WU MINXIA BECOMES 7th FEMALE CHINESE DIVER TO BE INDUCTED INTO ISHOF – BUT NO ONE HAS MORE OLYMPIC MEDALS……SEVEN TOTAL: 5 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE
Wu Minxia is the considered the greatest diver in Chinese history, and that’s pretty impressive since the Chinese produce the greatest divers in the world.
The winner of seven Olympic medals, five of them gold, and 14 World Championship medals, eight of them gold, Wu is the most decorated female athlete in the history of diving. As well as collecting four consecutive Olympic 3-meter synchronized springboard titles in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016 with three different partners, she also won the 3-meter springboard individual gold in London, 2012.
She began her competitive career at the 2001 World Championships, with partner Guo Jingjing, winning the 3-meter synchronized event. She and Jingjing went on to win three more titles, with the exception of 2005 when Jingjing partnered with Li Ting. Wu competed in Athens at the 2004 Games, winning gold again with Jingjing in the synchro event, in addition to winning silver in the 3-meter individual event, behind partner Jingjing. At the 2008 Games, she and Jingjing again won the 3-meter synchro event, but Wu took bronze this time in the 3-meter individual event.
Wu and Partner Guo Jingjing
After the 2008 games, partner Jingjing retired and Wu then partnered with He Zi. This new partnership allowed her to retain the 3-meter synchronized title at the 2011 World Championships. She also won her only World Championship individual title in the 3-meter springboard that same year, 2011. At the 2012 Olympics, Wu’s third Games, she won gold in the 3-meter synchro event along with He, becoming the first woman to win a gold medal in three consecutive Olympic Games. She also won a second gold in the individual 3-meter springboard event. By winning the 3-meter synchronized springboard event at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships, with her (third) new partner Shi Tingmao, Wu became the first person to win seven gold medals in the event. They (Wu and Shi) also won gold medals at the 2014 Asian Games and finally the 2016 Olympic Games.
Wu and Partner Shi Tingmao
No one has won more gold medals in the 3-meter synchronized springboard diving event than Wu Minxia.
Come join Wu 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/
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 (ZMB)…………….……….……….……….….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
September 29-30, 2023 – Complete schedule will be forthcoming soon.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Host Hotel: Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50527236 file:///Users/megkeller-marvin/Downloads/Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort Spa
Upscale retreat with private beach access, two pools, four restaurants, full-service spa and oceanside bar. Location of the Saturday evening induction 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
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to three HONOREES: JOE BOTTOM, CARIN CONE AND BRENDA VILLA
We’d like to wish three of our Honorees the very happiest of birthdays. Joe Bottom (2006), Carin Cone (1984) Brenda Villa (2018)
Joe Bottom (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2006)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1976 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (100m butterfly); TWO WORLD RECORDS: 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay; 1973 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m medley relay, 4x100m freestyle relay), silver (100m butterfly); 1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay); NINE U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: short course (100y freestyle, 100y butterfly, 4x100y medley relay, 4x100y freestyle relay), long course (50m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay); NINE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 50y freestyle, 100y freestyle, 100y butterfly, 4x100y freestyle relay, 4x100y medley relay.
Since his win at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Mark Spitz’s 100m Butterfly World Record had stood for 10 years when Joe Bottom broke the record of 54.27 setting a new time of 54.18. In the process, he had to beat East Germany’s Roger Pyttel at the DDR-USA Duel meet, also in Germany, this time in Berlin. Bottom had been the silver medalist in the event a year earlier at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
Coached by George Haines at Santa Clara and Peter Daland at USC, Joe stood at 6′ 41/2″ with an easy-going demeanor on land, but as a fierce competitor in the water. He won the 1978 Berlin World Championships 100m Butterfly after taking the silver in the same event at the inaugural 1973 World Championship. Because of the U.S. Olympic Boycott of 1980, he was unable to compete in his prime-time Olympic year.
At USC, he currently holds the sprint 50 yard freestyle school record at 19.70, almost 30 years after he set it in 1977. He has five NCAA individual titles to his name and has the third fastest 100y freestyle and sixth fastest 100y butterfly times in school history. He won nine U.S. National Championships between 1974 and 1980.
Carin Cone (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1984)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1956 silver (100m backstroke); WORLD RECORDS: 7 (100m, 100yd, 220yd backstroke; 1 relay); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1959 gold (100m backstroke; medley relay); AAU NATIONALS: 16 (100yd, 110yd, 200yd, 220yd backstroke); AMERICAN RECORDS (Short Course): 10 (100yd, 150yd, 200yd backstroke); AMERICAN RECORDS (Long Course): 14 (100m, 200m 220m backstroke; 1 relay).
Carin Cone literally came on like a hurricane to win her first Senior National Championship in the 200yd backstroke. It was at Philadelphia in the middle of a hurricane in August, 1955. Two days later she won the 100 back, an event in which she continued undefeated in the Nationals, Indoor & Outdoor, for the next five years. Her moment of greatest triumph and yet disappointment was at the 1956 Olympics where she and Judy Grinham (Great Britain) had identical times, and yet the judges picked Judy first. Carin won 16 Nationals and set four World and 24 American records all in backstroke. This “queen of backstrokers” in her time, like Eleanor Holm and Gloria Callen before her, and Lynne Burke afterwards, was also a cover girl supreme. The four of them, all from the New York area, were on more magazine covers than four full-time models, which all were invited to be. Carin had just two coaches in Marie Giardine at the Women’s Swimming Association in New York and Phill Hansel at the University of Houston. Perhaps Carin Cone’s finest year was 1959 when she began by winning both women’s backstroke titles at the Indoor AAU meet. In July, Carin lowered her own World’s Record in the 220yd backstroke, slicing more than three seconds from her 1956 time. Two months later at the Pan American games in Chicago, Carin won the 100m backstroke title, and also established a world’s record of 1:11.4 on the lead off backstroke leg in the medley relay. She retired from competitive swimming in 1960. In 1962 she married Al Vanderbush–Army’s football co-captain and all-American guard.
Brenda Villa (USA)
Honor Water Polo (2018)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (team competition); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze; 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver; 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2005: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS silver; 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2003 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold; 2007 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold; 2011 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold; 2002 FINA WORLD CUP: silver; 2010 FINA WORLD CUP: gold; 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 FINA WORLD LEAGUE: gold; 2008 FINA WORLD LEAGUE: silver
Brenda was five years old when her parents, immigrants from northern Mexico, took her to the pool so she wouldn’t be afraid of the water like her mother. After two years on the swim team, they reluctantly allowed her to follow her older brother, Edgar into the rough and tumble sport of water polo. This was before the explosion of girls water polo programs and Brenda practiced with and competed mostly against boys. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she was as good, if not better than most of the boys.
Brenda had to play on the boys team in high school, because there was no girls team, but the competition improved her game and helped her develop the smarts, instincts and toughness that contributed to her becoming one of the best players in the world, male or female.
While Brenda enjoyed water polo and excelled in the classroom, her goal from at least the age of 12, was to attend Stanford University on a swimming scholarship. But that goal changed in the fall of 1993 when Stanford announced it was starting a women’s water polo team.
Following her freshman year in High School, Brenda was selected for the U.S. Junior Women’s National Team. After playing in the 1995 Junior World Championships, where she was selected for the All-World Jr. Team, Women’s National Team Coach Sandy Nitta moved her up to the Senior National Team. Two years later she was the U.S. team’s leading scorer at the 1997 FINA World Cup.
While Brenda enjoyed wearing the red, white and blue and traveling around the world, her top goal was to play water polo for Stanford. In the fall of 1997, during her senior year in high school, the International Olympic Committee announced that Women’s water polo would join the 2000 Olympic program. She reset her goal higher, it was also to win an Olympic gold medal for the USA. She just had no idea then that it would take 14 long years to do it.
When Brenda entered Stanford in the fall of 1998, it was as the nation’s most heralded recruit. To pursue her new goal she had to red-shirt her first two years to prepare for the Olympics, an opportunity that was anything but assured.
There were two chances for teams to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games. When the USA failed to qualify at the FINA World Cup in May of 1999, it came down to a last chance qualification tournament in Palermo, Sicily in April of 2000. In what was a do or die game against Hungary, it was a goal by Brenda that broke a 5-5 tie late in the fourth quarter to earn the USA a ticket to Sydney.
In Sydney, Team USA reached the gold medal match and it came down to last minute heroics again, but it was not to be, as Australia scored a game winner at the buzzer.
Finally, in the spring of 2001, Brenda played her first game for Stanford. During her three years playing for Cardinal, she would twice be named player of the year and led Stanford to its first women’s NCAA title in 2002.
After graduating from Stanford, Brenda played professionally in Europe and coached in the off season as Team USA dominated the world of women’s water polo. In the first decade of the new millennium, the USA won three world championships, seven World League Super Finals and numerous other tournaments. The Olympic Games remained a disappointment, with a bronze medal in Athens and silver again in Beijing.
Then came London. After 17 years on the national team, Brenda, once the youngest player on the team was now the captain. Only Heather Petri, two years older, remained from Sydney. Once again, behind a new coach, Adam Krikorian, and an infusion of new talent, Team USA entered the 2012 Olympic Games as the favorite, and this time they didn’t disappoint. Brenda and Team USA finally got the gold with an 8 to 5 victory over Spain.
Brenda has received numerous awards and recognition over the course of her incredible career, but none mean more to her than the City of Commerce naming the pool she grew up swimming in, the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center.
Today, Brenda and her husband Gino are the proud parents of a baby girl, Gianna. They live in northern California where Brenda continues to share her passion for excellence and love of water polo through coaching, personal appearances and her work with several non-profit foundations.
PARIS PARALYMPICS BEGIN ~ AUGUST 28, 2024
Shared from: Paris 2024
In honor of our first Paralympic Honoree, Trischa Zorn, who we will induct on September 30, 2023, we will be sharing and educating more about the Paralympics and Paralympians…….
In 500 days, France will host an exceptional event, for the first time in its history!
On August 28, 2024, the Paralympic Games will begin with a unique opening ceremony in the heart of Paris.
184 national paralympic committees will parade from the bottom of the Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde, under the eyes of 65,000 spectators from all over the world.
pour 4,400 Paralympic athletes will meet in Paris to shine through top-level performances across more than 22 Paralympic disciplines… Let’s be 549 tests!
The city will be their playground! Exceptional sites will testify to their performances: the Grand Palais for Armchair Fencing, the Esplanade of the Disabled for Para Archery, the Castle of Versailles for Para riding…
changer The Paralympic Games are a unique opportunity to change mindsets and make society more inclusive.
Proof that there is sport for everyone no matter their disability – a way to learn about your body & gain self confidence!
The strength of these athletes deserves your presence!
The emotions felt through their performances will change your whole perception of disability.
The Paralympic box office will open its doors this autumn. Make your appointment for exceptional
Today, on Fran Crippen’s birthday, almost 13 years later, what we have learned from his avoidable death: LET US NEVER FORGET
Story copied from ESPN.com / by: Bonnie D. Ford / first published 10/23/2020
Everyone who knew Fran Crippen remembers where they were when they heard. Word traveled swiftly from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 23, 2010, and it traveled widely. Fran’s personal reach, like his wingspan in the water, was considerable. Sorrow rippled out from his hometown of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, his alma mater, the University of Virginia, and his onetime training base of Mission Viejo, California, and washed over hundreds of athletes and coaches he got to know through national and international competition.
I also remember where I was — alone, driving on a pristine fall day, admiring the brilliant color of the trees flowing by. I stopped, for some reason that escapes me, and looked at my phone.
The news was incomprehensible. Elite swimmers didn’t just drown. They didn’t slip away unseen in a race, with dozens of people around them — fellow competitors, officials, volunteers — on the course. Did they? Fran was 26, a sculpted athlete in his prime.
I called my editor. “There’s something not right here,” I said.
Fran Crippen and I never met. I began to tell his story only after his death. And yet Fran influenced me as a journalist as much or more as any athlete I’ve ever covered, leading me down paths that were both dark and inspiring. He was that compelling of a person. Still is.
There are stories you do out of obligation, and stories you pursue out of passion, and then there are a handful of stories over a career that take you by the shoulders and propel you with no clear idea of where you’re going — and don’t allow you to quit. Fran’s story was all three of those for me.
I’d covered Olympic-level swimming for many years, but back then, I knew next to nothing about Fran’s discipline of marathon, or open-water swimming. Gifted, charismatic and generous, Fran was poised to put his niche sport on the map in the United States. The 10-kilometer event had been elevated to Olympic status in time for the 2008 Beijing Games. Fran won a bronze medal at the world championships the following year and took aim at the 2012 Summer Games in London. The Fujairah event was part of the 10K Grand Prix series that offered one of the only opportunities to compete against other top open-water athletes.
EDITOR’S PICKS
U.S. national swimmer Crippen dies during race
Crippen remembered for humor, love of sport
In the days after his death I spent time at Germantown Academy in suburban Philadelphia, where Fran and his three sisters had all excelled in the pool. The oldest, Maddy, had world-class talent and made an Olympic final in 2000. She raced to her parents’ home in the early-morning hours of Oct. 23 so they wouldn’t be alone. She also acted as the family spokesperson in the immediate aftermath, and met with me in a downtown coffee shop, where I marveled at her fierce composure.
Maddy and Fran
I tracked down other swimmers who had been in the race. They described a nonexistent safety net on a day when the water and ambient air temperature were both dangerously hot, a potentially lethal combination for swimmers churning at race pace for two hours or more. Bravely, with controlled anger and resolve, his U.S. teammate Alex Meyer took me through the day minute-by-minute and made me feel the horror of seeing his friend’s lifeless body recovered after an inexcusably delayed search.
The tragedy became the subject of two investigations, an independent probe commissioned by USA Swimming and a separate one by FINA, swimming’s international governing body. Both concluded that Fran died because of a confluence of factors, extreme heat and organizer negligence being primary among them.
Inexplicably, there was no upper temperature ceiling in place for events at the time. There is now, but the standard (31 degrees Celsius, or 87.8 degrees Fahrenheit) is still vulnerable to manipulation by officials who measure it two hours before the start time and are often reluctant to call a halt to racing.
The Olympic test event at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo came under scrutiny late last year due to the water conditions. Jae C. Hong/AP
In more than one major event in recent years, the onus has fallen on swimmers to withdraw when they feel conditions are unsafe, rather than having organizers make the right decision. The issue arose again at the August 2019 Olympic 10K test event in Tokyo Bay.
Fran’s mother, Pat Crippen, put it better than I ever could in an email to me this week:
“While considerable progress has been made since 10/23/10 and I am very grateful for that, I wish I could say Fran’s death has changed the course of OW swimming with total focus on the safety of the athlete, but when I hear of races still being held under questionable conditions, when I hear it’s up to swimmers to pull out of races because of unacceptable conditions, I am disheartened.”
What Fran’s death did make immutable was the presence of adequate safety personnel on the course — or in the sport’s shorthand, “eyes on swimmers.” There’s no way to eliminate risk from a sport where dozens of variables can come into play on any given day, or predict when an athlete might become ill or suffer a serious cardiac or respiratory problem. Getting to swimmers within seconds of the first sign of trouble is crucial. The typical field in an elite open-water race is small enough to keep eyes on every athlete.
As I reported on those investigations and reform efforts throughout 2011 and the lead-up to London 2012, I kept stumbling across reports of amateur triathletes dying in the swim portion of events. That, too, brought me up short — why were fatalities happening at the beginning of an endurance event, rather than the end?
The knowledge and conviction I had developed in covering Fran’s story led me to do a yearlong investigation of those deaths, compiling my own database and doing dozens of interviews. I felt driven by Fran’s memory the entire time, and for that, I feel indebted. I hope my work had a lasting effect on how the industry approaches water safety and how participants prepare for events.
“Sometimes lack of oversight can endanger grown athletes as well, as it did in the completely avoidable tragedy in Fujairah 10 years ago, where 50 swimmers survived conditions unsuitable for racing, and one did not.”Bonnie D. Ford
Fran’s story taught me to be even more vigilant and professionally skeptical about the relationship of Olympic sport federations and athletes, and not to take for granted that leaders in those sports always act in the athletes’ best interests. I used to presume that officials would adhere to a basic duty of care, if only to protect themselves. I was wrong.
When a sport is included in the Olympics, it dramatically ups the stakes and desire for young men and women who will single-mindedly chase glory, sometimes at their own peril. The message in many sports boils down to: Trust us with your kids. We’ll take care of them. But sports entities don’t always hold up their end of the bargain. We’ve seen that play out in an extreme way in sexual abuse cases in youth sports, where the power imbalance is stark. But sometimes lack of oversight can endanger grown athletes as well, as it did in the completely avoidable tragedy in Fujairah 10 years ago, where 50 swimmers survived slipshod organization and conditions unsuitable for racing, and one did not.
The day of Fran’s funeral, people who had loved and admired him went to pools, lakes and shorelines wherever they were and cast flowers on the water. Currents carried the blossoms away, but Fran has stayed present for many. This week, I received a message — unsolicited — from Belgian swimmer Brian Ryckeman, who finished third in the race where Fran perished.
“Fran was a big inspiration to me and had a big impact on my swimming career and still in my life. Even after 10 years I still think about him very often. And I hope swimmers from this generation will hear all about his story and his life. I’m the father now of a beautiful daughter. Fran and I have the same age. I was talking to my wife last week, we wondered how his life would have been. I think it’s important for all of us, and for the sport, that we learn from this. I’m coaching now and all my kids, age 8 to 20, know about this story.”
Fran was not the only member of his family imbued with staying power. The Crippens have continued their dignified, classy, and very real journey without their beloved son and brother mainly in private. But they also established a foundation in his name — the Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation — that advocates for water safety and awards grants to athletes who channel his spirit.
His mother, Pat, personally reads the grant applications. This is what she wrote me about the essay authors:
“It’s clear to me that while they did not know Fran personally, they know his story and not just about his tragic death. They wrote about his resilience, his focus, his hard work and determination. This I find heartwarming and mostly what I want them to remember about Fran. I know for certain that Fran would say this is his legacy.”
Through her eyes and those of so many others, I humbly agree.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PENNY & VICKY VILAGOS
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (duet); 1982 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team); 1985 FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team); 1991 FINA WORLD CUP: silver (team); 1981 PAN-PACIFIC GAMES: gold (team); 1983 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: silver (duet), gold (team); 1980, 1981, 1984, 1991 SWISS OPEN: gold (duet); 1st DUET IN THE WORLD TO RECEIVE A PERFECT ‘10’ IN DUET; SEVEN TIME CANADIAN NATIONAL DUET CHAMPIONS.
A pair of overweight, uncoordinated twins is the way they describe themselves in elementary school. But when they were eight years old they discovered synchronized swimming; they had a natural talent for it and they loved it. It was the perfect sport for identical twins, swimming like mirrored images.
Just like another pair of Hall of Fame synchro twins, Karen and Sarah Josephson, Penny and Vicky Vilagos became inseparable in synchro duet swimming. They competed for National team coach Julie Sauvé at CAMO in Montreal. At age 17, in 1980, they were crowned National Duet Champions and expected to perform at the 1980 Moscow Olympics with synchro as a demonstration sport. When the boycott spoiled those plans, the Swiss Open Championships became their milestone as the pair received the world’s first duet perfect score of “10”, just beating out Hall of Famers, Tracie Ruiz and Candy Costie. Their routines were innovative and creative and over the next three years they were among the world’s top performers.
Then, in 1984, they failed to make the Olympic team. After fourteen years of training and striving, they had to accept that their Olympic dream would remain out of reach. They retired from swimming to finish their university degrees and start their careers.
Then, one day in 1990, while watching a synchro competition, they experienced an unexpected sensation and realized their Olympic dream was still alive. “Si on n’essaie pas, on ne le saura jamai!” they say – “If we don’t try, we’ll never know!”
The challenges were immense. They only had two years to train for the 1992 Olympic Games. In addition, they did not qualify for funding, so they had to try this comeback, while working full time jobs and practicing five hours a day each day after work. They also had to fund all their international travel to events while keeping up their grueling schedule, all the while not knowing if they’d even make the team. But they believed in themselves and with a team of four dedicated coaches to push them to their limits, they achieved an unprecedented comeback at the age of 27 and realized their Olympic dream by winning the duet silver medal in Barcelona. This is one of the great comeback stories in FINA history.
EVERY CHILD A SWIMMER
Drowning is Preventable, yet it continues to claim the lives of so many.
The Every Child a Swimmer program is working proactively to prevent this type of tragedy.
Please join our efforts!
#watersafety#awareness#advocacy#savinglives#drowningprevention#childsafety#parenting#child#beach#la
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTEN BABB SPRAGUE ~ April 16
Read Kristen’s Honoree Bio below and after that, read an article from the SI Vault that you can click on at the bottom that tells the story of Kristen and her baseball player husband, Ed Sprague of the Toronto Blue Jays and what they did for their careers. It’s a GREAT story!!!!
KRISTEN BABB-SPRAGUE (USA) 1999 Honor Synchronized Swimmer
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (solo); 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (team): 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team), silver (solo): 1991 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (solo, team); 1987 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (team); II FINA WORLD CUP: silver (team); III FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team); V FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team), silver (solo); U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4 (solo), 1 (duet), 8 (team); 1982 Japan International Age Group: gold (solo, 13-14 category).
Kristen Babb-Sprague is the original “Comeback Kid”. Following a career threatening back injury in 1989, she returned from a year-long layoff from the sport to win three consecutive national solo titles and two national team titles. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics she came from behind to win the gold medal in the solo event after having placed second to Canada’s Sylvie Frechette at almost every meet since her 1989 injury. She was the first athlete ever to earn perfect scores in artistic impression at the Olympics for her modern innovative routines. Kristen was featured in print advertising campaigns by Speedo and Max Factor in such magazines as Rolling Stone, New Women and McCalls.
It all started at age three when her older sister Lisa and mom were part of the Walnut Creek Aquanuts (CA) Team. She performed in water shows and by age six joined the team. She became a product of U.S. synchro’s development program rising through the ranks of age group and Junior Olympic programs first under club founder Sue Ahlet and then Gail Emery, who guided her to the Olympic gold.
On the way to the Olympics, Kristen became the only athlete in USSS history to have competed for eight team national championship squads. She was four time solo national champion, eight time team champion and 1 time duet champion. She won two golds and two silvers in FINA World Cup competition and was the first USSS athlete to qualify for four World Cup squads. She competed in 14 World Regional Championships or Invitationals winning 16 gold and seven silver medals.
At the 1992 Olympic Games, Kristen Babb, which the year before had married 1988 Olympic baseball player and Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ed Sprague, had deviated from the traditional, operatic approach to the sport. She introduced a more up-beat style of performance, popularizing the sport worldwide. The “western” performance at the Olympics included the music of Leonard Bernstein’s “Rodeo”, John Williams’ “Cowboy” and a moving interlude from “Amazing Grace”. The overwhelming response to her new routine style earned Babb-Sprague perfect 10’s in artistic impression and three 10’s for technical merit. She performed 33 – 360 degree vertical spins including her patented drag spin. When the scores were added together, Kristen had a combined figures and routine score of 191.848 to Sylvie Frechettes’ 191.717.
Kristen has been a national spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. She is a 1992 AAU Sullivan Award finalist and USSS Athlete of the Year, a 1997 USSS Hall of Fame Inductee and three-time “Womens Sports and Fitness” Magazine Up-and-Coming Athlete of the Year.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARA TORRES!!!!!
One of ISHOF’s favorite Honorees and Board Members, Dara is always there for us to lend a helping hand. Anytime we ask her to do anything, it is always with a yes and a smile. Thank you Dara for being you and so great to ISHOF. We want to wish you a very special birthday, filled with lots of love, family, friends and fun!
Dara has had one amazing career, if you don’t already know it, read about it here now:
Dara
Dara Torres (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2016)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4×100 m freestyle); 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (4×100 m medley), bronze (4×100 m freestyle); 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4×100 m freestyle); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4×100 m freestyle, 4×100 m medley), bronze (50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (50 m freestyle, 4×100 m freestyle, 4×100 m medley); 1986WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): silver (4×100 m freestyle); 1987 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100 m freestyle, 4×100 m freestyle, 4×100 m medley); 1983 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4×100 m freestyle); SIX WORLD RECORDS: three individual (50m free), three relays (4x100m free, 4x100m medley)
Dara’s Induction Video
Dara Grace Torres grew up in Beverly Hills, California, where she learned to swim in her family’s backyard pool. At the age of seven, she followed her brothers to swim practice at the local YMCA. During her junior year of high school, Torres moved to Mission Viejo, CA, to train with Hall of Fame Coach Mark Schubert, and in 1983 she broke the world record in the 50-meter freestyle. The next year, while not yet a senior in high school, she won her first Olympic gold medal as a member of the USA’s 4×100 freestyle relay team.
Swimmer for the ages
Swimming for Randy Reece at the University of Florida, Torres earned 28 NCAA All-American swimming awards and at the 1988 Olympic Games, she won two silver medals swimming on relays. She finished her collegiate athletic career playing volleyball and took two years off before returning to win her second Olympic relay gold medal in Barcelona, Spain during the summer of 1992.
After 1992, Torres lived what appeared to be a glamorous life. She moved to New York City, worked in television, and as a Wilhelmina model she became the first athlete model in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Then in the spring of 1999, despite not having trained in a pool for seven years, she decided to give the Olympics one more try.
Model Torres
Training with coach Richard Quick in Palo Alto and Santa Clara, Dara made the Olympic team for the fourth time, at the age of 33. She returned home with five medals, more than any other member of the team, including three in individual events, and retired.
In 2005, while pregnant with her first child, Dara began swimming three or four times a week at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, to keep fit. After giving birth to her daughter, Tessa Grace, in April 2006, she entered two Masters meets and posted times that emboldened her to try another comeback. She asked Coral Springs coach Michael Lohberg if he would coach her, and a little over a year later, she won the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Three days later, she broke the American record in the 50-meter freestyle for the tenth time – an amazing 24 years after setting it for the very first time. In 2008, Dara qualified for her fifth Olympic team and at the 2008 Beijing Games, she became the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics. Dara returned home with three silver medals, including the heartbreaking 50-meter freestyle race where she missed the gold by 1/100th of a second.
Dara and Tessa
In 2009, Dara won the ESPY award for “Best Comeback,” was named one of the “Top Female Athletes of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated magazine and became a best selling author with the release of her inspirational memoir, Age is Just a Number.
Dara 2009 Espy’s
Dara continued swimming after recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and with the encouragement of coach Lohberg, she set her sights on making a record sixth U.S. Olympic swim team. When she just missed making the London Olympics by nine-hundredths of a second in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 US Swimming Olympic Trials, she announced her retirement with a smile on her face and her six-year old daughter Tessa in her arms.
Queen Dara
Olympian, television personality, fitness guru, Queen of the Comeback, best-selling author and mother. Dara Torres is many things to many people, but above all, she is an inspiration.
AQUA MAGAZINE’S “The Honorable Dive Tower”
The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center and it’s beautiful new tower is becoming more famous everyday. We find more stories written about the tower daily. This article from Aqua Magazine appeared last week and just in time for the first ever event held on the tower: https://ishof.org/fort-lauderdale-aquatic-center-celebrates-official-grand-opening-in-style-with-ribbon-cutting-and-dive-challenge/
The Honorable Dive Tower
Written: By: Haley Grace Harris
Apr 6, 2023
An aquatic center Dive Tower in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was recently renovated and won a 2023 Precast/ Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) award. Out of three different categories — Buildings, Transportation and Specials — there were a total of 25 winners and eight honorable mentions this year. This specific tower was a part of the Buildings category, and won under the Custom Solution subcategory.
Photo courtesy Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI)
2023 marks the 60th anniversary of the PCI Design Awards, a program that recognizes creative and innovative usages of precast concrete. The panel consists of engineers, architects and precast concrete producers. The Buildings and Transportation categories are judged based on 1) aesthetic, structural and use versatility, 2) site, energy and operational efficiency, 3) risk reduction and 4) resiliency. The Specials award is judged based on the same criteria above, as well as industry advancement, sustainable design, technology and designs using only precast concrete.
Photo Credit: Laura Voet
“We are once again thrilled to recognize the tremendous capabilities of the precast concrete industry, especially on this milestone 60th anniversary of the program,” says Bob Risser, president and CEO of PCI. “Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to the jurors and PCI staff who make the program a success. Throughout the last 60 years, the precast concrete industry continues to innovate and improve, and these exemplary projects are the latest examples of that.”
The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center reopened to the public in June of 2022. The dive tower was the focus of this $27 million renovation project. The structure is 27 meters, making it the tallest dive tower in the Western Hemisphere, and the first in the world to incorporate both diving and high-diving competition in one precast concrete solution.
The tower can be seen from a distance, as it looms in the sky with fluid curves that imitate the Atlantic Ocean nearby. The structure includes nine platform levels, four of which are high-diving platforms at 15, 20, 24 and 27 meters, with the other five being regular diving platforms: 1, 3, 5, 7.5 and 10 meters. Lastly, the tower can accommodate up to five springboards.
All renovations made to the center had to meet the requirements for aquatic competition regulated by the International Swim Federation. Using precast concrete was thought to be the fastest and most cost effective way to meet these requirements.
“The design concept involved the creation of platforms extruding from the center core,” says Teen Woon with Justin Architects. “Due to the unique design, the structural support of each platform was engineered specifically for each platform. The organic curvilinear form also posed challenges. The precise tolerance level was achieved through extensive coordination and craftsmanship.”
This article first appeared in the April 2023 issue of AQUA Magazine — the top resource for retailers, builders and service pros in the pool and spa industry. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to all industry professionals. Click here to subscribe.
Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Downtown Council’s Board of Directors met at ISHOF, April 12, 2023
The Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Downtown Council’s Board of Director’s Meeting was held at our very own International Swimming Hall of Fame yesterday. We had a lot of new visitors to ISHOF that had never been before, and certainly the majority had never seen the new facility with the star of the complex, the new 27-meter tower. They were welcomed by ISHOF Chairman of the Board, Bill Kent, ISHOF Board Members Matt McKean and Mike Dooley, and Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center Manager, Laura Voet.
All Photo Credits: Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce
A lot of the participants shared photos and posts on their social media, like Realtor, Jana Tomita, who said:
“The international Swimming Hall of Fame will be hosting some great events as the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup on 26-27 May and many other events. I was shocked to know that only 45% of the American people know how to swim… This is a public facility and everyone is welcome to enjoy the pool and to learn how to swim. Swim is life and there is NO excuses to bring your kids or yourself and learn how to swim “. Thank you Jana for helping spread the word!
#internationalswimminghalloffame#fortlauderdale#weareftl#cityoffortlauderdale#visitfortlauderdale#DreamDestination
We are aware that there are many residents of Fort Lauderdale the have never even been to the Hall of Fame. Whether it is to swim in one of our three beautiful pools, that are owned and operated by the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation Department
or take a quick trip to our ISHOF Museum. Unfortunately, the ISHOF museum is getting ready to under go an extremely large renovation project and 90% of our museum and memorabilia is packed away in a climate-controlled storage unit. We do have a few things to see though, so if you come for a swim, stop in and take a peak!!!
#GreaterFortLauderdaleChamberofCommerce #DowntownCouncil #ISHOF #FortLauderdaleAquaticCenter #WorldAquatics #USASwimming #EveryChildASwimmer #SwimmingisLife #Museum #Pool #USADiving#27meterTower MemorialDayWeekend #WorldAquaticsWorldCupHighDiving