stand 108 feet high. The west building was going to have six floors with ceilings close to 20 or 25 feet, bringing the height of the entire structure to 134 feet.
Caption 3 An extreme makeover is planned for the eastern and western corners of the International Swimming Hall of Fame campus, on either side of Fort Lauderdale’s Aquatic Center. (Architectonica/Courtesy)
Buildings too tall?
Critics have concerns about the height of the buildings being proposed by the developer, saying they might block views.
Trantalis says he, too, has concerns about building height.
“The renderings keep changing,” he told the Sun Sentinel. “And artists’ conceptions often fail to give you a realistic understanding of how the buildings are going to be placed on the site and how they interact with other buildings.”
His main concern is that the dive tower not be overwhelmed by the buildings around it.
“I see the encroachment of the dive tower happening slowly, little by little,” Trantalis said. “To the point where this now iconic image is going to be obscured by buildings that are going to surround it.”
The original plans for both buildings are now undergoing a redesign, said Mario Caprini, CEO of Capital Group P3 of Florida and a partner in the project with Hensel Phelps.
“We are redesigning the project to accommodate the aquarium,” he told the Sun Sentinel.
The east building will be either three or four stories. And the west building will have eight floors but won’t get any taller, Caprini said. In fact, the design team is working on reducing the height of the building.
Caprini and his team plan to seek commission approval in March for the updated design of the museum building. They also plan to present a proposed redesign of the east building to get public feedback.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
The World of Sports Photography loses a Legend…..Heinz Kluetemeier dies after a long battle with illness
Heinz Kluetmeier, ISHOF Honoree, and 2017 Honor Contributor was the first photographer to ever be inducted into ISHOF. He captured 11 Summer Olympics (1972-2012) on film, including some of the most iconic moments in sports. He lost his battle with a number of illnesses and died on Tuesday, January 14th. He was 82 years old.
In addition to the Summer Games, Heinz also photographed the Winter Games, attending all but two Games from 1972-2016. He spent the majority of his long and distinguished career at Sports Illustrated. The first cover he did for SI was the Mark Spitz cover in 1972. The most famous swimming photo in his collection had to be “The Touch .01” that he took at the 2008 Olympic Games of Michael Phelps out-touching Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second.
The Touch .01 by Heinz Kluetmeier
Read his entire ISHOF Honoree bio below, written in 2017, the year he was inducted.
HEINZ KLUETMEIER (USA) 2017 HONOR CONTRIBUTOR
FOR THE RECORD: PHOTOGRAPHER AT ELEVEN SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES: 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012; PHOTOGRAPHER AT EVERY WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES SINCE 1972; FIRST COVER: Mark Spitz, Sports Illustrated; COVERED COUNTLESS SUPER BOWLS AND WORLD SERIES; WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS SINCE 1973; KENTUCKY DERBY’S; INDY 500’s; PHOTOGRAPHED JOHN F. KENNEDY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL; 2007 LUCY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AS PHOTOGRAPHER.
Heinz Kluetmeier was born and raised in Germany until he was nine, when his family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was introduced to the idea of a career in photo journalism when several photos taken of him by his mother, with his multi-talented pet parakeet “Chirpy,” were picked up and published nationally by the Associated Press. By age 15, he was shooting pictures for the local AP office.
Instead of accepting a full time job with the AP upon graduating from high school, he decided to pursue a degree in engineering at Dartmouth College because, as his father said, “photography “wasn’t a serious career.”
After working as an engineer for two years, he returned to photography in 1969, working full-time for the Milwaukee Journal, Time, Life and Sports Illustrated magazines. While he has shot every major collegiate and professional sport, every Olympic Games, winter and summer except two since 1972, and has over 100 Sports Illustrated covers to his name – as a high school swimmer – he has always had a special affinity for the aquatic sports.
His first swimming assignments took him to Indiana University, then to the 1972 US Olympic Trials and then to the 1972 Olympic Games, where he captured the greatest moment in Mark Spitz’ illustrious career, being lifted onto the shoulders of his teammates after winning his seventh gold medal. He was there at the first FINA World Championships in Belgrade – and at the wedding of Mark Spitz. He was there in Montreal to photograph Gary Hall carrying the flag and holding his namesake on the deck, to capture the ever-present smile of John Naber and the American women winning “The Last Gold”.
In 1988, he donated his time and talents to raise money for USA Swimming through a tabletop book, Swimming: A Collection of Photographs by Heinz Kluetmeier, Commemorating One Hundred Years of Amateur Swimming in America.
Always looking to outdo his competition and for a new angle with a unique point of view, Heinz was a pioneer in the development of split-shot lenses and strobes that captured swimmers above and below the water without distortion. In 1992, at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, he became the first photographer to place a remote controlled camera underwater to capture an Olympic swimming event.
Sixteen years later, Heinz and his assistant Jeff Kavanaugh operated a remote underwater camera that landed the signature image of the Beijing Olympic Games: Michael Phelp’s “Miracle Finish” in the men’s 100m butterfly race – frame by frame.
It has been Kluetmeier’s passion for his art and his ability to capture the passion and emotion of our sports that have singled him out from his colleagues. Simply put, Heinz Kluetmeier has the power to make us feel – and remember the great moments -forever.
The information on this page was written the year of their induction
Heinz’s Induction into ISHOF:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anBQnP1aI_I
ISHOF Honoree Gary Hall, Jr. loses everything including his 10 Olympic medals in Pacific Palisades Fire……Go Fund Me Link Provided to Help
As we all know, the swimming family is small and when one of us is in trouble, we all come together. Now is that time, but first a little background. ISHOF inducted Gary Hall Sr. in 1981, a legend in the swimming world, who swam for Doc at IU, along side Mark Spitz and the other great ones from that era. Gary Jr. was at his Dad’s induction, so he learned about ISHOF and the swimming greats early on. (see photo below) And we at ISHOF have known Gary Jr. and the Hall family for as far back as we can remember. Then Gary Jr. had his own stellar career, and we inducted him in 2013. Again, the Hall family showed up, this time, to celebrate Gary Jr.’s induction. But now, Gary Jr. needs our help, please read the post below from The Race Club and please help if you are able.
Story Shared from The Race Club……
Gary Jr. lost his home and his livelihood in the devastating Palisades Fire on January 7th. Gary saw flames out his window while he was at home before collecting his dog, Puddles, his insulin, a painting of his grandfather, and a religious wooden piece and drove towards the ocean as quickly as possible. He was forced to leave behind everything else he owned, such as irreplaceable family heirlooms, photos, and more. He has also most likely lost his ten Olympic medals, but nothing can take away his spirit that won those medals. Gary was renting a home located right in the middle of the Palisades Fire which had a pool where he taught swim lessons to children through his business, Sea Monkeys Swimming. Gary Jr. and Puddles were able to get a hotel last night and they drove to stay with family in San Diego today, Wednesday Jan 8. If Gary Jr. has impacted your life in a positive way somehow over the years, please consider supporting him to restart his life. The funds raised will be used to buy clothes and necessities. Gary’s family is supporting him as best we can and we turn to our strong swimming and friends community for additional help. Thank you! We will update as we find out more.
LINK TO GO FUND ME:
34 Years ago ISHOF Honoree Shelley Taylor Smith wins the Inaugural FINA Women’s 25km Open Water Swiming Championships
Shelley Taylor-Smith added 37 new photos to the album: 20th Anniversary 25km FINA World Champs – 10th January, 1991.
Facebook Post from Shelley Taylor-Smith:
“On 10th January 1991, I achieved my goal and became the inaugural FINA Women’s 25km Long Distance Open Water Swimming World Champion in Perth, Western Australia in the 6th FINA World Swimming Championships held in the Swan River. 7am start approx 2.30pm finish. My friends the Jellyfish were out there to cheer me on and the Fremantle Doctor stayed away. Thank you Western Australia!”
To read Shelley’s ISHOF Honoree bio,
click here: https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-shelley-taylor-smith/
Resilient ISHOF Honoree Michael Phelps Drops Update on Mental Health Struggles: “Everyday is a Struggle”
Shared from: ESSENTIALLY SPORTS
Written by: Disita Sikdar
Jan 4, 2025
Michael Phelps, who once wore armor quite like an athletic machine, had a guest coming in the fall of 2014… His longtime coach Bob Bowman had come to see him at the barracks-style building called Meadows, a treatment center in Wickenburg, Ariz. only to find it difficult to locate the swimmer in him—one who could block out the rest of the world as he walked to the starting blocks ready for a dive or one who’s too self-absorbed to know the names of all of his teammates on the 2004 and 2008 US Olympic swimming squads. But who knew that above and beyond a resounding Olympic glory, Michael was the most miserable.
Locked in four days straight at his home with suicidal thoughts and severe anxiety, a second DUI arrest, and many severed relationships later, Phelps signed up for a 45-day treatment program. By the end of it, Bowman was re-introduced to the same man, only this time Phelps was much more layered and emotionally looped in with his surroundings: “He had a little story about everybody. I had never seen him like that. I looked at him like ‘Who are you?’”
It all started right after the 2004 Games in Athens when Phelps was coming off an Olympic high of winning six gold medals, and it suddenly hit him: “What now? “I could tell something was off,” Phelps said. “But I think I saw it as a sign of weakness, and if I shared anything about it, it would give my competitors an edge, and I am not trying to do that.” And although Bowman, who took over as coach of the Arizona State men’s and women’s swimming teams in 2015, initially suggested against Phelps entering a treatment program, on, Phelps went, with what has been a personal journey that continues to date. In a Sunday morning interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Dec 29, Michael Phelps shared the latest update on his mental health, “I have my days like everyone does right we go through ups and downs and that’s just life. I feel like I have more tools now to prepare me through the the bumps, or the roller coasters like I call them, that I go through in my life. I’m enjoying it right like being retired again and and being able to talk about mental health which is something that you know personally I struggle with almost every single day.
“Depression and anxiety aren’t just going to disappear, right? These are things that I have to adapt and I have adapted throughout my life and they are a part of my life. They’re always going to be a part of my life […] I mean there are times. There are, you know, 10-day spells where every day is a struggle. But for me it’s what can I control in that moment throughout my career I looked at myself as a a swimmer and an athlete now I can look in a mirror and see a person somebody that has feelings and emotions.”
As per Phelps, during his glory days, he only used to perceive himself as a swimmer and an Olympian. Such perception created a sense of unwanted pressure. However, since the time he has been experiencing these symptoms, the Olympic legend decided to be a human being first. Now then, despite such struggles inside his head, Phelps never really let these demons take over him. In fact, according to Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps had a lot of fire in him that made him a star.
Bob Bowman details why Michael Phelps is different from Leon Marchand
Bob Bowman has been coaching Phelps for a long time. Much of the credit for his incredible Olympic accolades goes to Bowman for his exceptional tactical skills. However, having been in close proximity to Phelps for all these years, Coach Bowman is reluctant to make a comparison with Phelps. So much so that Bowman kept the American at the helm despite his other star pupil, Leon Marchand breaking the glass ceiling.
And there’s some solid reason behind it. Speaking on an episode of ‘The Exponential Athlete’ podcast back in December 19, 2024, Bowman detailed his stance on Phelps as opposed to Marchand. ““The obvious differences are physical. Michael is this massive, strong, prototypical, you know, swimming machine,” said Bowman. The coach further stated, “Michael is very Tiger Woods, incredibly intense about everything he does, and to do his job, he has to kind of get intense.”
Bowman also opined that while training the 28x Olympic medalist, Phelps used to challenge Bowman’s tactics often. Thus, it was a thrilling experience to get Phelps to believe in his coach and ultimately make him into a legend. So, with the depression likely to longer, Michael Phelps is now gearing up for the years to come ahead.
150th Anniversary of Capt. Matthew Webb’s Swim and the First Successful Crossing of the English Channel
From IMSHOF
In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb was the first person to successfully swim the English Channel in a time of 21 hours and 45 minutes. It was his second attempt and he swam breaststroke the entire way.
Many would date the start of the sport of marathon swimming to this accomplishment. Webb was inducted into the inaugural classes of both the International Marathon Swimming Hall for Fame in 1963, as well as the International Swimming Hall for Fame in 1965.
That same year, Webb swam 32.2 km down the Thames from Blackwall to Gravesend and 31.4 km from Dover to Ramsgate.
In 1879, he won the “Trials of Endurance” by swimming 119 km in a 6-day endurance race, swam 32.2 km down the Thames from Blackwall to Gravesend, swam 31.4 km from Dover to Ramsgate, and swam 16 km from Sandy Hook Point to Manhattan Beach, New York in eight hours in 1879.
Ironically, in 1880, Webb drowned while trying to complete a dangerous swim through the Whirlpool Rapids below the Niagara Falls in 1883.
It took another 35 years before anyone was able to replicate his Channel crossing.
To Read Honoree Matthew Webb’s ISHOF Honoree bio, click here: https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-captain-matthew-webb/
January Featured Honoree: FORD KONNO and his Memorabilia
Each month ISHOF will feature an Honoree and some of their aquatic memorabilia, that they have so graciously either given or loaned to us. Since we are closed, and everything is in storage, we wanted to still be able to highlight some of the amazing artifacts that ISHOF has and to be able to share these items with you. We begin the New Year, January 2025, with Honoree FORD KONNO, 1972 Honor Swimmer, USA. Konno donated many fabulous things to ISHOF and we want to share them with you now. Below is his ISHOF Honoree bio that was written the year he was inducted, 1972, so its a bit outdated. Ford is still alive, and will turn 92 on January 1.
Country: USA
Honoree Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1952 gold (1500 freestyle; 800m freestyle relay), silver (400m freestyle); 1956 silver (800m freestyle relay); NATIONAL AAU Titles: 18; NCAA Titles: 6; BIG TEN Titles: 10; World and American Records at 7 distances (from 200m to 1500m).
Ford Konno was only 5’ 6 1/2″ tall, so he always preferred the top step of the victory stand — a position he grew accustomed to through 18 National AAU titles and two Olympic gold medals.
Konno’s early career was a game of catch-up with several of the world’s all-time great middle distance freestylers.
In 1949, the great Japanese world record holders Furuhashi and Hashizume stopped in Honolulu on their way home from Los Angeles, and Konno got a good rear view — ditto in 1950 when he placed second behind the great Australian John Marshall in both the mile and the 800 meter freestyle at the Seattle U.S. Nationals.
1950 USA Japan Meet Winner’s Crown
Based on this second place finish, Konno was picked to be on the first post-war (WWII) U.S. team to swim in Japan. As a member of this U.S. Team, he beat all three of his earlier conquerors at 1500 meter and 800 yard freestyle races in Tokyo and Osaka.
A year later, while still a high school student in Honolulu, he swam his first world record in the 440 yd. freestyle. In the fall of 1951, he enrolled at Ohio State with coach Mike Peppe and a distinguished college career of six NCAA and 10 Big Ten titles.
He returned to train under his long-time Hawaiian coach Yoshito Sagawa for the 1952 Olympic Trials at Flushing Meadows, and barely made the men’s team due to a serious sinus infection. The infection was gone by the time he got to Helsinki where he again beat his famed Australian and Japanese rivals to set world and Olympic records in the 1500 and in anchoring the USA’s gold medal 800 meter freestyle relay. He placed 2nd to the great Frenchman Jean Boiteaux in the 400 meter freestyle.
Ford Konno’s silver medal in the 1956 Olympics (800 freestyle relay) gave him a total of 2 gold and 2 silver. During his career, he held World and American records at 7 distances from 200 to 1500 meters.
After graduating from Ohio State, Ford Konno became a high school teacher and swim coach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. He married former swimmer Evelyn Kawamoto, his 1952 Olympic teammate. The Konnos now have 2 daughters to welcome “father” home from the office where he is a Division Manager for Investors Equity Life Insurance Company.
Meet new ISHOF Board Member, Tyler Beard
As you probably know, ISHOF is a not-for profit organization, and in addition to our small staff, we are run by a group of dedicated volunteers, our Board of Directors. We thought we would highlight our board members, on a monthly basis, so you can get to know the ISHOF Board.
We thought we would begin with one of our newest Board Members, Mr. Tyler Beard, a Fort Lauderdale native, born and raised in the city of Fort Lauderdale. Tyler has been involved in the aquatics world since elementary school where he began his career in diving. He competed in high school, diving for Westminster Academy and he also dove as a USA Diving athlete, where he achieved the ranks of All-American for several years and went on to compete in USA Diving Senior Nationals. He continued his diving career while attending at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also serving locally as the USA Diving Athlete Representative for Florida Gold Coast.
After college, he began coaching at Calvary School, then became the Assistant Diving Coach at Pine Crest School, and eventually was offered the role of Head Diving Coach at Florida Atlantic University where he led a Division 1 program.
Today, Beard is working as a Data Analyst at Moss & Associates, where he is pursuing another one of his passions, technology. Although the world of technology may be a long way from diving, he still continues to try and stay involved in the world of aquatics which has led him to ISHOF. Tyler says by joining the ISHOF Board of Directors, it can be the outlet that allows him to give back to the swimming and diving community.
When asked about joining the Board, Beard said, “I believe I can make the most impact to further not only the sport of diving, but all aquatic sports. I believe my close ties to the Fort Lauderdale community as well as the world of aquatics will serve a benefit to this organization.”
We look forward to having Tyler on the ISHOF Board of Directors and hope he will continue with his enthusiasm for ISHOF and will become more involved as the years go by.
Welcome to the team!
Happy New Year from the Every Child a Swimmer program.
by: Casey McGovern
As we turn the page to 2025, we want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible milestoneswe achieved together in 2024.
Thanks to your support, the Every Child a Swimmer (ECAS) program:
Partnered with 282 quality swim schools nationwide to provide life-saving swim lessons.
Educated 10,000 children on water safety through a generous grant from The Prince andPrincess of Monaco.
Securing vital legislation to promote water safety education is a key priority as we begin 2025.
1884 children learned to swim because of the ECAS learn to swim scholarships.
450 Middle school children received 12 lessons during their P.E. class at John Hopkins Middle School.
1,200 children took part in two weeks of swim lessons because ECAS provided the funding for transportation for six local elementary schools.
These achievements were made possible through the unwavering commitment of ourincredible partners and supporters. Together, we’re building a generation of safer, moreconfident swimmers. THANK YOU!
As we embark on another impactful year, we need your help to reach even more children in 2025.
Here’s how your generosity can make a difference:
$30 donation… Provides 1 swim lesson for 1 child.
$400 donation… Equips 1 child with the skills to be safer in the water through comprehensivelessons.
Your support fuels our mission to eliminate childhood drowning. Together, we can empowerchildren with the skills and confidence to stay safe in and around the water.Make a donation today and help us give the gift of water safety to even more families in2025.
Thank you for believing in our vision and for being a vital part of the ECAS family. The best is yetto come, and we’re so excited to continue this journey with you.
A Special Week: Gretchen Walsh Achieves Greatest Short Course Performance Ever
Gretchen Walsh — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by David Rieder – Senior Writer, Swimming World Magazine
A Special Week: Gretchen Walsh Achieves Greatest Short Course Performance Ever
Surprised by the sheer dominance that Gretchen Walsh imposed on the world’s best sprinters at the Short Course World Championships? Then you haven’t been paying close enough attention to the 21-year-old’s trajectory over the past three years since she arrived at the University of Virginia.
Walsh was destined for greatness in Budapest — but to this extent, this flair for record-breaking fireworks? Seven gold medals could have been foreseen, perhaps more if Walsh competed in backstroke or on additional relays.
But nine individual world records in six days? Simply, that has never been done in swimming history.
The summer of 2024 was Walsh’s long-course breakout, Walsh breaking Sarah Sjostrom’s world record in the 100-meter butterfly before winning five Olympic medals in Paris. But she had dominated the college ranks long before that. Walsh has developed underwater dolphin kicks superior to any other female swimmer in the world, and short course racing allows that skill to mask any stroke flaws.
Fading in a long course 100 free? Not in short course, with half the race contested underwater. Backstroke? Walsh did not bother contesting it at the U.S. Olympic Trials, knowing her tickets to Paris would come in free and fly, but she is the fastest swimmer ever in short course yards. Her historic junior season at Virginia made Walsh the fastest swimmer ever in four short course yards events by enormous margins, including by more than a second in the 100-yard fly.
A lone college dual meet held in short-course meters in mid-October saw Walsh break three American records before taking the world record in the 100 individual medley. That was sufficient evidence that Walsh would bring her NCAA preeminence to the global level, with the differences between the 25-yard and 25-meters courses minimal. One or two extra stroke cycles would not induce the drop-off that Walsh is still working to overcome in long course.
We must acknowledge that many short-course world records do not measure up to their long course counterparts, with many elite swimmers frequently skipping the biennial Short Course World Championships. Sjostrom, for instance, has won medals at eight long-course World Championships over a decade and a half, but only at two editions of the 25-meter meet.
Many of the records Walsh broke in Budapest were long-lasting and overdue for crushing: Ranomi Kromowidjojo had set the 50 free world record in 2017. Therese Alshammar last set the 50 fly mark all the way back in 2009. The 100 IM mark, which Walsh first broke in October before lowering it twice this week, also dated to 2009.
Gretchen Walsh — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
On the other hand, the 100 fly record at the start of the meet was 54.05, considered groundbreaking when Maggie Mac Neil dropped a half-second off the previous standard at the last Short-Course Worlds in Melbourne. Walsh made that time look silly as she got down to a previously-unthinkable time of 52.71.
This performance stacks up among the greatest in swimming history, although it would be short-sighted to rank Walsh ahead of some of the all-time long-course efforts at World Championships, like Katie Ledecky sweeping the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 free in 2015. Accomplishments in the 50-meter pool will continue to be valued above anything in short-course, barring any surprise changes to the Olympic format.
But the greatest short course performance ever? Yes. The greatest year of short course swimming ever, combining her collegiate results with this global gold rush? Indeed, and the only legitimate comparison would be all the way back in 2006.
That year, Ryan Lochte dominated his senior season at the University of Florida and then traveled to Shanghai for the Short Course World Championships. He won three individual events and swam the fastest times ever in three events (including one relay leadoff) at the NCAA Championships before matching that accomplishment in short-course meters on the global level.
Good company for Walsh to be keeping, with Lochte widely regarded as one of the top-10 performers in the sport’s history. But there are no other comparisons: in 2018, Caeleb Dressel swam the fastest time ever in five different yards events as a senior with the Gators, but he did not match those results at Worlds, with a lone individual gold and no world records. On the women’s side, there is nothing close to matching up, the closest recent resemblance belonging to long course efforts from the likes of Ledecky, Sjostrom, Missy Franklin and Katinka Hosszu.
Walsh will return to college swimming with designs on dominating another NCAA Championships and leading Virginia to an expected fifth consecutive national title. Then comes the more daunting challenge, trying to achieve a sliver of the same success in long course at the World Championships in Singapore next July. Plenty of Walsh’s key rivals who skipped Budapest will be back in the hunt, including the American who edged Walsh for Olympic gold in the 100 fly, Torri Huske.
Walsh will probably never be as good in long course as she has become in short course, but that does not matter. Even Leon Marchand remains superior in the short pool, and he just captured four individual Olympic golds in Paris. Walsh might soon reach that gold-medal podium for her long course results after spending so much time there this week in Budapest.
But her short-course talent, shown off for years on the college circuit, has now produced a global phenomenon and a very convincing argument for best ever outside of the Olympic-distance course. Whatever Walsh achieves in any format over the remainder of her career, this illustrious week will forever be a highlight.