The Audacity of Annette Kellerman
by: Chuck Warner
On Juneteenth 2023, we remember “Black Splash: The history of African-American Swimmers”
ERNESTINE LEBRUN, Competitor of Aileen Riggin
Yes we are doing electronic invites
Not for MISHOF
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.
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?
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://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.
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.
Good Luck to ISHOF Honoree Maarten van der Weijden !!
Honoree: Maarten van der Weijden is doing an 11-cities triathlon. It starts of with the swimming bit: 200km.
It starts on Sunday 18 June and if goes well finishes on Wednesday 21 June. Much will probably be live online and some televised in the Netherlands.
In the last few years – Maarten has raised more that $10 MILLION for cancer charities……he continues
**translated from Dutch
Maarten van der Weijden is looking forward to the eleven-city triathlon: “He trained for three years”
June 6, 07:00 • Two more weeks: then Maarten van der Weijden will return to Fryslân. This time not for the swimming eleven city tour, but for the eleven city triathlon. After the Frisian Stefan van der Pal, Van der Weijden will now also try to not only swim the route, but also cycle and walk. It is the first time that Van der Weijden will also cycle and walk the tour. Twice before he swam the Eleventh Tour. In 2018 he failed to swim the tour, but a year later he did. That’s why Van der Weijden now finds himself ready for the next challenge.
Three times the Eleventh Tour in a week
Van der Weijden knows what it’s like to swim the Alvestêde Tour, but to be able to cycle and walk afterwards is a different story. In his training sessions, he was able to handle the distances, but whether he can do it so flat in succession is still a question. Nevertheless, he sees it as a good thing. “I’ve never done it before,” says Van der Weijden. “But I trained for three years before this, so I think I can handle it.” LEARN MORE 720p selected as playback quality! ! ! ! 00:00 | 01:34 01:34 Speed 0.5x 0.75x Normal 1.25x 1.5x 2.0x Quality 720p 480p 360p Language Subtitle Off ! Blue Billywig Video Player Maarten van der Weijden is looking forward to the 11-city triathlon A few months ago he suffered from a stomach bleed and it got worse. “The stomach bleeding was quite severe, because I even spent a week in the hospital.” But in the meantime he is again top fit. “I’m fortunately recovered and definitely ready for it.”
Sporting together
The fact that Van der Weijden will now also cycle and walk is not the only difference with the previous times. Namely, people can now also play sports with him. “I want to make it as big an event as possible. We want as many people as possible to participate in sports, so that as much donation money as possible can be collected”, says the former Olympic champion. If you are 70 and you lost your partner of 75 to cancer, you could still participate. Maarten van der Weijden The fact that quite a bit of money has already been raised means a lot to Van der Weijden. “I think that’s crazy. I’m going to do sports, but it’s so nice and heart-warming that so many people participate who also collect money in their own environment. Everyone knows someone in their environment who has cancer or has had it. That we if everyone has been able to do something about it and hopefully make a lot of research possible, I’m really happy!”
Don’t run but walk
In each city, a different research into cancer is central, where the money that is raised goes. So people can see what they are exercising for or what exactly they are spending their money on. “We try to make the care a little better in all kinds of ways”, explains Van der Weijden. Unlike Stefan van der Pal, Maarten van der Weijden has decided not to run, but to walk. According to him, there are two reasons for this. “The beauty of walking is that everyone could participate. If you’re 70 and you’ve lost your partner of 75, you could still join. I think that’s the best thing, that we can all go walking together.” The second reason has to do with his physical health. “The cartilage in my knee is no longer so good, so it is not healthy for me to go running. But I can walk.” Maarten van der Weijden practicing at the Aldehou © Martin de Jong Fotografie The tour lasts from 18 to 24 June and so Van der Weijden will not make it without sleep. He finds that difficult, but he does see that there is no other way. “The first time in 2018, when I didn’t make it, I thought sleep was cheating. Only then did I find out during the tour that you can’t do it without sleep. I find it difficult because I ask for help. It only feels good when I give everything myself. But what all that is, I can hardly estimate. I will have to sleep, in order to do that last bit together here in Leeuwarden.”
Finish in Leeuwarden
This time the finish line is in Leeuwarden and he is already looking forward to that. “I think it’s very nice that the finish is here at the Oldehove. I start in the Prinsentuin and the Oldehove is the place where I always change sports. But that I finish in the heart of Leeuwarden, here at the Oldehove, there I really like it.”
Today we remember Sir Peter Heatley on his Birthday
Sir Peter Heatley (GBR)
Honor Contributor (2016)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: MEMBER FINA TECHNICAL DIVING COMMITTEE: 1966-1988 (Chairman 1984-1988), Honorary Secretary (1972-1984); MEMBER LEN TECHNICAL DIVING COMMITTEE: 1966–1988; CHAIRMAN OF COMMONWEALTH GAMES FEDERATION: 1982-1990; APPOINTED LIFE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES FEDERATION: 1990; 1948 OLYMPIC GAMES: diving competitor, (5th); 1952 OLYMPIC GAMES: diving competitor; 1950 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (10m Platform); 1954 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: silver (3m Springboard); 1958 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (10m platform); 1966 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Scottish Team Manager; 1974 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Scottish Team Manager; CHAIRMAN OF THE SCOTTISH SPORTS COUNCIL: 1975-1987.
As a swimmer, he was the Scottish freestyle champion and record holder over several distances between 1942 and 1947 before deciding to concentrate on diving. Self-taught and self-coached, he won gold medals at the 1950, 1954 and 1958 Commonwealth Games on the 10-meter platform and represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in 1948 in London and in 1952 in Helsinki.
After Peter Heatly’s career as an athlete ended, he decided to give back to the sports he so loved. He would serve the aquatic sports in some capacity for over seventy years at the local, national and international levels as either a manager, official or administrator.
Peter joined the FINA and LEN technical diving committees in 1966, serving as Honorary Secretary of the FINA Committee from 1972 to 1984 and Chairman from 1984 to 1988. He was selected Chairman of the Great Britain Swimming Federation in 1981 and again in 1992. He served as chairman of the National Scottish Learn to Swim Campaign from 1964 to 1974 and went on to become Chairman of the Scottish Sports Council from 1975 to 1987.
Heatly was involved in 17 consecutive Commonwealth Games from 1950 to 2014, becoming Vice -Chairman of the Organizing Committee, when the Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970, and Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation from 1982 to 1990 after the first ever balloted election.
As a Chartered Civil Engineer, he produced and delivered papers on the design of swimming pools to professional bodies both in Great Britain and Europe. He also received Honorary Doctorates from three universities for his contributions to the sport.
Peter Heatly was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1971 and in 1990 was installed as a Knight of the Realm by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. He was inducted into the Scottish Hall of Fame in 2002 and into the Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame in 2010.
Happy Birthday Dr. Ferenc Salamon
Dr. Ferenc Salamon (HUN)
Honor Contributor (2019)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: more than 70 YEARS IN WATER POLO : Player, Referee, Administrator; FINA TWPC MEMBER: 1972-2000; LEN WATER POLO COMMITTEE MEMBER: 1970-2004; WATER POLO REFEREE AT EVERY OLYMPIC GAMES FROM 1972, EVERY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FROM 1973, EVERY EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 1970, EVERY FINA WORLD CUP FROM 1979; EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER OF HUNGARIAN WATER POLO AND SWIMMING ASSOCIATIONS: 1968-HONORARY MEMBER FOR LIFE
Hungary is a land of thermal springs and although landlocked, swimming and water sports are ingrained in its culture. This love of water led to an early domination of international swimming and diving competitions in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1920’s, it was water polo that came to symbolize Hungary’s unique strengths and individuality. So, it was natural for a boy born in 1930 to want to play water polo.
Dr. Ferenc Salamon was a swimmer who started playing water polo late, at the age of 19, in 1949. He was a talented athlete and his development was rapid. In 1952, he joined the Hungarian National Team and was a member of the silver-medal winning team at the World University Games in Paris in 1957. Although Dr. Salamon retired as a player in 1966, he has remained active in water polo for almost 70 years.
Two years after his retirement as a player, he became an internationally certified referee and immediately began officiating all types of competitions, including the 1970 European Championships, 1972 Olympic Games and the very first FINA World Championships in 1973 in Belgrade. He continued officiating major events, such as the European Championships for 34 years, the Olympic Games for 28 years, the World Championships for 26 years and the FINA World Cup for 21 years.
Salamon has served as a member of the European Swimming League Technical Water Polo Committee for 34 years, uninterrupted, from 1970-2004, and has also been a member of the FINA Technical Water Polo Committee for 28 years, from 1972-2000.
During these many years of service, Dr. Salamon’s contributions to the organization have been exemplary and he has been helpful in the various areas of aquatic sports, including organizing, directing, and participating in many world and other international events, tournaments, conferences, clinics and congresses between 1970 and 2004. They include ten Olympic Games, all World and European Championships, FINA World Cups, Youth World Championships, and numerous Olympic and World Championship qualification tournaments during these years.
Salamon is also a Masters Committee Member of FINA and is on the Awards Commission of the European Swimming League. In his role as Masters Committee Member, he participated in the FINA Masters World Championships in the 2014, 2015 and 2017 Games and is also a member of the recent action committee for the upcoming 2019 event.
He has offered numerous proposals, amendments and advice for the technical committee with the intention to improve and further develop the game. Some of his suggestions influenced the entire sport of water polo including the regulation regarding the 55-year age limit for acting referees; introduction of experimental tournaments, and the 1970’s system to supervise officials.
In addition to the many hours he devotes to the sport of water polo, Dr. Salamon is a Chief Hospital Physician. His medical and professional publications appear regularly in the FINA Magazine.
Dr. Salamon was presented the FINA and LEN gold and silver pins for his extraordinary work and dedication to the sport of water polo. He was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in LEN and to the Hungarian Swimming Federation. He has been bestowed with the honors of the Hungarian Sports Award, the Sport of the Hungarian Republic, and the Olympic Award, presented by the Hungarian Olympic Committee.