On this day in 1924, Sir Peter Heatly was born…….
Sir Peter Heatly (GBR) 2016 Honor Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: MEMBER FINA TECHNICAL DIVING COMMITTEE: 1966-1988 (Chairman 1984-1988), Honorary Secretary (1972-1984); MEMBER LEN TECHNICAL DIVING COMMITTEE: 1966–1988; CHAIRMAN OF COMMONWEALTH GAMES FEDERATION: 1982-1990; APPOINTED LIFE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES FEDERATION: 1990; 1948 OLYMPIC GAMES: diving competitor, (5th); 1952 OLYMPIC GAMES: diving competitor; 1950 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (10m Platform); 1954 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: silver (3m Springboard); 1958 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (10m platform); 1966 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Scottish Team Manager; 1974 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Scottish Team Manager; CHAIRMAN OF THE SCOTTISH SPORTS COUNCIL: 1975-1987.
As a swimmer, he was the Scottish freestyle champion and record holder over several distances between 1942 and 1947 before deciding to concentrate on diving. Self-taught and self-coached, he won gold medals at the 1950, 1954 and 1958 Commonwealth Games on the 10-meter platform and represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in 1948 in London and in 1952 in Helsinki.
After Peter Heatly’s career as an athlete ended, he decided to give back to the sports he so loved. He would serve the aquatic sports in some capacity for over seventy years at the local, national and international levels as either a manager, official or administrator.
Peter joined the FINA and LEN technical diving committees in 1966, serving as Honorary Secretary of the FINA Committee from 1972 to 1984 and Chairman from 1984 to 1988. He was selected Chairman of the Great Britain Swimming Federation in 1981 and again in 1992. He served as chairman of the National Scottish Learn to Swim Campaign from 1964 to 1974 and went on to become Chairman of the Scottish Sports Council from 1975 to 1987.
Heatly was involved in 17 consecutive Commonwealth Games from 1950 to 2014, becoming Vice -Chairman of the Organizing Committee, when the Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970, and Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation from 1982 to 1990 after the first ever balloted election.
As a Chartered Civil Engineer, he produced and delivered papers on the design of swimming pools to professional bodies both in Great Britain and Europe. He also received Honorary Doctorates from three universities for his contributions to the sport.
Peter Heatly was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1971 and in 1990 was installed as a Knight of the Realm by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. He was inducted into the Scottish Hall of Fame in 2002 and into the Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame in 2010.
Legendary High Diver Dana Kunze Joins ISHOF’s One in a Thousand Campaign
Photo Courtesy: ISHOF Archives
by ANDY ROSS
08 June 2021, 05:01am
Legendary high diver Dana Kunze has joined ISHOF’s One in a Thousand campaign, designed to help the Hall of Fame prosper during the COVID pandemic.
“I decided to donate because I love the sport of swimming and diving, the place, the people and the mission! I’ve been involved with the Hall of Fame since my first world record for ABC Sports there in 1978 and over the years I have helped by performing some shows, bringing Royal Caribbean to the complex to rehearse, rent the museum and reveal my “Splish Splash” and the Oasis of Dreams shows. I’ve had David Blaine and other friends down to perform at FINA outings, so I try to do what I can.”
Kunze is a former member of the ISHOF Advisory Board and is the leading producer of high diving shows in the country, according to his website. He has won eight World Championships in high diving and has broken the world record for the highest dive ever done seven times. His last world record of 172 feet had surpassed 35 million hits on YouTube and is still recognized as the legitimate world record after 35 years.
Dana Kunze began his professional High Diving career at the age of 13. After being trained by world record holder John Tobler, Dana joined a crew of professional high divers on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey.
World record attempt at ISHOF. Photo Courtesy: Dana Kunze
Kunze was a fast learner and after three short summers of show diving, he became the youngest professional diver at age 16 to dive off of the Famed Cliffs of Acapulco. The dive was featured on ABC Television’s Wide World of Sports and started a decade of appearances on sports programming.
In 1985 after a decade of competing on ABC Wide World of Sports and performing thousands of live shows, Dana Kunze opened Watershow Productions Incorporated and with the same determination that made him an 8-time world champion, he created new shows and incorporated original “themes” into what had previously been a standard style of show.
Kunze’s one of a kind expertise with heights and stunts would become even more valuable when he and Tom Sailor created the World’s First Bungee Diving show – “Bungee Dive Spectacular.” Their creation would be featured all over the world and spinoff the popular rides “Skycoaster” and “The Catapult” seen at most Amusement Parks and State Fairs today.
Kunze now spends most of his time producing, creating, coaching and selling the shows, but he still dives from time to time. He was inducted into the World Acrobatic Society’s Gallery of Legends in a Las Vegas celebration in 2011 and competed on America’s Got Talent with a 10 performer team of divers in 2013! Dana will be producing new television and World Record Breaking Events in 2018 and on our 33rd anniversary it is our mission to provide the shows that our buyers want back again and again!
Dana Kunze’s world record dive:
Join the One in a Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or one-time basis.
$10 Monthly Commitment
$25 Monthly Commitment
$50 Monthly Commitment
Make a One-Time Commitment
For larger corporate sponsorships and estate-planning donations, please contact us at customerservice@ishof.org.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to know if you are one in a thousand? We think you are! Show how special you are and become a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club. Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of support to show how special you are and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been 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. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
On this day in 1896, the great Coach Stan Brauninger was born…….
STAN BRAUNINGER (USA) 1972 Honor Coach
FOR THE RECORD: Only US coach to produce national champion men’s and women’s teams in both swimming and diving. His teams won the National AAU Championships 6 times. Coach of 5 Olympians.
Stan Brauninger is the only coach who turned out U.S. National Champion men’s and women’s teams in both swimming and diving. His teams won the national AAU championships six times, and were runner-ups on at least nine occasions. His swimmers extended from national highpoint winners Wally Laufer in the early 1920s to Adolph Kiefer in the early 1940s. In 1926 Brauninger’s Cincinnati “Y” won the nationals with four men, as one man, Wally Laufer (including relay points) outscored all other teams. Laufer, crown prince to Weissmuller in those years, was on two Olympic teams as was his team member Olympic gold medalist Jack Glancy.
Brauninger’s prowess as a diving coach became apparent when he coached the Chicago Lakeshore Athletic and Medina “Towers” Clubs during the 1930s and the early ’40s. His Olympic divers included Wally Colbath, Al Green and Miller Anderson. Colbath later became the first “Jack Armstrong, All American Boy” of radio. But Stan Brauninger’s No. 1 All American Boy was Adolph “Sonny” Kiefer, the backstroke All-Everything who Stan legally adopted. Kiefer began with Brauninger in 1933 at fourteen, when Stan got him a job operating the Lakeshore Club elevator so he’d have the carfare to get to and from practice.
According to Kiefer, “Brauninger’s outstanding record as both Athletic Director and Swim Coach was due at least in part to the fact that he actually lived in the club and was always available. His devotion to his athletes was sincere. he was lovable, masterful, plain spoken–a leader in style, technique, and motivation. He kept his swimmers on target in life as well as in the pool.”
Brauninger’s National Women’s champions included Olympic breaststroker Dorothy Schiller and divers Jane Fauntz, Marian Mansfield, and Arlite Smith, plus Jackie Levine, Crystal Diete, and a score of other national contenders. His girls also introduced an early form of synchronized swimming with Ema Schmieta, Rose Johnson, Helen Dreiffer, and the Hurtienne sisters who swam in the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.
Brauninger’s great men’s teams included FINA President Harold Henning, 1936 Olympians Mac Breidenthal and Art Highland, national sprint champions Hank Kozlowski, Otto Jaretz, Ed Kirar, and many others.
In the 1970s Stan Brauninger no longer teaches kids to swim. Retired to a fishing boat in Florida, he competes daily for the biggest catch, brags a little during show and tell, then feeds the whole neighborhood. “So what’s new”, says Adolph Kiefer.
On this day in 1932, the great Ohio State Diver, Don Harper was born…….
Don Harper (USA) Honor Diver
FOR THE RECORD: 1956 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (3m springboard); 1959 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: silver (10m platform); FIVE U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1955, 1959 (outdoor 3m springboard), 1956, 1958 (indoor 3m springboard), 1957 (indoor 1m springboard); THREE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1956, 1958 (3m springboard), 1958 (1m springboard), SEVEN NATIONAL A.A.U. CHAMPIONSHIPS 1955, 1959 (outdoor 3m springboard), 1956, 1958 (indoor 3m springboard), 1959, 1960 (indoor 1m springboard), 1961 (10m platform).
As the record books show, only Mexico’s Joaquin Capilla and Juan Botella could match the divers of the USA during the 1950’s. Many of those U.S. divers competed for Hall of Fame Coach Mike Peppe at Ohio State University Teams. At one time in the 1950’s, the Ohio State University had 17 National Champion divers. Team competition was fierce and always brought out the best in each athlete. No exception to this rule was Don Harper, National AAU and NCAA Champion 11 times in springboard diving and trampoline. Springboard diving and trampoline complimented one another and trampoline was an NCAA sport during the 1950’s. In 1956 and 1958, Harper became the only athlete in NCAA history to win national championships in two different sports in the same season.
Don enrolled at Ohio State in 1953 and during his tenure received Bachelor, Master and Doctorate degrees in the field of physical education, health and physiology. He was an excellent student and a motor genius when it came to applying mechanical techniques to his diving and acrobatic trampoline routines. He was one of the first divers to apply a mechanical approach to his dives. As the national trampoline champion, he would strap a video camera to his chest while performing spins and somersaults. He would then apply what he saw on the film to his dives on the board, creating a mental picture and imitating the move.
In 1955, at the Pan American Games in Mexico City, he won the gold medal on the trampoline, unofficially becoming the first World Champion since this was the first international competition in trampoline. Earlier in the year he had already won 4 major diving contests in Japan, on both the springboard and platform, at meets in Tokyo and Osaka. The following year, 1956, Don had victories at the Big10, NCAA and AAU Championships in 3m springboard competition. He qualified first at the 1956 U.S. Olympic Trials. Traveling with a strong American contingent to the Olympics at Melbourne, he was narrowly out-scored by teammate Bob Clotworthy, receiving the silver medal in 3m springboard competition.
Don continued diving for another five years, winning at least one major national championship each of those years. He won another USA vs. Japan Duel Meet in 1959 and silvered on the 10m platform in the Chicago Pan American Games that same year.
As a retired diver, he was a positive influence on the development of other divers and traveled throughout the world, at the invitation of international diving federations, to conduct clinics and tours. Dr. Harper remained at Ohio State University as a professor of physiology, sharing his qualities as an elite athlete.
James Heatly, Grandson of Sir Peter Heatly, 2016 ISHOF Honoree and Olympic Diver, makes the Great Britain 2020(1) Olympic Team, 69 years after his grandfather !!!
JAMES HEATLY MAKES 2020(1) OLYMPIC TEAM 69 YEARS AFTER HIS GRANDFATHER, PETER HEATLY MADE THE TEAM IN THE SAME SPORT, DIVING……..IN THE 1948 and 1952 OLYMPIC GAMES. CONGRATULATIONS JAMES AND GOOD LUCK!!!
Interesting story coming from our friend, Peter Heatly in Edinburgh, Scotland. Peter’s Dad, Sr. Peter Heatly is an Honoree at ISHOF, a 2016 Honor Contributor.
Sir Peter’s grandson, (and Peter’s Nephew) has just been selected to represent Great Britain in the 2020(1) Olympic Games as a Diver.
See post below from Peter:
“He’s made it! Congratulations to my nephew James Heatly who has been selected to compete for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Congratulations also to his Mum and Dad and brothers Ross and Craig (a family effort), Coach Jen Leeming, and many others that have contributed to James’ success (you know you are). We are all very proud of James and the hard work he has put in over many years has been rewarded. There will be someone special looking down on James with pride and he will be delighted that his Grandson is going to emulate what he did in 1948 and 1952. Yes, James will become an Olympian 69 years after his Grandpa.”
James with Grandfather, Sir Peter Heatly at 2014 Commonwealth Games
Read the article from Scottish Swimming here:
To read more about Sir Peter Heatly, Click here:
https://ishof.org/sir-peter-heatly.html
Coach Ursula Carlile to be Inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame Among Four Aussies In Class of 2021
For more than half a century, Ursula Carlile, teamed up with her husband, Forbes, to form swimming’s first internationally-prominent husband and wife coaching team. The two collaborated at every level of the sport by sharing teaching, coaching, filming and administrative duties at their own Ryde Swim Club. The club originated in a backyard pool of their home in the Sydney suburb of Ryde. The pool is still there today! There they taught thousands of youngsters to swim and have coached some of Australia’s most celebrated Olympians.
Ursula and Forbes Carlile Photo Courtesy:
Ursula Carlile began her international coaching career in the Netherlands, where she and Forbes co-coached the Dutch National team from 1962-64 and where she was the Dutch Olympic Co-Head Coach with her husband. In the following decade, the husband and wife team made frequent periodic visits to the People’s Republic of China, working with China’s top coaches and national team. In 1980, the Carliles were named Honorary Olympic Coaches for China.
Ursula Carlile Photo Courtesy:
Come and meet Carlile in person and hear his incredible life story at the ISHOF Induction dinner on Saturday, October 9, 2021. Become an ISHOF Legacy Member and attend the ISHOF Induction Dinner for FREE. Can’t attend the event? Please consider donating to ISHOF, support Ursula and our other inspirational Honorees.
More about Ursula Carlile:
In 1972, Ursula became Australia’s first female Olympic swimming coach when she was selected as an assistant coach to Don Talbot, for the Munich Games. She served as an assistant to Terry Gathercole the next year at the World Championships, held in Cali, Colombia. In 1974, she was selected as Australia’s first female Head Coach for the Commonwealth Games, held in Christchurch, New Zealand. In yet another sterling accomplishment, during the 1970’s and ’80’s, she and Forbes coached five Olympians – all of them world record-holders: Karen Moras, Shane Gould, Jenny Turrall, Gail Neal and John Bennett.
In the days when Forbes Carlile could not secure official staff selection to the Australian Olympic team, it was Ursula Carlile who accompanied Gould as chaperone at the Munich 1972 Games. Forbes was there in a commentator’s position with the media as Gould raced to what remains a record five-medal haul in solo events among women, her three golds secured with World records, a silver and a bronze completing a unique collection for a a pioneering pantheon. Gould is Dr. Shane Gould these days.
A Life Member of the Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association, Ursula Carlile lectured frequently around the world until lately. Forbes, pioneer of the pace clock and several aspects of swimming science, entered the Hall of Fame in 1976. He passed away on the eve of the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
Ursula Carlile and swimmers at Ryde Swim Club, Sydney, Australia Photo Courtesy:
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)
In addition to the Class of 2020, two Honorees from the Class of 2019, who were unable to attend last year, will be present to be inducted. Honor Swimmer: Otylia Jedrzejczak (POL) and Honor Diver: Li Ting (CHN).
Get more information about this year’s induction class here and more information about Otylia Jedrzejczak and Li Ting.
*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
Honoree Induction Day Luncheon – Meet 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 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 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
Jimmy Tierney Joins ISHOF’s One in a Thousand Campaign, “I’ve Aways Been Enthralled With Swimming History”
by ANDY ROSS
01 June 2021, 06:42pm
McKendree head coach Jimmy Tierney has joined the One in a Thousand campaign, which is designed to help the Hall of Fame prosper during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve always been enthralled with swimming history since I was a young swimmer,” Jimmy Tierney said. “The Hall of Fame is the caretaker of the history of our sport and the center of all of that. Monuments, articles, equipment and apparel were all things that attracted me to go down there and visit and soak up all that history. I have always loved that kind of stuff and it’s the same in any sport for me. I love reading about the history of the great people that have left their mark on the various sports.
Jimmy Tierney, while at Northwestern, with sister Dorsey at 2011 Nationals. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
“I remember my early days of going to the Hall of Fame in the early 80s – I was an age group coach at Lakeside Swim Club in Louisville and I started at some juniors and zones meets there and I loved the environment. I loved the closeness to the ocean and the sunshine that made that a very special place to have big meets. When I was there, we would go through the Hall of Fame and look at different things and try to find something new that maybe I didn’t know before.
Erik Vendt and Michael Phelps at the Hall of Fame pool in 2002. Photo Courtesy: George Olsen / Swimming World Archive
“I even had one of my favorite races of all-time from the pool down there which was the 400 IM between Michael Phelps and Erik Vendt at the 2002 Nationals. I bring that up to other coaches and other people have a similar feeling about that race. That has always been a special place from the swimming side, too.
“In my eyes, on the national scene it was the first time (Phelps) had unleashed that underwater kick on that last wall. I just remember the reaction of the crowd was stunned and it brought a huge roar from the crowd. Erik is such a tough competitor and racer and I just thought that was such a great battle. To have it down there in that iconic venue and have it be outdoors – it was great theater for our sport.”
“I have always been a fan of the Hall of Fame and I saw this as an opportunity that I could help in some small way and contribute to keeping that institution thriving and more successful in years to come.”
Jimmy Tierney had planned on attending the Hall of Fame induction of his long-time friend David Marsh in April 2020, but with the ceremony being postponed to October 2021, he will be unable to attend, but is still proud of his friend for getting the honor.
“I was thrilled,” Tierney said. “It was only a matter of time before he was going to get inducted into the illustrious group of coaches that are in the Hall right now. We have been friends for decades and I just was wanting to be there and share it with him and his family and we had several coaching friends that were going to go down and make a weekend out of it and be a part of the festivities. I’m excited for him and proud to be a friend and a colleague.
“Hopefully if others down the road can get inducted then I’ll be able to make it down but it’s a terrific honor for him and he has been one of our leaders in success nationally and internationally for quite a bit of time now. It’s definitely time for him to be honored for everything he has done for the sport.”
Jimmy Tierney has been the head coach of Division II McKendree in Lebanon, Illinois, since building the program from the ground up in the fall of 2016. In 2020, his men’s team was leading the NCAA championships after day 1 before the meet was cancelled and was never concluded. His swimmers won the Division II NCAA title in the 200 medley relay in 2020 as well as Fabio Dalu in the 1000, who broke the NCAA Division II record in the 1000 and 1650 in 2021.
Join the One in a Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or one-time basis.
$10 Monthly Commitment
$25 Monthly Commitment
$50 Monthly Commitment
Make a One-Time Commitment
For larger corporate sponsorships and estate-planning donations, please contact us at customerservice@ishof.org.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to know if you are one in a thousand? We think you are! Show how special you are and become a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club. Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of support to show how special you are and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been 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. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
Happy Birthday Johnny Weissmuller!!!
JOHNNY WEISSMULLER (USA) 1965 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1924 gold (100m, 400m freestyle; 4x200m freestyle relay), bronze (water polo); 1928 gold (100m freestyle; 4x200m freestyle relay); WORLD RECORDS: 51; U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 52; Played Tarzan in 16 movies.
Johnny Weissmuller holds no current world swimming records and by today’s Olympic standards, you might say he never swam very fast, but you can’t get anyone who ever saw him swim say that there ever was a greater swimmer. This was the verdict of 250 sportswriters at A.P.’s mid-century poll and it is still the verdict 15 years later.
He was the swim great of the 1920’s Golden Age of Sports, yet because of the movies and TV, he is as much a part of the scene in the 1960s as he was in the 1920s when his name was coupled with sports immortals such as Babe Ruth, Bill Tilden, Bobby Jones, Jack Dempsey and Red Grange. He is the only one of this group more famous today than in the “Golden Age.”
Weissmuller set many world records and won 5 gold medals in two Olympics (1924 and 1928). He never lost a race in 10 years of amateur swimming in distances from 50 yards to 1/2 mile. Johnny’s 51 seconds 100 yard freestyle record set June 5, 1927, in the University of Michigan Union Pool stood for 17 years until it was broken by Alan Ford at Yale in 1944. The 100 yd. distance is swum more often than any other, yet in 17 years, only one man ever swam it faster. That man was Johnny Weissmuller, who later, as a professional in the Billy Rose World’s Fair Aquacade swam 48.5 at the New York Athletic Club while training Walter Spence to win the nationals. For those who think swimmers must be teenage bobby-soxers, it might be of interest to note that Spence was 35 at the time and Weissmuller was 36.
His record of 52 national championship gold medals should stand forever. He is famous for his chest high crawl stroke seen by millions in Olympic swim stadiums, on movie screens and on TV, but he also held world records in the backstroke and never lost a race in that stroke. “I got bored,” says Johnny, “so I swam on my back where I could spend more time looking around.” Weissmuller set 51 world records in his ten years as an amateur but many more times he broke world records and never turned in the record applications. Every time he swam, the crowd expected a new record, so Johnny learned pace. He learned how to shave his records a tenth of a second at a time. If he missed, his 350 lb. coach Bill Bachrach would say “rest a few minutes, Johnny, and we’ll swim again.” Bachrach would promise his protégé a dinner if he broke the record and Johnny always seemed to be hungry. Many a world mark was set with only a couple of visiting coaches or a few guests of the Illinois Athletic Club to watch.
Every old-timer in swimming has a favorite Johnny Weissmuller story. To them all, he was the world’s greatest swimmer, yet ironically the producer who signed him to play Tarzan didn’t know Johnny could swim. “Many think I turned pro to go into the movies,” Johnny says, “but this is not true. I was working for a bathing suit company for $500 a week for five years, which was not bad money then (or now). I was in Los Angeles and they asked me if I would like to screen test for Tarzan. I told them ‘no thanks’ but they said I could go to the MGM lot and meet Greta Garbo and have lunch with Clark Gable. Any kid would want to do that so I said ‘okay’. I had to climb a tree and then run past the camera carrying a girl. There were 150 actors trying for the part, so after lunch, I took off for Oregon on my next stop for the swim suit outfit. Somebody called me on the phone and said ‘Johnny, you got it.’ ‘Got what?’ ‘You’re Tarzan.’ ‘What happened to those other 150 guys?’ ‘They picked you.’”
“So the producer asked me my name and he said it would never go. ‘We’ll have to shorten it,’ he said. ‘Weissmuller is to long. It will never go on a marquee.’ The director butted in. ‘Don’t you ever read the papers?’ he asked the producer. ‘This guy is the world’s greatest swimmer.’ The producer said he only read the trade papers, but okay, I could keep my name and he told the writers, ‘put a lot of swimming in the movie, because this guy can swim.’”
“So you see why I owe everything to swimming,” Weissmuller says. “It not only made my name, it saved my name. Without swimming, I’d be a nobody. Who ever heard of Jon Weis, marquee or no marquee.”
Besides swimming, Johnny Weissmuller played on two U.S. Olympic water polo teams. “Water polo’s a rough game,” Johnny says. “We never could beat those Yugoslavians. They never blow a whistle over there. Anyhow, that’s where I learned to duck. It came in handy when Cheetah started throwing coconuts.”
Happy Birthday Giorgio Cagnotto !!!
GIORGIO CAGNOTTO 1992 Honor Diver
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964, 1968 Olympic team member; 1972 silver (3m springboard), bronze (10m platform); 1976 silver (3m springboard); 1980 bronze (3m springboard); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1978 bronze (3m springboard); FINA CUP: 1979 (3m springboard); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1966 bronze (3m springboard); 1970 gold (3m springboard), bronze (10m platform); 1974 silver (3m springboard); 1977 silver (3m springboard); EUROPEAN DIVING CUPS: 1967 gold (3m springboard); 1969 gold (10m platform); 1975 gold (3m springboard); 1976 gold (3m springboard). on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. He is the producer of the prize-winning documentary, “Hobie’s Heroes”. Hobie’s greatest pride is in the fact that there are more diving coaches in the high school and college ranks in the U.S. that have graduated from Indiana University under his tutelage than from any other university.
Italy’s Giorgio Cagnotto was one of the world’s most prolific divers during the 1960s and 1970s. At the age of eight, he began to train with this uncle, professional diver Lino Quattrrini. Just eight years later he found himself competing in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, kicking off an Olympic career of epic proportion.
Cagnotto’s Olympic appearances spanned three decades, competing in five consecutive Olympic Games. He was best off the springboard, but medaled in the platform as well. After Tokyo, he competed in Mexico City in 1968, but it was during his third Olympic effort in the ’72 Munich Games that he earned a silver medal for his performance on the springboard and a bronze in the platform competition. At the 1976 Montreal Games, he won his third Olympic medal– a silver in the springboard competition. He retired at the age of thirty-two after earning his fourth Olympic medal at the 1980 Moscow Games where Cagnotto again medaled in the springboard competition, taking the bronze.
Giorgio was competing at a time when diving competition was dominated by fellow countryman Klaus Dibiasi, the only diver to win gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games. Giorgio was as far in advance of the rest of the sport as Klaus was of him. Between them, the red, white, and green Italian flag was raised many times in international competition. Holder of two gold, two silver, and two bronze European Cup Championships and a medal winner in every European championship from 1966 through 1977, Cagnotto won eight outdoor and twelve indoor Italian National Championships.
Both Cagnotto and Dibiasi were coached by Papa Dibiasi, a former Italian National Champion with a long career in the sport. Papa retired just in time so as not to be competing against his son and Cagnotto. The only medal winner to dive in five consecutive Olympic Games, Giorgio Cagnotto is presently the Italian National Team Coach and the Federal Technical Director of Diving, living in Bolzano, Italy, with his wife. Giorgio Cagnotto is a true legend representing excellence and longevity in a sport demanding commitment, style and grace.
Happy 94th Birthday plus 4 days to Dawn Bean!!!!!
DAWN PAWSON BEAN (USA) 1996 Honor Synchronized Swimming Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: Synchronized swimming editor, publisher, administrator, judge, coach/teacher, official, athlete for over 50 years; Publisher of “Synchro Info”; FINA “A” Official; 1955 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (team).
You can synchronize your watches and you can synchronize your plans, but you can’t find anyone who can synchronize swimming better than Dawn Pawson Bean has synchronized swimming.
She began her career in 1941 as a water ballet swimmer on San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel Team. Then, for the next eight years, she competed in speed swimming before devoting herself exclusively to synchronized swimming. From 1947 to 1955 she was both swimmer and coach along with her husband Ross who coached the girls to their first U.S. National Team Championship in 1952 while at the Athens Athletic Club of Oakland, California. They went on to win four more national championships.
In 1955, her team won the gold medal at the Pan American Games, the first international competition in Synchronized Swimming. Dawn’s two sisters, Joan and Lynn, were a part of the team, making it a real family affair. Between 1958 and 1983, she established and coached the Riverside Aquettes and Tustin/Irvine Meraquas where her swimmers were national Team finalists for 22 consecutive years producing five National Team members.
But her involvement went far beyond coaching. In 1963, to promote communication in the sport, she began publishing “Synchro-Info” which, by 1992 had grown to become a 68 page publication with international distribution in over 50 countries. It is considered to be the single largest contribution which helped lead the development of Synchronized Swimming as a world-wide sport.
Beginning in 1959, Dawn chaired many U.S. Synchronized Swimming committees including Olympic International, which established the U.S. National Team concept in 1979. She served eight years on the U.S. Olympic Committees Executive Board. She was the editor of the official rule books, directories, scoring and training manuals. She is author of the “Athletes Handbook,” “Coaching Synchronized Swimming Effectively” and three other United States Synchronized Swimming publications which became models of expertise.
As an official, she has been an international judge since 1971 at three FINA World Cups, four Pan American Games, five Pan Pacific Championships and eighteen other international competitions in over eight countries. She has been a judge at the World Championships in 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1992 and at the 1988 Olympic Games. At the 1984 Olympic Games, she was the Competition Director, as she has been for eight other international competitions. She has instructed international coaching and judging seminars in over eight countries and lectured in many more, including all continents of the world. She was one of FINA’s first three “A” rated judges.
With her husband and three daughters supporting her, Dawn Bean has been involved and served the sport of synchronized swimming for more than 50 years as an athlete, coach, teacher, administrator, official judge, publisher and editor.
