Chris Carver to be inducted as Honor Coach of Synchronized/Artistic Swimming in Class of 2023

Chris Carver is a ground-breaking synchronized swimming choreographer and club coach of the world renowned Santa Clara Aquamaids. As the co-head coach of the U.S. National Team, the team won every gold medal in elite international competition between the 1991 Pan American Games and 1996 Olympic Games. Her swimmer, Becky Dyroen-Lancer won all four gold medals at the 1994 FINA World Championships and then repeated the grand slam another eight times for which she earned the FINA Prize, the only synchronized swimmer in history to be honored with the award. With four of her club swimmers on the 1996 Olympic team, Carver choreographed the USA Team to win the Olympics’ first gold medal, in the team event, earning the first perfect 100 score in Olympic history

For many years, Carver has been a promoter of men in synchronized swimming. In 1996, she started coaching Bill May, the first male to compete for the Aquamaids.  At this time, men could not compete at FINA sanctioned events, but open competitions welcomed them throughout the world.  This initiated tremendous support for the inclusion of the event.  Sixteen years later, it was announced that the mixed duet would be included at the 2015 World Aquatic Championships.  Up to that point, men would only be able to compete in open events and competitions. May won first prize at the 1999 Swiss Open and French Open and was named US Synchronized Swimming Athlete of the Year in 1998 and 1999. Once the inclusion of the mixed duet was announced, May came out of a nearly ten-year retirement, and returned to train with Carver and Christina Jones. In 2015, they won the first FINA World Championships for mixed duets in Kazan. Bill May became the first man in history win a gold medal in a FINA World Championship. In addition, he was honored by FINA as the Top Male Synchronized Swimmer of 2015.  As we progress even further, the Olympic Games of 2024 will introduce men into Artistic Swimming, thanks in part to so many, including people like Chris Carver and Bill May.

Kristina Lum and Bill May

Seven of the nine members of the 2000 US Olympic Team were Carver’s own swimmers as were eight of the nine in 2004, including Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova, who won bronze medals in duet.  Overall, Chris has produced more than 50% of the USA’s Synchronized Swimming Olympians since 1984. In an era when the USA was Synchro’s world leader, Carver was named Coach of the Year by U.S. Synchronized Swimming 14 consecutive time since 1992 and her Santa Clara Aquamaids have won 14 U.S. National Team Championships since 1985. Chris has also been generous with her time and sharing of her knowledge by giving coaching clinics around the world.

Charlotte Davis, Gail Emery and Chris Carver

Come join Carver and this year’s spectacular class of 2023 in Ft. Lauderdale.  If you cannot join us, 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:

International Swimming Hall of Fame 2023 Honorees

Bob Bowman (USA)……………..…….…….….….…Honor Coach

Chris Carver (USA)………..……………..…….………Honor Coach

Cesar Cielo (BRA)…………..….…….…..….……Honor Swimmer

Kirsty Coventry (ZIM)…………..…….……..….Honor Swimmer

Missy Franklin (USA)…………..…..……..……… Honor Swimmer

Natalia  Ischenko (RUS)…….…Honor Synchronized Swimmer

Kosuke Kitajima (JPN)……….……………….……Honor Swimmer

Heather Petri (USA)……..………..…… Honor Water Polo Player

Michael Phelps (USA)………………..….…………Honor Swimmer

Wu Minxia (CHN)……………………..…….………..……Honor Diver

Sam Ramsamy (RSA)…………….………….…..Honor Contributor

Stephane Lecat (FRA).……………Honor Open Water Swimmer

Trischa Zorn (USA).………..………..Honor Paralympic Swimmer

ISHOF 58th Annual Honoree Induction weekend

Friday, September 29, 2023

ISHOF Aquatic Awards Presented by AquaCal

5:00 – 6:00 PM – ISHOF Awards and Welcome Cocktail Reception – Outside Veranda

Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, 3030 Holiday Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 / 954.525.4000

6:30 – 8:30 PM – ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and the ISHOF Specialty Awards Presentation – Caribbean Ballroom

Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, 3030 Holiday Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 / 954.525.4000

Tickets: $100.00

Saturday, September 30, 2023

58th Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremonies

5:00 – 6:00 PM Cocktails at the 58th Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremonies

The Parker Playhouse, 707 N.E. 8th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 / 954.462-02

6:30 – 8:30 PM – the 58th Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremonies Presentation

The Parker Playhouse, 707 N.E. 8th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 / 954.462-0222

Tickets: $275.00 / $375.00 / $475.00 – Will be available through Ticketmaster beginning in mid July

HOTEL INFORMATION  

Host Hotel:  Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa

To make reservations click here:  https://book.passkey.com/e/50527236 

Upscale retreat with private beach access, two pools, four restaurants, full-service spa and oceanside bar. Location of the Friday evening awards ceremony. ¼ mile south of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

3030 Holiday Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 525-4000

Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $229 per night, 

($39 Resort fee – Guests can opt out if not interested in resort amenities)

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 – $189 per night

Honoree Ceremony September 29-30, 2023: Last Day to Book: Friday, August 31, 2023

STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SCHEDULE AND TICKETS

or Call 570.594.4367

MARK SCHUBERT REJOINS THE ISHOF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Last week 1997 ISHOF Honor Coach, Mark Schubert, rejoined the Board of Directors of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.  Schubert, who took a leave of absence, was reinstated as an ISHOF Board Member at the Tuesday, June 14, 2023 Board Meeting by an overwhelming vote.

Schubert’s success as a coach is undeniable.  The one word describing Schubert on his Linkedin page by USA Swimming CEO, Tim Hinchey: LEGEND.  That kind of says it all.

He won his first National Championship, as Coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadore’s Women’s Team in 1974, alongside famed Coach, George Haines of Santa Clara, who took the Men’s and Combined Titles.  Schubert was only 25 at the time and Haines was his idol.  He would go on to win 44 Club National Championships over a total of 13 years. He would also capture nine National Titles for the Mission Bay Makos in Boca Raton, Florida, where he coached for just over three years in the mid to late 1980’s. Schubert would eventually returned to Mission Viejo, looking to bring the club back to its former glory.

He also had success on the NCAA level.  Schubert coached at the University of Southern California and the University of Texas, winning three NCAA Championships and 49 individual NCAA Titles, which included swimmers like Whitney Hedgepeth and Leigh Anne Fetter.

Schubert was a member of the USA Olympic Coaching Staff in 1980, (the Boycott Games) 1984, 1988, 1992 (Head U.S. Women’s Coach), 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics.

The swimmers that Schubert has coached is like an Olympic roster of who’s who.  Shirley Babashoff (1976), Brian Goodell (1976), Tiffany Cohen (1984), Mike O’Brien (1984), Jesse Vassallo (1984), Dara Torres (1984), and that is just the tip of the iceburg…………

Through his years as a coach, he has served on various USA Swimming Committees, including Steering, Olympic Operations and Technical Operations.   He has also been on the American Swimming Coaches Board of Directors and has served as the College Swim Coaches Association of America’s Vice President.

We are very lucky and happy to welcome this extremely knowledgeable man, back to the ISHOF Board of Directors.

If you would like to read Coach Mark Schubert’s entire 1997 Honoree biography, click here: https://www.ishof.org/honoree/honoree-mark-schubert/

Who wants to go to the Movies?

You may have thought Johnny Weissmuller was the first Swimmer turned Movie Star, but you’d be wrong…..Meet Annette Kellerman of Australia and then Hollywood.

US Olympic Team Trials Three-Day Tickets on Sale for 2024

by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR

15 June 2023, 08:37am

One year from the start of competition, three-day ticket packages are now on sale for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming here. The nine-day event will be held in Indianapolis from June 15-23, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Three-day ticket packages will be available for the following windows – June 15-17, June 18-20 and June 21-23 – and will provide fans with the opportunity to catch all prelims and finals sessions during each three-day period.

This week, Indiana Sports Corp hosted festivities to celebrate one year out from the competition. On Wednesday, swimming was the theme at the quarterly Locker Room Lunch Series, and then Women in Sports & Events (WISE) Indianapolis hosted a panel discussion featuring female Olympians and the women working behind the scenes to produce the 2024 Trials.

On Thursday, a press conference featured the mayor of Indianapolis and the CEOs of USA Swimming, OneAmerica, Indiana Sports Corp and Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, followed by a youth swimming clinic and community event at Broad Ripple Park.

The influx of visitors for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming is set to bring more than $100 million in economic impact to Indianapolis, while the unique configuration inside Lucas Oil Stadium will be broadcast to an estimated 25 million viewers on NBC.

New for 2024, and to align with the competition schedule in for the Olympic Games in Paris, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming includes nine days of competition with 17 sessions (eight preliminaries, nine finals). The order of events can be found here

Three temporary pools – two 50-meter and one 25-meter – will be installed over the field in Lucas Oil Stadium. With this unique configuration, the stadium will seat up to 30,000 fans for each session.

More US News

The Toyota Aqua Zone, an interactive fan experience, will be held at the Indiana Convention Center. USA Swimming Live on Georgia Street and USA Swimming House presented by OneAmerica will offer fans additional hospitality and entertainment opportunities during the competition.

USA Swimming and the Local Organizing Committee have launched Swim IN Safety, serving as one of several legacy initiatives surrounding the Trials. In partnership with the Indy Aquatic Alliance longitudinal program, Swim IN Safety aims to teach 25,000 people over the age of five to be water safe in 2023 and an additional 25,000 in 2024. Indiana Sports Corp is currently collecting interest forms from organizations throughout Indiana here.

Information on single-day tickets for the Trials will be available at a later date. The USA Swimming Foundation is offering all-inclusive packages and VIP tickets for those seeking an elevated experience.

For more information on the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, visit here.

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ANTHONY ERVIN AGAIN – HOW OLD IS OLD?

AUGUST 13, 2016 

Shared from Olympic Stats

Anthony Ervin won the men’s 50 metre freestyle tonite 16 years after he won the same race at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Anthony Ervin is 35-years-old, which is Methuselah-like for an Olympic swimmer. How does this compare to previous elderly Olympic swimmers, especially successful ones?

Ervin became the 7th oldest Olympic swimming medalist tonite, at 35-079 (years-days), and the 6th oldest man

He became the 4th oldest USA Olympic swimming medalist, after Dara Torres (41-125 in 2008), Jason Lezak (36-260 in 2012), and Edgar Adams (36-151 in 1904).

Ervin became the oldest Olympic swimming gold medalist, surpassing Dara Torres from 2000, when she was 33-162 and 33-155 when she won relay gold medals; and among men, Jason Lezak, who was 32-279 and 32-273 in 2008, also winning in relays.

He is the 4th oldest individual swimming medalist, after Torres from 2008 (50 free), William Robinson (GBR-1908, 200 breaststroke; 38-026), and Edgar Adams (1904 plunge  for distance; 36-151).

Ervin is easily the oldest individual swimming gold medalist ever, surpassing Inge de Bruijn (NED-2004, 30-363) among all swimmers, and among the men, going way back to Duke Kahanamoku (USA-1920, 30-009), although Michael Phelps had  bettered that earlier in Rio.

Happy Birthday to our 2023 Honor Water Polo Player Heather Petri !!!

Heather Petri (USA) 2023 Honor Water Polo Player

Heather Petri is a four-time Olympian, winning one gold (2012), two silver (2000, 2008) and a bronze medal (2004) as part of the USA Women’s National Water Polo Team.  She is only one of four women to be a four-time Olympian and one of two, who has won four Olympic medals.  Heather is only the sixth woman ever to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in the sport of water polo, behind teammates Brenda Villa and Maureen O’Toole, Australians Debbie Watson and Bridgette Gusterson, and Karin Kuipers of the Netherlands.

As an Olympian, she helped Team USA win the gold medal in the 2012 London Games, the silver medal in 2000- the first-year women were allowed to compete in water polo in the Olympic Games, then in 2008, Beijing; and finally, the bronze in 2004, in the Athens Games.

Petri was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2018, and prior to that, into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, the same year she had her cap retired by the Cal women’s water polo program, where she played collegiate water polo from 1997–2001. Petri also was named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2016.

Petri represented the USA at the other events as well, winning three World Championships in 2003,  2005 and 2009, three gold in the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League Super Finals in 2009, 2011 and 2013 and two Pan American gold medals in 2007 and 2011.

Heather also played professional water in Europe for several seasons and she is currently the Women’s water polo coach at her alma mater, Cal.

Come join Heather  and this year’s spectacular class of 2023 in Ft. Lauderdale.  If you cannot join us, consider making a donation.

To make a donation, click here: https://www.ishof.org/donate/

THE OLDEST OLYMPIANS (two are DIVERS!!!)

JUNE 13, 2023 PAUL TCHIR LEAVE A COMMENT

Shared from our good friend Peter Heatley and OlympicStats

Yesterday on Oldest Olympians, we announced the death of Edna Child, born October 16, 1922, who died in May. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living British Olympian, as well as the oldest living Olympic diver. As we have done in the past, therefore, we wanted to provide an update on who now holds those titles.

The oldest British Olympian is now Jack Whitford, born January 3, 1924, who recently turned 99. Whitford represented Great Britain in the tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he was 21st with the national team and had a best individual finish of joint-69th in the pommelled horse. He was also chosen to take part in the 1948 London Olympics, but broke his arm prior to the competition and did not take part. His brother, Arthur, was a 10-time national champion, while Jack won three titles. His wife, Pat Evans, was also an Olympic gymnast and lived to be 93.

Birte Christoffersen-Hanson

The oldest living Olympic diver is now Birte Christoffersen-Hanson, born March 28, 1924, who was already the oldest living Olympic medalist in diving, as well as the oldest living Olympian to have won a medal for Denmark. Christoffersen-Hanson represented Denmark as Brite Christoffersen until 1953, including at the 1948 London Olympics, where she won a bronze medal in the platform event. She also took two bronze medals at the 1950 European Championships. From 1954 until her retirement in the 1960s, she represented Sweden as Birte Hanson, appearing twice more at the Olympics (1956 and 1960) and capturing one bronze (1958) and two silver medals (1954) at the European Championships. By career, she worked as a physical education instructor and now resides in Limhamn, Malmö.