Happy Birthday Brooke Bennett !
Brooke Bennett (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2010)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (800m freestyle); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (400m, 800m freestyle); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze (800m freestyle); 1998 WORLD CHAMPI-ONSHIPS: gold (800m freestyle), silver (400m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay); 2000 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): silver (800m freestyle); 1995 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (400m freestyle), silver (800m free-style); 1995 Pan PacificChampionships: gold (400m, 1500m freestyle); 1997 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (800m, 1500m freestyle), silver (400m freestyle); 1999 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m, 800m freestyle); 13 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2-400m freestyle, 2-500y freestyle, 3-800m freestyle, 2-1000y freestyle, 2-1500m freestyle, 2-1650y freestyle.
Growing up in Plant City, Florida on a farm surrounded by a menagerie of animals, Brooke loved the water and swam a length of the family pool at the age of two. By age six she was a local swim club champ.
Swimming for the Brandon Blue Wave, she took to the distance freestyle events and at age fourteen, she won the bronze medal in the 800 meter freestyle at the 1994 Rome World Championships. A bit cocky and eager to win, she used the 1995 PanAmerican Games gold-medal win in the 400m freestyle as a stepping stone to win the 1996 Olym-pic 800 meter freestyle gold medal which she repeated in 2000 win the 1996 Olym-pic 800 meter freestyle gold medal which she repeated in 2000 at the Sydney Games. Following in the footsteps of her rival but friend, Janet Evans, it was only the second back-to-back 800m freestyle win in Olympic history just as Janet had done in 1988 and 1992. With a time of 8:19.67, she broke Janet’s 12 year old Olympic record in the process.
Brooke Bennett had become one of the world’s greatest female distance swimmers. She also won the 400m freestyle gold medal in Sydney and the 800m freestyle gold at the 1998 World Championships. Three of her 13 U.S. National Championships were in the 800m freestyle. All totaled she had three Olympic gold medals from two Olympic Games; a gold, silver and bronze medals from two World Champion-ships; gold and silver medals from one Pan American Games and a silver medal from one World Championships short course.
She was the 1995 USOC Sports Woman of the Year for Swimming. Serious operations on both her shoulders in 2001 limited her participation in ensuing years.
Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky, Summer McIntosh, Bobby Finke Lead Loaded Field for Atlanta Classic (Psych Sheet)
Caeleb Dressel — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by SWIMMING WORLD EDITORIAL STAFF
04 May 2023, 05:47pm
Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky, Summer McIntosh, Bobby Finke Lead Loaded Field for Atlanta Classic (Psych Sheet)
This year’s edition of the Atlanta Classic will feature as strong a field as any non-championship meet on U.S. soil outside of TYR Pro Swim Series. For the first time in almost 11 months, Caeleb Dressel is scheduled to compete, and he will be joined by the entire squad of U.S. Olympians also training at the University of Florida, including Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Kieran Smith, Emma Weyant, Natalie Hinds and Jake Mitchell.
Also in attendance will be Canadian stars Josh Liendo (also a Florida trainee) and Summer McIntosh. McIntosh will be racing for the first time since setting world records in the 400 freestyle and 400 IM last month.
Click here to view the full psych sheet.
Over the course of the three-day meet (running Friday through Sunday), Dressel is entered in the 200 free, 100 butterfly, 200 fly, 50 free, 200 IM and 100 free, although it’s unclear if he will end up racing all of those events. In the fly and sprint free events, Dressel will face off with fellow Gator Liendo, the World Championships bronze medalist in the 100 free and 100 fly plus the NCAA champion in the 100-yard free.
On the women’s side, Ledecky is set to swim the 200 free, 400 free and 800 free, while McIntosh is set for several off-events. Instead of mid-distance free, IM and 200 fly, McIntosh has the 100 and 200 breaststroke, 100 and 200 backstroke, 50 free and 100 fly. Her absence from the 400 IM denies a chance to race against Weyant, the Olympic silver medalist and Worlds bronze medalist in the race.
Finke is entered in the 200 free, 400 IM, 200 fly, 400 free, 800 free and 1500 free, and Smith has the 200 free, 400 IM, 100 back, 400 free, 200 IM and 100 free. Also listed on the psych sheet are college standouts from throughout the southeast, with the Georgia Bulldogs joining their Florida rivals.
While the Canadian standouts have already secured their qualification spots for this summer’s World Championships, the Americans are targeting U.S. Nationals in late June, a five-day event in Indianapolis.
Today we celebrate the birthdate of Kim Welshons, Synchronized Swimmer
Kim Welshons (USA)
Honor Synchronized / Artistic Swimmer (1988)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1963 gold (team); AAU SENIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 13 (solo, duet, team and figures); AAU JUNIOR NATIONALS: 3; INTERNATIONAL SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING TITLES: 14 (solo, duet, team, figures); All American Team Member 5 times.
At a time when synchronized swimming had not yet received Olympic and World Championship recognition, Kim Welshons was the most honored swimmer of the sport. The titles she received including a Pan American Games gold medal, fourteen international and thirteen national titles, are indeed indicative of world Championship status. Kim was instrumental in advancing international awareness and participation within the competitive arena of synchronized swimming.
In Brazil, as a member of the U.S. synchronized swimming team in 1963, at the age of 12, Kim became, and currently remains, the youngest person to ever receive a gold medal in the Pan American Games. Other competitive travels took her to a 1970 win in Copenhagen as well as to 40 states, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, South America, Yugoslavia and Puerto Rico.
In 1966, at the request of President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, Kim delivered a command performance in Mexico City at a reception held in honor of the Mexican President and Mrs. Diaz Ordaz. Later that same year, Mrs. Johnson again requested Kim to display her talents for President Johnson, California governor and Mrs. Edmund G. Brown and a host of other celebrities at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. On New Year’s 1971, Kim was featured in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade as the World Synchronized Swimming Champion.
Although Kim retired in 1970, she has continued to contribute to synchronized swimming and to the scientific advancement and media recognition of all amateur sports She coached the Mexican National Team for two years, served as technical spokesperson and provided color commentary for the major television networks for eight years and has published numerous articles on the sport. Not only was Kim a multi-champion as a member of the Santa Clara Aquamaids, but she was an outstanding international representative for synchronized swimming and U.S. women in sports.
Throwback Thursday! ISHOF’s first Honoree Ceremonies ~ 1965 ~ How many Honorees can you name?
MISHOF Honoree Maurine Kornfeld Embraces Joy of Swimming at 101 – Still Setting Records
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
01 May 2023,
Maurine Kornfeld got into swimming because she enjoyed the water.
She joined Masters Swimming in her 60s and is still going strong – four decades later.
Kornfeld, now 101, broke the Masters World Record in the 50 freestyle for the 100-104 age group during the weekend at the 2023 United States Masters Swimming (USMS) Spring Championships in Irvine, California.
Upon setting the record, she had this to say:
“I just love swimming. If it is not fun, why bother?” Kornfeld said.
That was the extent of talking about her own exploits. For years, Kornfeld has broken records, but quietly tried to deflect the attention she receives as she continues to swim well.
“It’s truly amazing,” Rose Bowl Aquatics coach Michael Tulin said. “Every time she gets in the water, she creates a buzz. When the announcers give her the credit she is due. Everyone pays attention and watches. It’s truly amazing. It is always remarkable. Every time she gets in the water, she creates a buzz. When the announcers give her the credit she is due. Everyone pays attention and watches. Having her on our team has been absolutely wonderful. She has done a lot for the spirit of the team.”
After retiring from her career as a social worker, Kornfeld started swimming with the Masters team at the Glendale, California YMCA, where she learned the ropes and some of the vocabulary. She not only took to Masters, but also took all the Red Cross courses for Water Safety Instructor, Advanced Lifesaving and Adapted Aquatics. She made her Masters debut in the 65 – 69 age group, and set her first Masters World Record at the age of 90. She now swims for Rose Bowl Aquatics.
At the 2017 FINA Masters World Championships in Budapest, Kornfeld was the oldest female swimmer at the meet and amazed the city when she set a new World Record in the 95-99 age group in the 800m freestyle.
Kornfeld, who grew up in Great Falls, Montana, was an International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) Masters Honoree in 2018.
This week, Kornfeld broke the 100-104 record in the 50 free, getting to the wall in 1:27.45. Kornfeld also went a 3:30.70 in the 100 backstroke to win.
“Obviously we are all inspired. We all want to grow up and be like her,” teammate Cheryl Simmons said. “Everyone wanted a photo with her and I felt like her body guard. It is also a pleasure to spend time with her and see how positive she is. She always deflects the focus off of her. Everyone thinks they are her special friend. She knows everyone and everyone’s kids names and asks about them, makes them feel special. She makes everyone feel like this.”
That caring, soft-spoken kindness is part of her legacy.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/-NQTHVBBhR8
“Aside from the physicality of what she can do, mentally, she is so strong and so powerful. She has a great memory and is a joy to be around,” Tulin said. “It is hard to articulate. She is just soft spoken and so gracious about everything she does. She is always fun to be around.”
But don’t be fooled. She is competitive.
“She tries to make it sound like she is there just for fun. She is not just doing it. She is competitive and trying to get better,” Simmons said. “She has that competitive drive. Even at 101 she has questions and looking to get better and stronger. She always wants to improve – like all of us.”
Should Russian Athletes Be Allowed at the Paris Olympics?
Russian swimmer Kliment Kolesnikov won two individual medals at the Tokyo Olympics — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER, SWIMMING WORLD MAGAZINE
01 May 2023
Should Russian Athletes Be Allowed at the Paris Olympics?
The Russia question is looming. Over the next 14 months, swimming will be at the center of a global dilemma, the issue of whether Russian and Belarussian athletes will be cleared to return to international competition in time for the 2024 Olympics. Most sports have instituted blanket bans over Russian athletes and teams since their country’s invasion of Ukraine early last year, but the continuing countdown to the Paris Games is bringing the issue front and center.
In swimming, the Russian men were a major force at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. Competing under the banner of “Russian Olympic Committee” with the country’s flag banned (thank to a previous systematic doping scandal), Evgeny Rylov swept the backstroke events, and Kliment Kolesnikov got on the podium in both of his individual races, completing a 1-2 finish in the 100 back. The Russian team took silver in the 800 freestyle relay.
Russian teenager Evgeniia Chikunova is the new world-record holder in the women’s 200 breaststroke — Photo Courtesy: Photo Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
If they returned to international racing in time for the Olympics, Rylov and Kolesnikov would certainly become medal contenders, and the same is true for Evgeniia Chikunova. Fourth in the 200 breaststroke in Tokyo by just four hundredths, the 18-year-old Chikunova smashed the world record in the event last week with a time of 2:17.55, more than two seconds faster than Tatjana Schoenmaker’s previous mark.
Will they be in Paris? The International Olympic Committee and World Aquatics have already initiated the process of bringing Russian athletes back into fold. In line with IOC guidelines, swimming’s governing body approved a task force last month to explore potential pathways, although the current timeline is unclear. IOC President Thomas Bach has referenced his organization’s “unifying mission,” which would mandate Russian participation.
Those policies have come under fire from Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and countries such as the United States and even host nation France have expressed opposition to Russian inclusion. Ukrainian distance swimmer Mykhailo Romanchuk would surely be upset at the notion of competing against Russians after his father has previously fought on the front-lines defending his country from the invasion.
The debate is playing out already: the Ukrainian judo federation has announced plans to boycott next week’s World Championships since Russian and Belarussian athletes are entered to compete as neutral athletes. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian national canoe and kayak competition held last week in Uman was marred by a Russian rocket attack on the city. At least 10 people were killed, and Lyudmila Luzan, a two-time Olympic medalist at the Tokyo Games, was so shaken that she withdrew from the final day of competition.
Still, the situation is tricky to reconcile since the majority of Russian swimmers have no involvement with their nation’s war. Why should they be punished for their government’s actions? Members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team could surely sympathize, having been excluded from the Moscow Games because of boycott. That boycott accomplished little politically and hurt only athletes representing America and western allies, none of whom had any involvement in or connection to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Then again, Russia is the aggressor in this war, violating international peace and a country’s sovereignty without being first attacked or otherwise provoked. When that happens, a country loses international privileges, and rightfully so.
Evgeny Rylov — Photo Courtesy: Photo Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
However, there is no gray area regarding Rylov’s status. IOC recommendations released in late March stated: “Athletes who actively support the war cannot compete.” In March 2022, Rylov appeared at a pro-war rally alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, the instigator of the entire conflict. The 26-year-old embraced and promoted an unjustified war. Simply, he has no place in international competition or the Olympics. End of story.
The IOC also recommended that “teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport cannot be considered.” That would seem to disqualify Russian swimmers from racing relay events in international swimming competition. Again, rightfully so. Relays are the ultimate national-pride-focused events, and an aggressor country in a wrongful war does not deserve that opportunity.
It’s individual swimmers that have not directly supported the war, most notably Kolesnikov and Chikunova, for whom the right answer is ambiguous. They didn’t have anything to do with the war, but then again, neither did South African athletes banned from international competition for three decades because of the country’s policy of apartheid. Jonty Skinner broke the world record in the 100 freestyle in 1976, but he never had the chance to represent his country at the Olympics.
In Russia and many other countries, national sport federations receive significant government funding and are practically extensions of the government (while the U.S. government, by contrast, is much less connected to representative sports organizations). That structure makes it harder to defend Russian inclusion.
Moreover, the context of the war matters. Russian troops first entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022 — four days after the Winter Olympics concluded. The timing was no accident. Putin knew that his country’s act of war would be met with immediate international condemnation and that Russian athletes would no longer be welcome in international competition.
Nothing has changed since. The war is just as despicable as it was 14 months ago, so why should the world’s sporting leaders be striving to accommodate athletes who very much represent the Russian government?
Imagine a scenario just like the upcoming judo championships, where Ukraine decides to boycott the Olympics attended by Russian and Belarussian competitors with the full support of the IOC. That would be simply embarrassing.
And finally, consider the situation that Ukrainian athletes find themselves in. Romanchuk, the country’s only Olympic swimming medalist since 2004, has spent time training in Germany, but his compatriots have not been so lucky. The war has completely changed the realities of their lives. The threat of violence is real and constant, and even electricity use is limited throughout the country. Daily life is on edge, and sometimes, like at the recent canoe/kayak competition, athletics take a back seat to real tragedy.
If a Ukrainian swimmer worked for years to overcome the horrors of the ongoing conflict and reach the Olympic level, only to find competition included someone from the country threatening their homes and lives, that would be devastating. That alone should be enough to validate keeping Russian representatives out of Paris.
The opinion of the article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of ISHOF.
USMS Spring Championships: Jenny Thompson, Laura Val, Maurine Kornfeld Claim Double Wins on Final Day
Jenny Thompson. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
30 April 2023, 05:03pm
The United States Masters Swimming (USMS) Spring Championships concluded on Sunday from Irvine, California.
It was a meet full of victories, records, and most importantly, a record-setting list of competitors – more than 2,500.
The final session included the 400 IM, 50 free, 200 butterfly, mixed 200 medley relay, 100 backstroke, 200 free and 50 breast – all in short-course yards.
Maurine Kornfeld broke the 100-104 record in the 50 free, getting to the wall in 1:27.45. Kornfeld also went a 3:30.70 in the 100 backstroke to win.
Twelve-time Olympic medalist Jenny Thompson won the 50-54 age group in the 50 free, going a 23.75 to break the age group record. Thompson also won the 100 backstroke in her age group at 58.87 in another record.
Meanwhile, former NCAA record holder Ally Howe won the 25-29 age group in the 100 backstroke in a 52.69 – the same event she set the NCAA record in at Stanford. It was an age group record and her 25.25 split in the backstroke broke the 50 backstroke record.
Laura Val, who has claimed more than 100 masters world records, won the 70-74 age group in the 100 backstroke (1:08.05). She also won the 200 free (2:12.26) in an age group record.
Some familiar faces earned wins, starting with the first event of the day. Former U.S. national teamer Becca Mann claimed victory in the 25-29 400 IM (4:30.19). She then turned in a second-place finish in the 200 fly.
Former Cal star Felicia Lee won the 30-34 age group in the 100 backstroke (55.59).
Gabrielle Rose own the 45-49 age group in the 50 breaststroke (28.54), continuing her strong performance this week.
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In the men’s meet, Vladimir Morozov won the 30-34 age group in the 50 freestyle (19.53).
In the 40-44 age group Mario Marshall (21.18) edged teammate Anthony Ervin (21.40) in the 50 free.
Rick Colella added another USMS win and record to his collection to close his stellar meet. He was first to the wall in the 200 butterfly for the 70-74 age group (2:17.30).
Former Stanford star Grant Shoults won the 25-29 age group in the 200 free (1:36.96).
John Stafford, father of NFL quarterback Matthew Stafford, won his second event of the meet with a 2:16.03 swim in the 200 free in the 75-79 age group.
Former Swimming World staffer Jeff Commings won the 45-49 age group in the 100 backstroke (54.00).
USMS Records Set on Sunday, April 30
Maurine Kornfeld, Rose Bowl Masters: Women’s 100-104 50 freestyle (1:27.45)
Jenny Thompson, Palmetto Masters: Women’s 50-54 50 freestyle (23.75)
Zachary Fong, New York Athletic Club: Men’s 25-29 200 butterfly (1:44.67)
Rick Colella, Puget Sound Masters: Men’s 70-74 200 butterfly (2:17.30)
Arizona Masters Swim Club: Mixed 75+ 200 medley relay (2:43.23)
Ally Howe, New York Athletic Club: Women’s 25-29 50 backstroke (25.25)
Peter Moore, Novaquatics Masters: Men’s 50-54 50 backstroke (24.43)
Ally Howe, New York Athletic Club: Women’s 25-29 100 backstroke (52.69)
Jenny Thompson, Palmetto Masters: Women’s 50-54 100 backstroke (58.87)
Jenna Campbell, Colorado Masters Swimming: Women’s 25-29 200 freestyle (1:47.88)
Laura Val, Tamalpais Aquatic Masters: Women’s 70-74 200 freestyle (2:12.26)
Gabrielle Rose, Santa Barbara Masters: Women’s 45-49 50 breaststroke (28.54)
Note: All records are subject to change pending verification.
Caeleb Dressel Set for Return to Competition at Next Week’s Atlanta Classic; First Meet in 11 Months
Caeleb Dressel — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
01 May 2023, 04:28pm
Caeleb Dressel Set for Return to Competition at Next Week’s Atlanta Classic; First Meet in 11 Months
For the first time since his withdrawal midway through last year’s World Championships, Caeleb Dressel is entered in a swim meet. Dressel is scheduled to race at the Atlanta Classic, which will take place May 12-14 at the McAuley Aquatic Pavilion in Atlanta. Swim Atlanta head coach Chris Davis confirmed to Swimming World that Dressel is entered, and with meet entries due Monday at 11:59 p.m., a psych sheet is likely forthcoming.
Dressel pulled out of Worlds after the 100 freestyle prelims with undisclosed health concerns, and 24 hours later, USA Swimming announced he was out for the meet. In a statement, USA Swimming said, “After conferring with Caeleb, his coaches and the medical staff, a decision has been made to withdraw him from the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Our priority is and will always be the health of our athletes and we will continue give Caeleb the assistance he needs to recover quickly.”
The 26-year-old, who swam for the University of Florida from 2014 through 2018 and still lives and trains in Gainesville, has been mostly quiet in the months since, but he posted about his status in early September on Instagram. In that post, he revealed that he had not competed since World Championships, and he hinted that the reasons for his hiatus were related to mental health. He said, “I know I can have swimming and happiness. I had them both at one point in my life and I’m working on it. If you need a break, take one.”
Prior to departing Budapest, Dressel won gold medals in the 400 free relay and 50 butterfly. At last year’s Olympics, he captured five gold medals, with individual wins in the 100 free, 100 fly and 50 free accompanying two relay victories. It’s unclear if he will attempt to qualify for his fourth consecutive World Championships this year, with the U.S. selection meet set for late June in Indianapolis.
Happy Birthday Jill Savery !
Jill Savery (USA)
Honor Synchronized / Artistic Swimmer (2008)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (team); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: gold (team); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: gold (team); 1991, 1993, 1995 FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team); 1991 ROME OPEN: gold (team); 1992, 1993 SWISS OPEN: gold (team): 1995 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (team); 1994 FRENCH OPEN: gold (team); 1993 CHINA OPEN: silver (solo); 1991 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team); U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team – 1991, 1992), silver (team – 1993, 1994, 1995), bronze (duet – 1991, 1992, 1994 and solo – 1993, 1994); 1990 American Cup (Jr.): gold (solo); USOC Athletes Advisory Council; 1998 Nagano Olympic Games: Athlete’s Liaison; 1994 National College Championships: gold (solo, duet, trio);
She grew up in Concord, California, as an all-around athlete in gymnastics, swimming, diving, baseball and ballet. But, by the age of 10, she decided where to put her energy – synchronized swimming. Hall of Fame Coach Gail Emery become her mentor and by the time she was 16, she was the Junior World Team Champion and the soon-to-follow American Cup Four – solo, duet and team champion.
Jill Savery
As her skills became more refined, her successes became more impressive. Between 1991 and 1995, she won gold medals in the team event at every major international competition – the Rome Open, the Swiss Open, the French Open, the Pan Pacific Games and the World Cup Competitions but, Jill Savery’s career highlight came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games when she won synchronized swimming’s first ever gold medal in the team event in Olympic Games history. Her 10 years on the U.S. National team, many as Team Captain, helped to elevate the U.S. synchronized swimming dominance in the team event during that era. Jill became a two time World Championship gold medalist, an eight-time world champion and the only U.S. swimmer to compete in all of the international team events.
Jill was an individual high point champion at the NCAA National Championships for Cal – Berkeley. She served on the USOC Athletes Advisory Board and was the athletes liaison at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games.
WORLD RECORD FLASHBACK: MARY T. MEAGHER AND A STANDARD DECADES AHEAD OF ITS TIME
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
28 April 2023, 04:34am
World Record Flashback: Mary T. Meagher and a Standard Decades Ahead of Its Time
In this edition of World Record Flashback, we examine the historic 1981 world record of Mary T. Meagher in the 200-meter butterfly. When Madame Butterfly clocked 2:05.96 at the United States National Championships, she produced a standard that was years – even decades – ahead of its time.
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More than 40 years have passed since, in relative quiet, a 16-year-old Mary T. Meagher delivered one of the greatest performances in the sport’s history. To make that statement is not hyperbole, as is often the case when specific moments are considered against time. No, in this case – and the facts serve as proof – historical defiance is the only way to properly classify what Meagher produced in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1981 United States National Championships in Brown Deer, Wisconsin.
As Meagher climbed the blocks on August 13, the possibility of a world record certainly existed. After all, Meagher was the current record holder, having set four standards in the event between 1979 and 1980. Yet, when she surged through the water in 2:05.96, her competition battered, eyes could hardly fathom what the scoreboard offered. A sub-2:06 mark? Seriously? It wasn’t even 14 years earlier in which a man – some guy by the name of Mark Spitz – first breached the 2:06 barrier.
Three days later, Meagher broke the world record in the 100 butterfly, in the process becoming the first woman to go sub-59 AND sub-58 in the event, thanks to a swim of 57.93. Both standards endured for more than 18 years, but it is the record in the 200 butterfly which has best stood the test of time, its transcendence evident in the fact that it would have placed fourth at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. To reiterate, what Meagher managed in 1981 remains world class today.
“I was joyful, happy, all those words,” she once told Swimming World about her 200 butterfly record. “At that point, I was still taking my success for granted. I didn’t know I would never swim that fast again.”
On the road to that day in Wisconsin, Meagher experienced both joy and heartache in the sport. As a rising teenage phenom, she long seemed destined for greatness. She made her international breakthrough at the 1979 Pan American Games, where she won gold in the 200 butterfly and set her first world record, behind an effort of 2:09.77. The showing was supposed to be the precursor to the next summer’s Olympic Games in Moscow, where Meagher would be among the most-heralded athletes.
But instead of shining on the biggest stage, Meagher became a victim of politics, one of hundreds of American hopefuls robbed of their impending Olympic glory. In response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter announced the United States would boycott the Moscow Games. The decision left Meagher obviously stung, used as a political pawn.
At the Olympics, East Germany’s Caren Metschuck won gold in the 100 butterfly with a time that was a second slower than Meagher from a few months earlier. The gap was even more extraordinary in the 200 fly, as East German Ines Geissler won gold in Moscow in 2:10.44, more than four seconds slower than what Meagher clocked nine days later in Irvine, California. Had Meagher been in Moscow, gold would have been a certainty, her races primarily duels against the clock.
“I was feeling sorry for myself,” Meagher said of the boycott. “On the one hand, I feel so lucky, so blessed, that God chose me to have that surreal experience of winning and traveling the world. But the timing (of the boycott) wasn’t ideal. According to the times, I would have won in 1980.”
The boycott had varying impacts on the athletes who were affected. Some retired. Others had reached their prime. A handful were mentally devastated and opted for retirement. For Meagher, she was young enough to forge ahead and turn in the best performances of her career, most notably that spectacular world record in the 200 butterfly.
More, Meagher was in position to eventually receive her Olympic opportunity. Although her finest days were in the past by the time the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles rolled around, Meagher impressively captured titles at a home Games in the 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly, along with gold as a member of the American 400 medley relay. She even stayed in the sport long enough to add a bronze medal in the 200 fly at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.
“I guess I’ll always envision them as a kind of heaven, sort of a dream world,” Meagher said of the 1984 Games. “Only this dream world was real.”
It took until 2000 for Meagher’s world record to go down, at the hands of Australian Susie O’Neill and her time of 2:05.81 at the Aussie Olympic Trials. Really, it was appropriate that O’Neill broke the record, as she had the mark in her sights for several years and is considered one of the greats in the history of the 200 butterfly. She, too, was given the nickname of Madame Butterfly.
Given its 18-year status as the world record, Meagher’s 2:05 marker stands out on its own. Still, some additional perspective reveals just how remarkable the performance was. The record was posted without any of the technological supports of the current age. No tech suit. No goggles. A pool not in touch with present-day standards for speed. Meagher’s world-record time not only would have qualified for every Olympic final through the current day, it would have medaled at every Olympics through the 2008 Games.
Despite a lack of exposure to the aforementioned advantages of the modern athlete, Meagher’s career-best outing would have scared the podium at the most-recent Olympics. In Tokyo, China’s Zhang Yufei was the runaway champion, a time of 2:03.86 comfortably beating silver medalist Regan Smith (2:05.30) and bronze medalist Hali Flickinger (2:05.65). The fact that Meagher’s world record of 1981 would have been in contention for hardware is a testament to the swim’s ahead-of-its-time nature.
In the other 200-meter distances, the existing world records of Meagher’s era would have been well out of touch. The 200 breaststroke would have been a bottom-five time in preliminaries in Tokyo while the 200 backstroke standard would not have advanced out of heats. Meanwhile, the 200 freestyle would have been 16th in prelims, narrowly advancing to the semifinals.
When digesting what Meagher accomplished, an initial reaction is awe. Nonetheless, Meagher once suggested she could have been faster.
“I always felt I could do a 2:04,” she once said. “When I did 2:05, I wasn’t pushed at all, and the last 25 meters felt real easy. At the finish, I thought, ‘I’m not tired, I could’ve kept on going.’”
Her legacy has.