‘Mystery, Alaska!’ Lydia Jacoby Becomes First Swimmer From State to Make U.S. Olympic Team
Many of the members of the United States Olympic swim team have been recognizable names for the last few years. Names like Ryan Murphy, Lilly King and Chase Kalisz will be off to Tokyo for their second Olympics. Katie Ledecky is on her third Olympic team, while many other big names will make their debuts.
Most of those swimmers come from heavily concentrated swimming areas. Ledecky hails from the top club out of D.C. – Nation’s Capital Swim Club, which has already put three on the team, including Ledecky, Andrew Wilson and Andrew Seliskar. Murphy hails from the Bolles School in Jacksonville, which is one of the top swimming private schools historically. Kalisz swam for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which produced Olympic medalists Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff and Beth Botsford. Lilly King comes from a small club in the Newburgh Sea Creatures, but hails from Indiana, a state with the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, which has served host to four Olympic Trials.
Last month in Omaha, Nebraska, 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby made history by becoming the first swimmer from Alaska to make the U.S. Olympic team. Jacoby swims for the Seward Tsunami Swim Club, based about two and a half hours south of the state’s biggest city Anchorage, which houses one of the few 50-meter pools in the state. Her club has about 50 members, consisting “mostly of little kids,” and she was the first swimmer from her state to even win a junior national title, which she did in 2019.
In her preparation for the Olympic Trials, Jacoby, who is committed to the University of Texas, moved to a rented family house in Anchorage so she could train long course while her pool in Seward was not opened during the pandemic. Many of the conversations around Jacoby’s name in Omaha have centered around her home state, and she carries that banner as Alaska’s best swimmer with pride.
“It means so much,” Lydia Jacoby said after her race. “I am so honored to be able to represent my state at a meet like this. I’m so excited to now be able to represent my country as well.”
Alaska, a state with no in-state Division I program, has never been known as a powerhouse for swimming, but had two swimmers competing in Omaha – Jacoby and Arizona State’s John Heaphy, who was 27th in the 100 breaststroke. With a limited number of 50-meter pools in the state, the odds are stacked against them. But that was a theme at the Olympic Trials with a few of the Tokyo qualifiers.
Rhyan White, the second place finisher in the 100 back and winner of the 200 back, hails from Utah, a state that has produced a few successful Division I swimmers, but has never been known to churn out Olympians. Patrick Callan, the sixth place finisher in the 200 freestyle, hails from Oklahoma, another state with no Division I program. Callan follows in David Plummer’s footsteps as an Olympian from Oklahoma.
Many of swimming’s biggest names don’t always come from powerhouse states either. Three-time Olympian Ian Crocker hailed from Maine, four-time Olympian Jenny Thompson came from New Hampshire and three-time Olympian Elizabeth Beisel came from Rhode Island. Making an Olympic team out of a smaller state is not a new feat, but it is always a relative surprise when it happens.
Jacoby’s feat of finishing runnerup in the 100 breast, which puts her second in the world rankings for 2021, proves that despite any perceived “limitations,” fast swimming can happen no matter where you come from. And now, she will chase a medal on the biggest stage in the sport.
Happy Birthday Pokey Watson Richardson!
LILLIAN “POKEY” WATSON (USA) 1984 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 gold (freestyle relay); 1968 gold (200m backstroke); WORLD RECORDS: 7 (200m freestyle; 6 relays); AAU NATIONALS Titles: 26 (100m, 200m, 200yd freestyle; 100m, 200m backstroke; 20 relays); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1967 bronze (100m freestyle); AMERICAN RECORDS: 42 (100yd, 100m, 200yd, 500yd, 500m freestyle; 200m backstroke; 29 relays).
“Pokey” Watson swam her way from Minneola, New York to Honolulu, Hawaii with gold medal stop-offs in Tokyo for the 1964 Olympics and Mexico City for the 1968 Games. Between her Olympic gold medals, the omnipotent “Pokey” (who never was pokey in the water) made nine overseas trips with U.S. teams. A freckle-faced prodigy for George Haines at Santa Clara, she won the first of her 22 National Championships at 13 and five years later hung it up to become a coach. Along the way, Pokey set six World Records individually and had a relay leg up on 20- more for a total of 26. Her American records were even more impressive with 13 and 29 relays. Thought of principally as a crawl swimmer who had been at it a long, long time, Pokey and her coach George Haines decided to turn her over and almost unnoticed, she won the 100 backstroke at the 1967 U.S. Outdoor Nationals. It was still a surprise when, abandoning freestyle completely, she won the Olympic gold medal in the 200m Back at Mexico by 2.6 seconds over the reigning world Record holder Elaine Tanner of Canada. Pokey was never a good breaststroker. She took care of this when she married one of the best in June, 1971, and became Mr. Allen Richardson. Her coaching career at U.S.C. was cut short when the Richardsons moved back to Hawaii where Allen set up his medical practice.
*Please note: Bio was written the year Honoree (Watson) was inducted-1984.
Andrew Wilson Reflects on Journey of Validation From Division III Swimmer to Olympian
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
Andrew Wilson Reflects on Journey of Validation From Division III Swimmer to Olympian
The Olympic trials were a triumphant blur for Andrew Wilson — and an historical blur.
Wilson finished second in both breaststroke events to secure his place on the U.S. Olympic team for Tokyo, becoming a rare NCAA Division III athlete to reach the Olympics. Now, Wilson is preparing to make an impact for Team USA at the delayed Tokyo Games.
“It is definitely still a little weird. We are back in Athens training, so in some ways it seems like it could have never happened, but it is starting to sink in,” Andrew Wilson told Swimming World last week. “I am trying to get refocused because I know I can go faster and represent the U.S. well.”
Qualifying gives Wilson a sense of validation as a swimmer but also validation for his journey from Division III Emory University to the Olympic team.
“It has been a goal of mine for a while. Every kid that grows up swimming watches the Olympics and thinks how awesome it would be do to that. There have been a lot of ups and downs along the way and it just feels vindicating, as far as decisions I made to get to this point,” Wilson said. “Everything just feels worth it which is a really great feeling. I am very proud of where I came from and how I got here. I hope all of the DIII athletes can share in this accomplishment. I am sure I won’t be the last. It is an honor to pave the way, but I don’t really feel like I am any different.”
Andrew Wilson. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Wilson first qualified by taking second in the 100 breaststroke, finishing behind Michael Andrew — by a hundredth of a second. Andrew won in 58.73 to edge Wilson (58.74).
“Going in, Michael had been really fast and Nic (Fink) had been really fast. Finals at that meet always tend to be a little slower with the added pressure and stress. No one sleeps well between semis and finals.It just becomes about putting together a good race. It was just about getting my hand on the wall,” Wilson said. “I was surprisingly calm before the race. I knew Michael was going to be out fast and the back half is where I was going to have to make my move. I had to make sure I didn’t over-swim the first 50, which is easy to do with so much adrenaline. I saw that I was catching up to Michael, and that always gives you more energy, so I just gave everything I had.”
With his place on the team solidified, it took pressure off Wilson for the 200. He finished second to Nic Fink, touching out Will Licon with a late push. Fink had finished third in the 100 and won the 200 in 2:07.55 to finish ahead of Wilson (2:08.32).
“A lot of the stress of that meet was lifted off of me after the 100. I didn’t want to check out because I wanted to make it in the 200, too. I knew it would be a close race. Unfortunately, Nic and Will, were on the other side of the pool. We couldn’t really see each other. My 200 for the first two swims I was really just trying to conserve as much energy as I could. I am always out pretty fast and I wanted to make sure I didn’t over-swim the first 100. I had to build the third 50 and then see what I had left. There are plenty of places I can improve in that race, but it was enough,” he said.
Wilson gets to go to Tokyo with Fink, his training partner.
“I was super happy for him. That meet is just brutal. The longer you are around the sport, the more people you know. There are six people you know in a final and want to make the team and only two go,” Andrew Wilson said. “In the 100, it came down to me having to out-touch him for that second spot. He works harder than anyone I ever met. I was really happy that he put it together. The fact that we get to train together for another month and be back on the same team — Trials kind of pits everyone against each other — and now we can see what we can do as a pair against the rest of the world.”
Passages: Honor Open Water Swimmer Herman Willemse Dies at 87
by ANDY ROSS
09 July 2021, 10:55am
International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Herman Willemse of the Netherlands passed away July 7, 2021, at the age of 87.
Herman Willemse – 2008 Honor Open Water Swimmer
Born in Holland, Herman Willemse was always the swimmer to beat, the “rabbit” of the pack and the undisputed world’s greatest marathon swimmer of the 1950’s and 60’s. Out of the water he was a teacher, and in the water, Willemse took an academic approach to the sport, and was always planning the next move to position himself in the race.
Herman Willemse (right) with Johnny Weissmuller. Photo Courtesy: ISHOF Archives
He changed the image of marathon swimming when he was one of the first to use a scientific approach of studying water conditions to develop race strategy.
Willemse was a successful pool swimmer in the 1950s, setting Dutch national records in the 1500m freestyle. Right after he switched to Marathon swimming in 1959, he became the second Dutchman to cross the English Channel.
Herman Willemse ISHOF award. Photo Courtesy: ISHOF Archives
Nicknamed the Flying Dutchman, a 17th century’s ghost-of-a-ship that could cut and “fly” through the wind and waves, Willemse “reined” over the greatest of marathon races. His first win came in 1960 in the 36km Atlantic City swim, where he touched first after a 10.5 hour trek, and it earned him prize money over 67x greater than what he was making as a teacher in Utrecht. five titles in the 25 mile Atlantic City Swim (1960 thru 1964), three titles in the 24 mile Lac Saint John Swim in Quebec, four titles in the 10 mile Tois Riviere Swim in the St. Lawrence River, and two titles at the C.N.E. Swims in Lake Ontario.
Between 1960 and 1964, he was nearly unbeatable in Mar del Plato (Argentina) (28 miles), Suez Canal (26 miles), Quebec City (10 miles), Chicoutimi (28 miles), Rio Parana (55 miles), Capri to Naples (23 miles), the English Channel and others.
After concluding his swimming career, Willemse returned to the water as skipper of a sailing charter company and in the early 1980s he sailed around the world with his wife Nel, according to Willemse’s son-in-law Edo Berger.
Herman Willemse was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the Golden Pin from the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation with the publication of his autobiography ‘Free Stroke.’
The International Swimming Hall of Fame announces the 2021 Paragon Award Recipients, Presented by Pentair Aquatic Systems
by MEG KELLER-MARVIN
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) announced the recipients of the 25th Annual Paragon Awards, sponsored by Pentair Aquatic Systems. The Paragon Awards are presented annually to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to aquatics in six categories. This year’s recipients are Teri McKeever for Competitive Swimming; Lynn Comer Kachmarik for Water Polo, Dave Burgering for Competitive Diving; Linda Quan, M.D. for Aquatic Safety; Betty Hazle for Synchronized Swimming and Florence Werner for Recreational Swimming. This year’s awards has been moved to Friday evening October 8, 2021 due to Covid in ceremonies during the International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction weekend, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
“For more than 20 years now, Pentair has been honored to be associated with the International Swimming Hall of Fame in recognizing leaders in the aquatic industry who play a prominent role in the promotion of aquatics with the Paragon Awards”, said Jim Drozdowski, Institutional Aquatics Sales Manager for Pentair Aquatic Systems.
“The annual Paragon Awards is a spectacular event that celebrates the unsung heroes who make competitive and recreational aquatics possible. These are the people who save lives, promote water safety and further aquatic education around the world. We are so proud to recognize these important people at the International Swimming Hall of Fame through the sponsorship of Pentair every year,” said ISHOF President/CEO Brent Rutemiller.
About This Year’s Paragon Award Recipients:
Competitive Diving
Dave Burgering competed on the U.S.A. Diving National Team from 1977-1984 and was he a member of the 1980 USA Olympic Team that boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games Burgering became the head diving coach of Swimming Hall of Fame at the Hall of Fame Pool, where he currently coaches. He has coached over 169 Junior National finalists, which include 30 gold medalists at the Junior National level and 11 Senior National gold medalists. He is the past President of USA Diving, was the 2008 U.S. Olympic Diving Coach, and has been a member of the USA Diving Coaching staff for numerous other events, including Grand Prix events, World Series and Junior Pan-Am Games.
2020 Paragon Award Winner Dave Burgering
Artisitc (Synchronized) Swimming
Betty Hazle has been on the U.S. Synchronized Swimming’s International Relations committee for the past 20+ years. She oversees the exchange programs through clubs with other nations with a mutual understanding of athletes learning fellowship, culture and sport. Hazle is a FINA A judge, she is on the UANA Technical committee and will be a judge representing the United States, in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
2020 Paragon Award Winner Betty Hazle
Water Polo
Lynn Comer Kachmarik is the founder and CEO of True Brand Sports LLC, and Vice President of Equilibria in Sports. She has 47 years of leadership and coaching experience at all sport levels. She was a twelve-time All-American water polo player and swimmer at Slippery Rock University. She was a 10-year member of the United States National Water Polo team, and then served on their Executive Committee. Throughout an 18-year career at Bucknell University, she held various coaching positions, including serving two decades as the head coach for the Men’s and Women’s Water Polo and Swim teams. Kachmarik has been inducted into six athletic Halls of Fame, including the United States Water Polo Hall of Fame, Bucknell University Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Collegiate Water Polo Coach Hall of Fame
2020 Paragon Award Winner Lynn Comer Kachmarik
Competitive Swimming Teri McKeever was in her 28th season overseeing the University of California women’s swimming & diving program in 2019-20. She has guided the Golden Bears to four NCAA and four Pac-12 team championships. She was the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Head Coach and has been a two-time U.S. Olympic Team Assistant Coach. McKeever has coached 26 swimmers who have won 36 Olympic medals, 64 swimmers and divers who have been named CSCAA All-American Scholars and has coached 133 swimmers and divers who have been named to the Pac-12 All-American Academic Team. She has been inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame and the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame.
2020 Paragon Award Winner Teri McKeever Photo Courtesy: Cal Athletics
Recreational Swimming
Florence Werner was an active American Red Cross Instructor for over 50 years. For Werner, swimming was her life. And although she is retired, she continues to offer guidance to swimmers and instructors alike. Her career began in 1961 at the Curtis Pool, a City of Miami Pool, just a few blocks from downtown Miami, which was once located along the Miami River. She was recognized for her 50 years of service and teaching by the American Red Cross, but what really mattered to Werner was teaching people to swim, young and old and making them safe.
2020 Paragon Award Winner Florence Werner Photo Courtesy: Jeff Kolodny
Water Safety
Linda Quan is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician at the Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center and a professor at the University of Washington’s Department of Pediatrics (Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development). Dr. Quan has been involved in drowning research and guidelines for many years on a national and international level. Dr. Quan and her longtime collaborator, Elizabeth Bennett’s research helped define the problem that in King’s County, teens 15-19 were at greater risk of drowning than any other age group besides preschoolers, and that drowning in lakes and rivers posed the greatest risk to teens.
2020 Paragon Award Winner Linda Quan
The Paragon Awards are part of ISHOF’s 56th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame and Masters Honoree Induction Weekend, October 8-9, 2021. For ticket information visit www.ishof.org or call 570 594-4367. For more information about the Paragon Awards, https://ishof.org/paragon-awards.html
About Pentair Aquatic Systems: Pentair Aquatic Systems is a world-wide leader in the manufacture of residential and commercial swimming pool equipment including PARAGON™ Competitive Starting Platforms, which have been the leader in innovation, design and quality for over 50 years. Pentair is a proud sponsor of the ISHOF “Paragon Awards” since 1996. For more information about the Paragon Awards, see: https://ishof.org/paragon-awards.html
About ISHOF
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) museum opened its doors to the public in December of 1968 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That same year, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) – the governing body for Olympic aquatic sports – designated the ISHOF museum as the “Official Repository for Aquatic History”. In 2018, Sports Publications Inc, publisher of Swimming World Magazine and its multi-media platforms, merged with ISHOF to expand the museum’s reach and impact. Today, ISHOF’s vision is to be the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to water sports. Show your support for the sport of swimming by becoming a member of ISHOF.
About the International Swimming Hall of Fame Induction Weekend:
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) Induction Ceremony is shaping up to be a star-studded weekend with ISHOF Honoree and Sullivan Award Winner, Debbie Meyer, and double Olympic gold-medalist and everyone’s favorite Olympic swimming broadcaster, Rowdy Gaines acting as co-emcees and hosts of the induction with multiple events spread out over two days in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Make your plans now to attend the weekend of October 8-9, 2021! ISHOF Members can purchase the Complete Weekend Package (see below) and save! (Get info on membership here.) Can’t attend the event? Donate to ISHOF to support our honorees.
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees include:
HONOR SWIMMERS: Brendan Hansen (USA), Michael Klim (AUS), Jon Sieben (AUS), Rebecca Soni (USA), and Daichi Suzuki (JPN)
HONOR DIVER: Matthew Mitcham (AUS)
HONOR SYNCHRONIZED (ARTISTIC) SWIMMER: Elvira Khasyanova (RUS)
HONOR WATER POLO: Mirko Vičević (YUG/MON)
HONOR OPEN WATER SWIMMER: Marilyn Bell (CAN)
HONOR COACH: Ursula Carlile (AUS) and David Marsh (USA)
HONOR CONTRIBUTOR: Bob Duenkel*(USA) and Peter Hürzeler (SUI)
*deceased
The Induction Weekend Schedule
Friday, October 8, 2021
Paragon & ISHOF Awards Night
5:30 pm Cocktails
6:30 pm ISHOF and Paragon Awards
Saturday, October 9, 2021
ISHOF & Masters (MISHOF) Honoree Induction Day Luncheon – Join Rowdy Gaines and go on a behind the scenes tour of the Aquatic Complex construction
12-1:30 pm Luncheon
Official 56th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame ISHOF & Masters (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony and Dinner
5:30 pm VIP Reception
6:30 –10:00 pm Induction Ceremony & Dinner
Ticket Information
October 8-9th Complete Weekend Package (Includes Paragon/ISHOF Awards Night, Saturday Luncheon, and Induction Ceremony-ISHOF and MISHOF-Masters)
ISHOF Members $350
ISHOF Non-Members $425 BEST PRICE!!
October 8th Paragon Awards and ISHOF Awards Night (Hors D’oeuvres and Open Bar) 5:30 pm
ISHOF Members $75
ISHOF Non-Members $100
October 9th Saturday Luncheon 12:00-1:30 pm
ISHOF Members $35
ISHOF Non-Members $50
October 9th Induction Ceremony and Dinner5:30 pm
ISHOF Members $275
ISHOF Non-Members $300
10 Person Table $3,500 and $5,000 (Prime location) options
*See all ticket options here.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Host Hotel: 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 $259 per night
Book your group rate for International Swimming Hall of Fame
NOTE: RESORT FEE IS INCLUDED in the $259 rate
Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 per night
Honoree Ceremony October 9, 2021Start Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2021End Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2021Last Day to Book: Friday, September 15, 2021
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony October 2021
Questions: contact Meg Keller-Marvin at meg@ishof.org or 570-594-4367
(July 6th) Happy Birthday to ISHOF Honor Contributor: Peter Montgomery
Peter Montgomery (AUS) 2013 Honor Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: FINA TECHNICAL WATER POLO COMMITTEE HONORARY SECRETARY: 1984-1992; CHAIRMAN FINA DISCIPLINARY PANEL: 2005-2009; MEMBER FINA DOPING PANEL: 1998-1999; PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD OLYMPIANS ASSOCIATION: 1995-1999; AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE BOARD MEMBER: 1989-Present; AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE VICE PRESIDENT Since 2001; MEMBER INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE ATHLETES COMMISSION; INTERNATIONAL COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT BOARD MEMBER: 1993-1999; FOUNDER AND MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE OF AUSTRALIAN WATER POLO: 1982-1992; PLAYED OVER 500 INTERNATIONAL WATER POLO MATCHES: 1972-1984; PLAYED ON FOUR OLYMPIC WATER POLO TEAMS: 1972-1984.
He was raised on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, where he played water polo and swam competitively in addition to being a surf lifesaver and junior rugby league player.
As one of Australia’s greatest water polo players, Peter competed in 404 international matches, serving as captain on 167 occasions. He played in the first FINA Water Polo World Cup, four FINA World Championships and in four Olympic Games from Munich in 1972, to Los Angeles in 1984.
Peter Guy Montgomery’s accomplishments were not just in the pool. He has been a solicitor of the New South Wales Supreme Court since 1972 and has been successful as a real estate investor, property developer and public company director for over 35 years. His business success has provided him with the resources to serve the Australian and International Olympic movement ceaselessly since his retirement as a world-class athlete.
He has served Australian Water Polo continuously since 1982 as Treasurer, Vice President and Patron. In 1984, after playing his last Olympic match, Peter was appointed Honorary Secretary of FINA’s Technical Water Polo Committee, a position he held for eight years. In 1985 he was appointed the first Chairman of the Australian Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission. As a member of the Sydney 2000 bid team, he was instrumental in women’s water polo being added to the Olympic program. In 2001, he was elected Vice President of the AOC, a position he still holds. He was Deputy Chef de Mission for Australia at four successive Olympic Games from 1996 to 2008 and was the first President of the World Olympians Association.
Within the International Olympic Committee he has served in many positions including the Athletes Commission, Olympic Academy Commission, Cultural Sport and Law Commission and Olympic Bid Evaluation Committee. Along with other awards, he has received the Olympic Order bestowed by IOC President Jacques Rogge, the IOC Universality in Sports Award and the University of Sydney’s Aquatic Center is named in his honor.
For over fifty years, Peter has lived the Olympic ideal of developing both his mind and body and giving back to the sport he loves.
*This bio was written in the year the Honoree was inducted, 2013, and may be outdated.
Happy Birthday (July 6, 1886) to the Original Million Dollar Mermaid ~ Annette Kellerman
ANNETTE KELLERMAN (AUS) 1974 Honor Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: Swim Champion of New South Wales: (100yd freestyle); Set many records in distance swimming in rivers of Australia and Europe; became professional high diver and stunt swimming artiste (fore-runner to synchronized swimming); Starred in motion pictures as a “moving picture mermaid”.
Annette Kellerman did more to popularize swimming (especially for women) than any other person in the early years. A childhood cripple, she swam her way out of steel braces and into good health. “Only a cripple can understand the intense joy that I experienced when little by little I found that my legs were growing stronger and taking on the normal shape and powers with which the legs of other youngsters were endowed.”
“But for swimming, I might have been hobbling about on crutches today (1918) instead of skating, dancing, and indulging in 25 mile constitutionals in addition to making my regular livelihood as a moving picture mermaid, or flirting with ‘Toto, the funny fish,’ through the walls of the glass tank at the New York Hippodrome.”
Annette Kellerman starred in motion pictures such as the “Diving Venus”, “Queen of the Mermaids”, “A Daughter of the Gods”, and “Neptune’s Daughter.” She crisscrossed the U.S. and circled the world in the famed “Annette Kellerman black one-piece suit” which made swimming attractive to men and liberated for women. She performed stunts and dives which mad her first among the fore-runners to synchronized swimming and women’s high diving.
She won her first title as Swim Champion of New South Wales (100 yds. in 1:18) then set a women’s world record for the mile with 32:29, a time which she subsequently lowered to 28 minutes. Her first distance swim was 10 miles in Australia’s Yarrow River. She set records in the Yarrow at 2 1/2 miles (46 min.) and 5 miles (downriver) at an average of 21 minutes a mile. Her first public diving display was from the 50-ft. high board at Cavills Bath in Sydney. She began her pro-career giving two shows a day in the 60 ft. glass tank with fish at the Melbourne Exhibition Aquarium.
Miss Kellerman went next to England for “more people, more theaters and more money to be earned by professional swimmers.” To attract attention, she swam through London along the Thames from Putney Bridge to Blackwall in 3 1/2 hours with huge crowds watching from the banks. In preparing to be the first woman to swim the English Channel (no one had made it since the one and only crossing by Capt. Matthew Webb, over 30 years before), Kellerman swam daily from town to town along the English Coast — 4 1/2 miles Dover to St. Margaret’s Bay, 11 miles Dover to Deal, 11 miles Deal to Ramsgate, 10 miles Ramsgate to Margate and finally 24 miles Dover to Ramsgate. Annette Kellerman’s Channel swims never quite made it, but her 10 1/2 hours, three quarters of the way across was a women’s record that held many years. On her first Channel attempt she was violently seasick and lasted 6 3/4 hours. Among the seven on this attempt was Burgess, who later became the second ever to make the Channel, 36 years after Capt. Webb’s famous swim.
After her ill-fated Channel swims, Annette Kellerman tried and won a 7 mile “Seine Swim through Paris” beating 16 men as she and Burgess tied. This swim drew half a million spectators, the largest live audience ever to see a swim race. Annette challenged and beat Baroness Isa Cescu, the best known Austrian swimmer in a 22 mile Danube River Race from Tuln to Vienna.
Having conquered all the swimmers and most of the rivers of Australia and Europe, Annette came to the U.S. where she specialized in water feats as a high diving and stunt swimming artiste. After long runs in Chicago and Boston, she was signed by the Keith Circuit doing her “first time ever” diving act on stage every day for 2 years (14 shows a week). When imitators threatened her $1,250 a week contract, Annette moved on to Hollywood, where her first movie, “Neptune’s Daughter”, cost $35,000 to make and grossed $1,000,000. In each of her succeeding movies the public expected new stunts. After 5 movies, Annette returned to the New York Hippodrome with “the biggest mermaid spectacle ever seen live or on the stage.” Forty years later Annette Kellerman was back in the film– when her life was portrayed by Esther Williams.
*This bio was written the year the Honoree was inducted, 1974.
Happy Birthday to ISHOF Honor Coach Don Watson, who would have turned 89 today…….
Don Watson (USA)
2015 Honor Coach
FOR THE RECORD: COACH OF FIVE OLYMPIC SWIMMERS WINNING TWO GOLD, ONE SILVER, ONE BRONZE MEDALS: 1968, 1972; COACH OF SWIMMERS SETTING THREE WORLD RECORDS AND FIVE RELAY WORLD RECORDS; COACH OF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SWIMMERS WINNING FIVE GOLD AND ONE SILVER MEDALS: 1973, 1975, 1979; COACH OF SIX SWIMMERS WINNING THIRTEEN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND SETTING SIX NATIONAL RECORDS: 1970 – 1976; COACH OF THREE SWIMMERS WINNING THREE GOLD AND ONE SILVER MEDALS AT THE PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1971; COACH OF TWO WORLD PROFESSIONAL MARATHON SWIMMING CHAMPIONS; COACH OF FOUR A.A.U. US NATIONAL LONG DISTANCE TEAM CHAMPIONS; COACH OF THREE-TIME U.S. OLYMPIC MODERN PENTATHLON TEAM MEMBER; AMERICAN SWIMMING COACHES ASSOCIATION COACH OF THE YEAR:1970; SIX-TIME INTERNATIONAL USA TEAM MANAGER: 1989 – 1995; DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SWIM CENTER: 1981 – 2005; MANAGER OF LONGHORN AQUATICS SWIM CLUB: 1981 – 2005; CONDUCTED OVER 45 MAJOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS; COACH OF HINSDALE HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING TEAM: 1965 – 1980.
Don Watson’s swimming life began in the mid-1940s when, having just turned 13, he joined the St. Louis YMCA swim team. Now, as it turned out, the St. Louis Y had among its members, an outstanding swimmer who would have a profound influence not only on Don’s life, but on the sport of swimming. That swimmer was Jim Counsilman, better known to us today as “Doc.”
Don remembers the 1946 YMCA National Championships, held at Huntington, Indiana as his most memorable meet. Doc — who was captain of the Ohio State team at the time – won the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke titles — and Don won the 1650 free. Another highlight of his swimming career was breaking the record for the 22 mile Mississippi River Marathon swim by almost four hours.
Perhaps not by coincidence, Don earned a swimming scholarship to the University of Iowa, where Counsilman was the team’s assistant coach under another Hall of Fame coach, David Armbruster. After graduating from Iowa, Don married fellow swimmer Janet Frank. The couple then moved to Indiana, where Don earned a Masters degree in physical education while serving as an assistant coach under IU’s new head coach- you guessed it – Doc Counsilman!
On leaving Indiana in 1965, Don taught and toiled as an assistant coach before accepting the top position at Hinsdale Central High School, in Illinois. At Hinsdale, Don racked up an incredible record of 163 wins against just three losses. Included among those wins were 128 consecutive victories and 12 consecutive state championships between 1967 and 1978.
In 1968, one of his swimmers, Hall of Famer, John Kinsella, then just a 16-year-old high school sophomore, took the silver medal in the 1500 meter freestyle at the Mexico City Olympic Games. Two years later, Hinsdale won the national interscholastic title. John Kinsella became the first to break the 16 minute barrier in the 1500 meter freestyle and won the Sullivan Award as America’s outstanding Amateur Athlete. That same year Don Watson was named “coach of the year” by both United States Swimming and the National Interscholastic Swimming Association.
At the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, Kinsella won a relay gold medal, while another Hinsdale swimmer, John Murphy, won Olympic gold and bronze medals.
Watson’s coaching talents extended beyond the pool and into the open water. Beginning in 1973, Kinsella and fellow Hinsdale swimmer, Sandra Bucha, began dominating the world professional marathon circuit. Over his pro career, John won 29 of 31 races and over her 3-year career, Sandra never lost an open water race to another woman. Often the only male to beat her was Kinsella.
Another Watson-coached swimmer was Bob Nieman, a three-time U.S. Olympian in the Modern Pentathlon.
Don left Hinsdale in 1980 to become the Director of the University of Texas Swimming Stadium and Manager of the Longhorn Aquatic Swim Club. In addition to collaborating with six Hall of Fame head coaches at UT, Don was responsible for hosting numerous major competitions at the Stadium, including the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.
In the 1970s Don Watson’s “Hinsdale Program” became a national model for developing a community-based swimming program noted not only for producing great athletes, but for instilling in them basic concepts of commitment, dedication, hard work and service – as a prescription for successful lives as adults. Among the many noteworthy alums of Watson’s Hinsdale program are Dr. George Tidmarsh, a leader in the bio pharma industry, and Bob Dudley, the CEO of British Petroleum.
Happy Birthday to Two-Time Olympic Butterfly Champion Denis Pankratov!
Denis Pankratov (RUS) 2004 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: 6th (200m butterfly); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m, 200m butterfly), silver (4x100m medley relay); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: 7th (200m butterfly); SEVEN WORLD RECORDS: 2-100m butterfly, 1-200m butterfly, 1-50m butterfly (S.C.), 2-100m butterfly (S.C.), 1-200m butterfly (S.C.); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: gold (200m butterfly), silver (4x100m medley), bronze (100m butterfly); 1993 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m butterfly, 4x100m medley), silver (100m butterfly); 1995 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 4x100m medley).
On July 4, 1974, in Volgograd, Russia, Denis Pankratov was born. He was to become the greatest butterfly swimmer to swim for his country. He and Volgograd teammate, Evgenyi Sadovyi, both became Olympic champions – Sadovyi in the 200m and 400m freestyle and Pankratov in the 100m and 200m butterfly.
By age 16, in 1990 and again in 1991, Denis won the Junior European Championships in the butterfly. With little international experience, the next year he placed 6th in the final of the 200m butterfly at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Games. In 1993, at the Sheffield European Championships, Pankratov became more noticed, winning gold medals in the 200m butterfly and 4x100m medley and a silver medal in the 100m butterfly. In European Championship competition, he repeated this performance in the 1995 Vienna Championships, this time winning all three gold medals and breaking Pablo Morales’ nine-year-old 100m butterfly world record with a 52.32. He held the 100m butterfly world record for over two years.
At the 1994 World Championships in Rome, Pankratov swam head-to-head with all the best swimmers of the world. He won the 200m butterfly, placed second in the 4x100m medley and third in the 100m butterfly. This competition established Pankratov’s world dominance in the butterfly and two years later in Atlanta, at the 1996 Olympic Games, he won two gold medals, one each in the 100m and 200m butterfly and a silver medal in the 4x100m medley with his Russian teammates. His 100m butterfly victory was another world record of 52.27, breaking his own record set the previous year.
Pankratov tried for the 2000 Sydney Games and finished 7th in the 200m butterfly. All totaled, he set seven world records – three long course and four short course. His two long course 100m butterfly world records stood for two years until broken in 1997 by Michael Klim (AUS), and his 200m butterfly world record of 1:55.22 lasted five years before broken by Tom Malchow (USA). His short course world records included two in the 100m butterfly and one each in the 50m and 200m butterfly. They were set in 1997, his in-between years of the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games.
Denis Pankratov is the only Russian swimmer to win a medal in the 100m butterfly in Olympic competition.
Happy Birthday to Olympic Gold Medalist Mark Lenzi, who would have been 53 today…….
MARK LENZI (USA) Honor Diver
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (3m springboard); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (3m springboard); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (1m springboard); 1989, 1991 FINA WORLD CUP: gold (1m springboard-1989, 3m springboard-1991); 1991 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (1m springboard); 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996 ALAMO INTERNATIONAL: 3 bronze, 2 silver (1m, 3m springboard); 1989-1996 INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONALS: 5 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze (1m, 3m springboard) (Alamo Challenge, Australia, New Zealand, Madrid, Rome); 8 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4-1m springboard, 4-3m springboard.
Mark Lenzi trained to be a high school wrestler in Fredericksburg, Virginia but was so inspired during his last year in high school when watching Greg Louganis win two gold medals in the 1984 Olympic Games he switched to diving. This was a momentous decision for Mark. Even at this late age in his athletic career he became one of the world’s best divers.
Indiana University and Hall of Fame Diving Coach Hobie Billingsley was so thrilled by the potential of this young diver he offered him a scholarship just out of high school, with less than a year’s experience. At five feet-four inches, 160 pounds, Mark Lenzi proved Coach Billingsley to be right. Billingsley groomed Lenzi to winning two NCAA National Championships (1989, 1990) in the one-meter springboard, becoming NCAA Diver of the Year in both of those years. By age 21, in 1989, he made his first U.S. National Team. The next year he graduated from Indiana with a General Studies degree. After graduation he continued diving and preparing for the 1992 Olympic Games. Now coached by Hall of Fame Coach Dick Kimball, Lenzi was the 1991 and 1992 Phillips 66 Diver of the Year. At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Lenzi won the gold medal on the three-meter springboard by a whopping 31 points, defeating China’s Tan Liangde and Russian Dmitri Sautin. He was named the World Springboard Diver of the Year and was an AAU Sullivan Award nominee and finalist.
Following the Barcelona Games, Lenzi retired from competition. In 1994, he earned a private pilot’s license from ComAir Aviation Academy. During a 20-month period he was going through “post-Olympic blues.” When he emerged in 1993, he was determined to make it back into Olympic competition and strive for another Olympic medal. He competed in numerous international competitions in preparation for the Games. At the 1996 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials he qualified second on the three-meter springboard. At the competition in Atlanta he won the bronze medal behind Xiong Ni and Yu Zhoucheng, both of China and all within 15 points of each other.
All totaled, Lenzi won 16 international competitions on one- and three-meter boards in Pan American Games, F.I.N.A. World Cups, Alamo Cups, Australia Invitationals and other competitions. During his career, Lenzi became the first diver to score over 700 points (762.35) on the three-meter springboard for 11 dives, surpassing Greg Louganis’s 1983 world record for the highest ever score. He became the first diver to score over 100 points on a single dive (reverse 3-1/2 tuck) and the first American to complete a forward 4-1/2 somersault in competition. At the 1991 World Championships, he won the silver medal in diving’s new international event, the one-meter springboard.
