Paris Olympics, Day 4 Finals: Kaylee McKeown Tops Regan Smith to Repeat as 100 Backstroke Olympic Champion
Kaylee McKeown — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
30 July 2024, 12:13pm
Paris Olympics, Day 4 Finals: Kaylee McKeown Tops Regan Smith to Repeat as 100 Backstroke Olympic Champion
The first time Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith raced each other was at the 2017 World Championships, when Smith was 15 years old and McKeown had just turned 16. Neither won a medal that night (Smith actually fell to eighth), but that moment foreshadowed a long backstroking rivalry between the two.
Smith was the first to break a world record, taking down marks in both the 200 back and 100 back at the 2019 Worlds, but McKeown was victorious in both events on the Olympic stage. At last year’s World Championships, the last time the two met prior to the Paris Games, McKeown got the gold in all three backstroke races, all at Smith’s expense. But the U.S. Olympic Trials last month saw Smith fire back, taking down McKeown’s 100 back world record in fiery fashion.
In Paris, McKeown and Smith would surely meet in a pair of gold-medal finals, with the pair considered a virtual lock to occupy the top-two spots in some order. Round one come in the 100-meter race, and accordingly, Smith and McKeown would swim in the center lanes, the American in four and the Australian in five.
And once again, McKeown has come from behind to overtake Smith at a critical juncture, securing her second consecutive Olympic gold in the event.
The race was almost dead even through the halfway point, with Smith and Canada’s Kylie Masse each flipping at 28.02, just eight hundredths shy of world-record pace, but McKeown and the United States’ Katharine Berkoff were just hundredths behind. Off the turn, Smith’s underwater dolphin kicks propelled her ahead, but Berkoff was not done, and neither was McKeown.
In previous major finals matching up the duo, Smith has taken the early lead, only for McKeown to come charging back, but when Smith broke the world record at last month’s Trials, she went out under world-record pace and then fell a mere one hundredth shy of equaling McKeown’s second-length split. This time, McKeown stayed close enough to put herself in position to pull away.
In the final 15 meters, the medals sorted themselves out: Berkoff fell slightly behind, and then so did Smith as McKeown reached to the wall in 57.33. That tied her best time, which had stood as the world record until last month and remains the Australian, Commonwealth and Oceanic records.
Smith took second in 57.66, earning her fourth Olympic medal and third silver, while Berkoff reached the podium with a bronze-medal time of 57.98. Those medals are the 598th and 599th that the United States has ever collected in the pool. Masse, the winner of bronze in the event in 2016 and silver in 2021, came up just shy of reaching the podium for a third consecutive Olympics as she finished fourth in 58.21.
World Record: Regan Smith, USA – 57.13 (2024)
Olympic Record: Kaylee McKeown, Australia – 57.47 (2021)
Tokyo Olympic Champion: Kaylee McKeown, Australia – 57.47
McKeown became only the second woman to defend Olympic gold in the 100 back, following Natalie Coughlin in 2004 and 2008. McKeown was also trying to become only the second Australian woman to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in an individual swimming race. Ariarne Titmus joined those ranks earlier this week in the 400 freestyle, following Dawn Fraser’s three consecutive 100 free crowns in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
Over the past five years, Smith and McKeown have collectively lifted this event to new heights. The first decade following the ban on full-body polyurethane suits saw tiny drops in the world record, from 58.12 to 58.00, before Smith became the first woman under 58 with a dramatic relay leadoff at the 2019 Worlds. She actually did not swim the 100 back at that meet, but her world-record-setting effort and gold medal in the 200 back at that meet convinced the U.S. coaching staff to give her medley relay duties.
Two years later, McKeown would take that record down to 57.47, and then she went 57.33 last year before Smith achieved the latest global mark at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Three other woman have followed these two under 58 — with Masse and Berkoff in this final while Mollie O’Callaghan skipped the event to focus on her freestyle swims — but entering the Olympic final, McKeown and Smith combined to own the top-15 times in history, nine by McKeown and six from Smith.
Outside the pool, McKeown and Smith rarely see each other since they live on opposite sides of the world, but they maintain a cordial relationship, with Smith revealing prior to the Olympics how McKeown sent her an Instagram message kindly congratulating her on the record. But their year-after-year backstroking excellence has made this competition a staple of major international meets.
And they still have at least two more high-stakes matchups in Paris, in the 200 back and as leadoff swimmers on the women’s 400 medley relay, with the mixed 400 medley relay also a possibility. Here, McKeown got this gold medal, but Smith is not done in Paris yet.
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ISHOF 2001 Honor Swimmer, Janet Evans: Named Chief Athlete Officer for 2028 LA Olympic Games
Article by John Regardie, Los Angeles Magazine – July 2024 – The Sports Issue
Janet Evans has always been impressive. First s a swimmer, then in life, as she continues to up the ante as she is named Chief Athlete Officer for the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Janet, a Californian by birth, began working with the LA 2024 Organizing Committee and served as Vice Chairman and Athlete Director to promote Los Angeles as a Candidate City, which was ultimately awarded the 2028 Summer Olympic Games for the third time in history at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017.
to read Janet’s ISHOF bio, click here: https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-janet-evans/
Paris Olympics: Sarah Bacon, Kassidy Cook Claim Synchro Silver for First U.S. Medal
Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
27 July 2024, 03:38am
Paris Olympics: Sarah Bacon, Kassidy Cook Claim Synchro Silver for First U.S. Medal
The first American medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics belongs to Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook.
The U.S. 3-meter women’s synchro pair kicked off Paris with silver in the event at the Paris Aquatics Centre, the first medal for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics.
Bacon and Cook finished 23.04 points behind the winning Chinese pair of Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen. Great Britain was third.
It’s the first Olympic medal for both Cook, 29, and Bacon, 27. Bacon has a pair of silver medals from World Championships in 2019 and 2022 in the individual events. Cook finished 13th on women’s 3-meter individual at the 2016 Olympics.
“We were really consistent,” Cook said. “We were able to dive the way we train. It wasn’t our best performance but we didn’t miss anything, so we’re really happy with how we did. To be able to walk away with a silver medal is freaking awesome.”
The Chinese pair dominated, with the best score in each of the five rounds to tally 337.68 points. Bacon and Cook tied them with the best dive of the second round, scoring 51.00 on their 301B. The Americans then posted the third-best dive of the third, fourth and fifth rounds, each topping 70 points. It led to a score of 314.64.
That consistency saw them outduel the up-and-down British duo of Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen. Cook and Bacon gained six points in the third round, when the Brits had just the sixth-best dive to fall to sixth. Harper and Mew Jensen delivered the second-best dive of the final round to leap over Australia and into bronze. Britain tallied 302.28, with Italy fourth in 293.52. The Aussie pair of Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney, which won silver at the Doha World Championships this year, fell to fifth, scoring just 48.60 on their final dive.
“I’ve got no words. I can’t even speak,” Mew Jensen. “I was massively in shock. That’s a really easy dive for them, they are very talented. For that to happen, I don’t want to say it couldn’t have happened better, but for us, that was the ideal. To find joy out of someone else’s failure is really hard, but also, for us, it is really powerful.”
It’s the first Olympic medal for Chen, age 25. She has six golds at World Championships and seven total medals. That includes three straight synchro titles with Chang, 22, also a first-time medalist. She has five golds and seven total Worlds medals.
“We didn’t put too much pressure on our shoulders,” Chen said. “There is some stress but we identified the difficulties upstream. Most important is to keep working together and keep encouraging each other.”
For Cook and Bacon, it’s a culmination of a longstanding friendship even more than partnership. Bacon recalled watching the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics together in Texas. Before they became synchro partners, they were friends, and Saturday’s medal is a celebration of both dimensions of that bond.
“We just had a connection ever since we were young and it has just transferred into our synchro,” Bacon said. “We’re best friends and we enjoy doing it together.”
“We have a special connection in the pool and outside of the pool and that has been a major component of how successful we are as a synchro team,” Cook said.
Pakhalina enters ISHOF as the fifth diver from Russia
Yulia Pakhalina became a member of the Russian Junior National Team very early, winning her first Junior World Championship at the age of 12, eventually joining the Russian National Team in 1998.
She excelled as a springboard diver and at her first World Championships in 1998 she came away with two world titles.
At the Sydney Games, in 2000, Yulia and partner Vera Ilyina won gold in the 3-meter synchro event. In her next two Olympic appearances, 2004 and 2008, the duo won a silver and a bronze in the synchronized events and Yulia won bronze and silver in the 3-meter events.
Pakhalina was a three-time World Champion, a seven-time European Champion, four-times as a soloist, and a three-times with her partner in the3-meter synchronized event.
Come join Pakhalina and the rest of this year’s Class of 2024 in Fort Lauderdale.
If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://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 $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
Daniel GYURTA joins long list Outstanding Hungarian Swimmers as he is inducted into ISHOF in 2024
Daniel Gyurta, of Hungary, was a breaststroke specialist, specializing in the 200-meter. He is a four-time Olympian, with a gold and a silver and a three-time world record holder. He is a five-time World Champion, all in the 200-meter breaststroke, and an eight-time European Champion, seven in the 200 and one title in the 100-meter breast, both long and short course. Gyurta has over 30 National Championships, with too many national records to count.
He was awarded the Order of Merit by the Republic of Hungary in 2004 (Knight’s Cross), in 2010 (Officer’s Cross), and in 2012, ( Commander’s Cross); Voted Hungarian Swimmer of the Year five times (2004, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013), and was the Hungarian Sportsman of the Year, three times, as voted by journalists (2009, 2012, 2013). He was voted Best Youth Hungarian Athlete of the Year by the National Hungarian Sports Association (2011); He was Swimming World Magazine’s European Swimmer of the Year in 2013; Daniel was given the UNESCO Fair Play Award in 2014. In 2015, he was chosen Hungarian University Athlete of the Year and a year later, in 2016, he was elected to the International Olympic Committee by his fellow athletes.
Come join Gyurta and the rest of this year’s Class of 2024 in Fort Lauderdale.
If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://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 $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 2022 Honor Swimmer Michael Klim (AUS) prepares to release new book entitled: “KLIM”
Australian Michael Klim was inducted into ISHOF as an Honor Swimmer in 2022. He is coming out with his biography, “KLIM” on August 28, 2024. You can pre-order it now.
From Michael’s FaceBook page: “I can’t wait for the launch of my book “KLIM” which will be on sale from August 28. In it, I delve into my life and career, successes and challenges, and everything in between. I can’t wait to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it. Pre-orders are available now through @hachetteaus at https://geni.us/Klim or my bio above! #KLIM #book “
Below is Michael’s ISHOF Honoree bio. We wish him the best of luck in the selling of what we are sure will be a fascinating story of his career and life, including the highs and lows. Order your copy today!!!
Michael Klim (AUS)
Honor Swimmer (2022)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: BRONZE (4X100M MEDLEY), 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: GOLD (4X100M FREESTYLE, 4X200M FREESTYLE), SILVER (100M BUTTERFLY, 4X100M MEDLEY RELAY); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: SILVER (4X200M FREESTYLE); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (200M FREESTYLE, 100M BUTTERFLY, 4×200M FREESTYLE, 4×100M MEDLEY), SILVER (100M FREESTYLE, 4×100M FREESTYLE), BRONZE (50M FREESTYLE); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD 4×100M FREESTYLE, 4×200M FREESTYLE); 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): BRONZE (4×100M FREESTYLE); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (4×100M MEDLEY); 1995 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): GOLD (4×200M FREESTYLE)’ SILVER (4×100M FREESTYLE, 4×100M MEDLEY), BRONZE (200M FREESTYLE); 1997 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): GOLD (4×200 M FREESTYLE,4×100M MEDLEY), BRONZE (100M FREESTYLE, 100M BUTTERFLY, 4×100M FREESTYLE); 1999 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): GOLD (4×100M FREESTYLE, 4×100M MEDLEY), SILVER (100M FREESTYLE, 200M FREESTYLE, 100M BUTTERFLY)
He was born in Poland, learned to swim in India, lived in Canada and Germany as a youth and ended up swimming for Australia, where his family settled and finally considered home. As much as he moved during his youth, there was always a constant in his life – swimming. No matter where he was, no matter what country, Michael Klim could join the local swim team and immediately fit in.
When the Klim family settled in Melbourne, it wasn’t long before Michael was noticed by the Australia Institute of Sport (AIS). At age 15 he was asked to move and train in Canberra by Coach Gennadi Touretski, coach of ISHOF Honoree and sprinting great, Alexander Popov.
Klim first represented Australia in 1994 at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia. He began to shine in 1995 when he was named Australian Swimming’s Rookie of the Year.
Klim specialized in the freestyle and butterfly in 1996 and became one of the most notable athletes in Australian history. At his first Olympic appearance in Atlanta, in 1996 he was ranked first in the world in the 200m freestyle, but did not make the finals. However, he and his Aussie teammates won the bronze medal in the 4 x 100m medley relay. This was the beginning of Klim’s all-time great career on relay teams.
On December 23rd, 1996, Klim set the first of his 21 world records, in the 4 x100m medley relay at the Australian Short Course Championships. He continued his climb in January of 1998, at the World Cup stop in Sydney, breaking his first individual world record, clocking 51.16 in the 100m butterfly.
It was at the 1998 FINA World Championships in Perth, in front of a home crowd that Klim produced his best performance. On home soil, Klim claimed seven medals in seven events, four of which were gold. His effort is considered today as the most outstanding performance by an Australian at an international swimming event.
Yet, as Klim says, “The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games was Australia’s coming out party,” or at least its return to the greatness that was once common. In 1996, Australia ranked fifth at the Olympics, with just two gold medals won in the pool. After Sydney, Australia was a solid No. 2 behind the United States, with 18 total medals. Klim had a role in two of the gold medals and two of the silver medals. The biggest of these was his lead off swim in Australia’s triumphant 4x100m freestyle relay.
Klim walked away from Sydney with four medals, two gold and two silver, and three world records.
After the 2000 Games, Klim was plagued by a series of physical ailments which took two years to fully heal. The 2004 Games in Athens, was his third Olympics and he won a silver medal as a member of Australia’s 4x200m freestyle relay. He continued his successful comeback in Melbourne at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the 4x100m medley relay, silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay, and individually, a silver in the 100m butterfly and a bronze in the 50m butterfly.
Russian Water Polo Great Akimov to be inducted posthumously into ISHOF as part of Class of 2024
Vladimir Akimov began his spectacular water polo career with club CSK of the Navy (CSK Navi) alongside his brothers, Nikolay and Victor. Vladimir claimed his Olympic gold in 1980 and Nikolay played on the 1972 Olympic champion team while Viktor was many times a national champion. The brothers were involved in the golden era of Soviet water polo when so many champions were on the world stage.
Because of the boycott that saw the USA not attend the 1980 Olympics, the USSR proved that it was rightfully Olympic champion by travelling to Long Beach, USA in 1981, beating all the top teams to secure the World Cup.
1983 became critical in Vladimir Akimov’s life. On the one hand — the last victories: a victory on the Sports contest of the people of the USSR, a victory in the USSR 1983 championship, and on the other hand, an expulsion from the USSR national team, and then his withdrawal from CSK Navymilitary team. In the result of conflict with the senior trainer, Vladimir became a reserve player, which was just unacceptable for ambitions of the Olympic champion and the world champion.
Vladimir’s friend, 1980 Olympic champion and Honoured Master of Sports Mikhail Ivanov (“Dynamo”, Moscow) said in an interview: “Vladimir Akimov’s expulsion from the national team of the Union became the real shock not only for our fans of water polo, but also for all rivals — team players of Germany, Yugoslavia, Hungary and others who always asked: ‘Will he be back in the lineup of the team or not?’ His opponents feared him and respected him simultaneously!”
He will be remembered as agreat athlete, a reliable friend and a man with an inexhaustible sense of humor. He tragically passed away at age 34, on October 5, 1987.
Come join Akimov’s son Roman and the rest of this year’s Class of 2024 in Fort Lauderdale.
If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://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 $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’s $218 Million Construction Project is finally just around the corner! September 2024!
A Historic Day for Fort Lauderdale
On July 5, 2024, we marked a significant moment in history as we celebrated a landmark eventfor the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). This occasion was a testament to theenduring legacy and continuous evolution of our community’s commitment to aquatic sports andeducation.
Reflecting on a Century of ProgressLet’s take a step back in time to the late 1920s, when the Casino Pool was constructed. Thevisionaries behind this project—Mayor Will J. Reed, Dr. C.R. Kistler, City Manager I.H.Stallings, and businessman Frank Stranahan—had five primary goals: to boost tourism, providecommunity recreation, promote health and fitness, instill civic pride, and host events andcompetitions. The endorsement of Olympic hero Johnny Weissmuller, who had won multiplemedals in the 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, lent legitimacy to the project.
Fast forward forty years to the 1960s, another group of civic leaders, including Jack Nelson,Buck Dawson, Whitey Overton, Mayor Bill Horan, and Judge G. Harold Martin, played a pivotalrole in establishing the International Swimming Hall of Fame. This new facility replaced theoriginal Casino pool and continued the legacy of excellence in aquatics.
A New Vision for the FutureNow, another sixty years later, history is repeating itself at a visionary level. Our journey beganin 2018 when the city and ISHOF signed a new 30-year lease. This agreement set the stage forsignificant developments, including the replacement of the center 50-meter pool and dive well,and the spectator stands which were condemned in 2015.
A turning point came during a VIP luncheon at the Riverside Hotel, part of the 2018 inductionceremonies. Bruce Wigo’s sketch of a 27-meter dive tower caught the eye of Mayor Dean Trantalis,who promptly secured funding for its construction. This dive tower is a strategic advantage,positioning us competitively for hosting events across the United States.
Acknowledging Today’s Visionary Leaders
Today’s historic achievements are thanks to the leadership and vision of key individuals:
*Mayor Dean Trantalis and Commissioner Steven Glassman have been critical to realizing this vision.
*Master Developer Mario Caprini has validated and championed the project as a viable public-private partnership, ensuring ISHOF remains central while integrating an aquarium. *Corey Olson and the Hensel Phelps team have brought this vision to life with their construction expertise. *Bill Brown, President of the Central Business Alliance has provided unwavering political support crucial to our success.
The Core Mission of ISHOF
As we celebrate this milestone, lets remember the three key aspects of ISHOF’s mission:
Honoring the Aquatic Heroes: Our annual induction ceremonies celebrate the achievementsof the world’s greatest aquatic athletes.
Preserving History: Our extensive library documents the history of humanity’srelationship with water.
Promoting Water Safety: Inspired by Judge G. Harold Martin in the 1970s, our “EveryChild a Swimmer” initiative, led by Casey McGovern, raises public awareness aboutchild drowning prevention. We are dedicated to providing swim lessons to children fromfinancially disadvantaged families and advocating for legislation to inform parents aboutwater safety. So far, five states have enacted related laws, with more on the way.Thank you for your continued support as we build on this legacy and create a brighter future foraquatic sports and education in our community!
Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project on YOUR Hall of Fame! We need your support, now more than ever while we are under contruction.
To donate, Click here: https://ishof.org/donate/
Throwback Thursday – Aileen Riggin competes in Paris 1924 Olympics and does what no other woman does or ever has!
As we prepare to be thrilled by the athletes competing in Paris this Summer at the Olympic Games, let’s remember that exactly 100 years ago in the very same city, athletes were impressing our ancestors just as much! One such athlete was 14 year old, ISHOF Honoree, Aileen Riggin.
Aileen Riggin was born to be something special. Her father was a paymaster for the U.S. Navy, so the family lived all over the world. Born in Newport, Rhode Island, she learned to swim in Manila Bay, (Philippines) when she was six. After the family moved back to the states, they settled down in New York City where Aileen became a member of the famed WSA in New York. She was coached by the famous ISHOF Honor Coach, Louis de B. Handley of the NYAC, a double gold medalist in his own right at the 1904 Olympic Games. Not only a swimmer, Aileen began diving, where she discovered her prior ballet training helped with her form in the sport. In the early 1900’s, girls did not play sports or have places to practice, so Aileen came up with places to dive own her own, which included tide pools near her home.
At the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Aileen became the youngest U.S. Olympic champion and the first women’s Olympic springboard diving champion. Riggin accomplished these honors, just as she had passed her 14th birthday. The Antwerp Games were the first time that American women participated in regular Olympic events. “Our participation was limited in those days to swimming. Track and field events came later for women, as well as gymnastics, fencing, and various other sports that women compete in today,” said Riggin.
At only 14 years old, it was amazing enough winning a gold medal, but Riggin did it alone. No parents, siblings, just teammates and of course coaches, who were basically adults, no parents, peers or friends. She traveled from her home in New York all the way to Antwerp, Belguim on a steamship to compete in her first Olympic Games and came away with gold. It can’t hurt to add that she also competed in the 10-meter platform event, where she may not have medaled, but she placed 5th….in the world!
She may have travelled alone to the Games, but Aileen recalled, “There was a great deal to do on the ship. In the evenings before curfew, we would go up on the top decks and gather around and listen to our Hawaiian team members sing and play their ukuleles and guitars. There were about 11 of them, and they were all swimmers.” The most prominent was Duke Kahanamoku, who won the 100-meter freestyle in Stockholm in 1912 and was to repeat his victory in Antwerp in 1920. “They were very accomplished musicians, and everyone seemed to have a beautiful, sweet voice. We were entranced listening to them and sitting under the full moon, sailing across the Atlantic. Even though we were supposed to be children, it was a most romantic experience.”
1924 would be the Olympic Games where Aileen would make history. It has been 100 years and STILL no one has done what Aileen Riggin was able to do in the 1924 Games.
At the 1924 Olympic Games, Riggin was and still is the only woman in Olympic History to win medals in both diving AND swimming. Aileen won a silver medal in the 3-meter springboard event and a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke event.
If no woman started earlier as an amateur champion, certainly no professional woman stayed on top longer. Riggin decided to turn professional in 1926. She played the Hippodrome for three weeks, and toured with English Channel swimmer Gertrude Ederle six months after her famous swim. 1930 saw Riggin touring the globe; she worked steadily, from making Hollywood pictures to helping coach and organize Billy Rose’s first Aquacade where she also starred in, at the 1937 Cleveland Exposition. She even dabble in writing articles on her adventures, which appeared in magazines such as Colliers, Good Housekeeping and others.
Aileen eventually retired, married twice and had a family. Her first husband was killed in WWII. With her second husband, Howard Soule, she moved to Honolulu where she lived for almost 50 years.
Later in life, Aileen was one of the most popular and sought after Olympians and Celebrities in swimming in the U.S. and particularly Hawaii, where she lived with her husband. She was Team USA’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies at the 1984 Olympic Games, held in Los Angeles. When the Olympic Games came back to the U.S., in Atlanta, 1996, Aileen was given the honor of being invited to speak to Team USA prior to the start of the Games.
Aileen continued to swim for recreation, health and because she enjoyed it. She even swam and competed in Master Swimming. At the age of 85, she broke six world records in her age group, in the freestyle and backstroke events, and by the time she upped to the next age group she broke five more world records.
By the turn on the new century, she was celebrated as the nation’s oldest living Olympic female gold medalist and she was the only surviving Champion of the 1920 Games. She passed away peacefully in 2002 in Honolulu and will always be remembered as a Pioneer in Women’s Sports.
Canadian Diver Alex Despatie to be inducted as Honor Diver in 2024
Alexandre Despatie first came to public attention at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with an extremely impressive gold medal on the 10m platform which included an unprecedented string of perfect 10s. He was only 13 years old at the time, and the achievement was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records 2000.
At his first Olympic Games in Sydney, 2000, he finished in 4th place, in the 10m platform event. The very next year, Alex won the silver medal at the World Championships in 2001 (Fukuoka) in the same event, and finally gold in 2003 (Barcelona), again at the World Championships, and again, on the platform. He recorded 107.1 for his last dive, which set a new record.
At the 2004 Centennial Summer Olympics, Alex won the silver medal in the men’s 3m springboard competition, but finished out of the medal standings in fourth place in the 10m platform. This result was contrary to expectations going into the games, where he was expected to win silver or gold in the 10m platform event and not place in the 3m springboard.
In front of his home crowd at the 2005 World Aquatic Championships in Montreal, he became World Champion on the 3m springboard. He won with a world record score of 813.60 points, his “worst” dive being rated an average 8.5. Despatie followed up on that performance by winning the 1m springboard, with a world record score of 489.69, winning FINA World Titles on both the springboard and platform.
Returning to Australia, this time for the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Despatie went head to head with the best divers in the world, including the top-ranked Chinese diving team. Winning silver medals in the 3m event and the 3m synchro with partner Arturo Miranda, Despatie proved that he was one of the world’s best divers.
At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he claimed a silver medal in the 3m springboard event and finished in 5th place in the 3m synchro event.
Despatie is the first, and so far only, diver to have been World Champion in all three individual categories (1, 3 and 10 m platform).
Come join Despatie and the rest of this year’s class of 2024 in Fort Lauderdale. If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://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 $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