Passages: Roland Matthes, The Rolls Royce Of Backstroke, Mourned By World Swimming
by CRAIG LORD – SWIMMING WORLD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
22 December 2019
Obituary – Roland Matthes (17 November 1950 – 20 December 2019)
Roland Matthes, the most decorated backstroke ace in history, the G.OA.T. of the stroke, died on Friday in Wertheim, Baden-Württemberg, after a short, severe illness. He was 69.
His wife Daniela confirmed the sad news to the German press agency DPA at the weekend and the German swimming federation (DSV) has issued a short statement.
Matthes, from Erfurt, became the most successful German swimmer in history and remains the most successful backstroke swimmer ever when he collected the fourth of his Olympic gold medals over 100 and 200m at Munich 1972 four years after the same outcome at Mexico 1968.
With his swansong Olympics in 1976, Matthes claimed a total of four gold, two silver and a bronze over three Games. In 21 years, the 21-time world record holder (16 of the standards on backstroke, 7 over 100m, 9 over 200m) was unbeaten on backstroke. Pat Besford, the British doyenne of swimming journalists in her day dubbed the protégé of coach Marlies Grohe-Geissler the “Rolls-Royce of Swimming” because of the smoothness and elegance of Matthes’ ahead-of-his-time technique.
After his racing days for the GDR were over, Matthes worked as an orthopaedic surgeon. He kept in touch with swimming and gave advice and assistance to German swimmers such as Franziska van Almsick down the years.
In 2004 Matthes was awarded the Golden Sports Pyramid for his life’s work and shortly thereafter became the first former GDR athlete to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of German Sports. In 1981, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
In 2005, Prof Helge Pfeifer, one of the scientists who helped to deliver the State Plan 14:25 doping program of the GDR revealed in an interview with this author that Grohe was the only coach who “got away with always saying no but keeping her job … Roland Matthes needed no help”.
In a tribute to Matthes, Uwe Brinkmann, Vice President of the German Swimming Association (DSV), said:
“The news of Roland Matthes’ death fills us with great sadness. Our sympathy and sympathy go to his family. With Roland Matthes, we are not only one of the successful swimmers in sports history, but also a helpful person who always wanted to build bridges – within Germany between East and West as well as between the older and younger generations of athletes. We will remember him as a great role model. “
“Hello – I’m Roland Matthes, I Swam Backstroke”
By Craig Lord
At the 1991 World Championships in Perth, Australia, organisers threw a party for former Olympic and world champions. Each was asked to rise and say a few words about their career and achievements. The greatest backstroke swimmer in history was as modest as always: “Hello, I’m Roland Matthes, I swam backstroke.” True, but not quite like anyone else ever has.
Described as the Rolls-Royce of backstroke swimming, Matthes, highly flexible and capable of turning his arms over his head stretched out with hands tied, covered a 50m lap using some 10 strokes less than many of his rivals, so fluent, so smooth his style. It often appeared to observers as though Matthes was watching the clock and did just enough to set records. There was good reason to think in those terms: incentives for the GDR’s “ambassadors in tracksuits” included better homes and a fast-track up the waiting list for cars and other “luxury” items.
For young Matthes, according to Der Spiegel in 1969 when the swimmer was 18 and had two Olympic gold medals already in the bag from Mexico, success was a passport to music stores and records that were not available back home. The story went that authorities turned a blind eye to the “forbidden” music that Matthes collected as a way of rewarding him for the medals and records in the pool.
A local magazine in Marktheidenfeld, Bavaria, where Matthes has lived and worked as an orthopaedic surgeon since 1995, revealed in 2013 that the backstroke ace still has some of the records he was allowed to collect but that most of his pocket money on trips abroad went on new jeans and the “wish lists” of others, such as aunts and uncles keen to have whatever it was they couldn’t get in the GDR.
In the Roland Matthes Treasury
Matthes still has most of his Cat Stevens’ vinyl and “almost everything” by The Beatles. But readers of that 2013 article need not have imagined the then 62-year-old sitting in his favourite armchair in his slippers humming to Eleanor Rigby. Asked what his musical tastes were today, the fit regular-jogger of a surgeon cited the last two concerts he’d attended with his wife Daniela: Gossip and Pink.
You might expect someone like Matthes to stay abreast of times. He always did. In his swimming heyday, not only did he retain both the 100m and 200m Olympic titles (1968-72), the only swimmer ever to do so, he also won three world titles (100m and 200m at the inaugural 1973 championships and the 100m in 1975), retained the European titles in both events (1970, 1974) and established 16 world records over the 100m (7) and 200m (9) 1967-1975. He also helped medley teammates to claim the only two relay world records to fall to East German men.
His dominance was undeniable – watch the margin of victory over 100m at Mexico 1968
When he won the inaugural 200m world crown in a world record of 2:01.87 (in 1973, while only seven men out of 31 at the Barcelona round of the Mare Nostrum Tour were faster), he was 4.02sec ahead of next home, another who would go on to have a medical career, Zoltan Verraszto, the Hungarian who would win the crown two years later (Verraszto’s offspring, Eva and David became International medal winners in their own right). It took until 1982 for a swimmer to crack Matthes’ championship record.
Those first championships took place 40 years ago: watch for our anniversary special that will form part of our Barcelona 2013 World Championships coverage next month.
Four decades on, did he keep an eye on who was faster than he was these days, he was asked by the local reporter. “I couldn’t care less [how it relates to himself],” he said. “But I’m happy to see athletes doing well.”
Matthes married Kornelia Ender after the 1976 Olympics. The couple divorced in 1982, after the birth of their daughter Francesca, the offspring of parents who between them boasted a treasury of eight gold, six silver and two bronze Olympic medals, as well as 11 gold, three silver and 1 bronze medal at World Championships, and 49 world records.
Secret-police documents would later confirm the worst: State Plan 14:25, a systematic doping programme. However, in a 2006 confession, Dr Helge Pfeifer, one of the senior sports scientists who knew about the doping programme, told this author that Matthes’ coach, Marlies Grohe-Geissler, was the only GDR coach for whom refusal to comply with the Stasi-run drugs regime did not mean instant dismissal. His success predated 14:25 – nor did Matthes need such ‘means of assistance’.
Asked this week if his medals are on display at his surgery, he chortled and said: “I’m not a cult figure.” Only in Erfurt is he recognised these days, while his patients in Bavaria have no knowledge of his swimming achievements, he believes. Erfurt is his home town and in 2011 they named a pool there in his honour – it took that long.
“When I was 8, Matthes came to race in London. I met him at Crystal Palace and asked if he would sign my autograph book. Matthes lifted me up, swung me round twice and then signed my little book. Each time a current world-class swimmer does something similar, swimming’s ripple rolls out further.” – Craig Lord
Between April 1967 and August 1974, Matthes was undefeated on backstroke. His achievements included unbroken gold at four European championships and three world championships in a row.
There were 19 solo world and 21 European records on backstroke, butterfly, freestyle and medley.
As an Olympian in 1968, 1972 and 1976 he won a total of eight medals (four gold, two silver and two bronze): In 1968 and 1972 he won gold in both the 100 m and 200 m backstroke, while in 1976 he was third in the 100 m backstroke, the winner John Naber, the American who took the pace on where Matthes had left it between 1967 and 1976:
100m
58.4
Roland Matthes
September 21, 1967
Leipzig, East Germany
58.0
Roland Matthes
October 26, 1968
Mexico City, Mexico
57.8
Roland Matthes
August 23, 1969
Würzburg, West Germany
56.9
Roland Matthes
September 8, 1970
Barcelona, Spain
56.7
Roland Matthes
September 4, 1971
Leipzig, East Germany
56.3
Roland Matthes
April 8, 1972
Moscow, USSR
56.30
Roland Matthes
September 4, 1972
Munich, West Germany
56.19
John Naber
July 18, 1976
Montreal, Canada
200m
2:07.9
Roland Matthes
–
Leipzig, East Germany
2:07.5
Roland Matthes
14 August 1968
GDR Olympic Trials
Leipzig, East Germany
2:07.4
Roland Matthes
12 July 1969
Santa Clara Invitational
Santa Clara, United States
2:06.6
Gary Hall
14 August 1969
AAU Nationals
Louisville, United States
2:06.6
Roland Matthes
29 August 1969
–
Berlin, West Germany
2:06.3
Mike Stamm
20 August 1970
AAU Nationals
Los Angeles, United States
2:06.1
Roland Matthes
11 September 1970
European Championships
Barcelona, Spain
2:05.6
Roland Matthes
3 September 1971
GDR vs USA Duel
Leipzig, East Germany
2:02.8
Roland Matthes
10 July 1972
GDR Olympic Trials
Leipzig, East Germany
2:02.82
Roland Matthes
2 September 1972
1972 Summer Olympics
Munich, West Germany
2:01.87
Roland Matthes
6 September 1973
World Championships
Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
2:00.64
John Naber
19 June 1976
USA Olympic Trials
Long Beach, United States
In Olympic waters, there was silver in the 4×100m team medley in 1968 and 1972, and a bronze medal in the 4×100m freestyle relay in 1972. At Montreal 1976, as the GDR’s women dominated, Matthes was the only East German male swimmer to win a medal.
In 1973 in Belgrade he became the first World champion over 100m and 200m backstroke and claimed silver in the 4×100 m medley and bronze in the 4×100 m freestyle. Two years later in 1975, he defended his world title in the 100m backstroke.
At the European championships in 1970 in Barcelona and 1974 in Vienna he won all four titles for the 100 and 200m backstroke. Additionally, in Barcelona he won the individual silver for the 100m freestyle, gold with the 4×100 m medley team, and bronze with both the 4×100 and 4×200 m freestyle teams. In Vienna, he also won the individual silver for 100m butterfly, and claimed bronze with the 4×100m freestyle.
He was selected East German Sports personality of the Year seven times, in 1967–1971, 1973 and 1975.
From 1970 to 1977, Matthes studied sport sciences at DHfK in Leipzig and from 1978 to 1984 he studied medicine at the University of Jena, years before the birthplace of the Oral Turinabol at the heart of State Plan 14:25. Matthes always denied any involvement with doping.
Matthes In Swim Numbers
Olympic Games
1968 Mexico
100 m backstroke
1968 Mexico
200 m backstroke
1972 Munich
100 m backstroke
1972 Munich
200 m backstroke
1968 Mexico
4×100 m medley
1972 Munich
4×100 m medley
1972 Munich
4×100 m freestyle
1976 Montreal
100 m backstroke
World Championships
1973 Belgrade
100 m backstroke
1973 Belgrade
200 m backstroke
1975 Cali
100 m backstroke
1973 Belgrade
4×100 m medley
1973 Belgrade
4×100 m freestyle
European Championships
1970 Barcelona
100 m backstroke
1970 Barcelona
200 m backstroke
1970 Barcelona
4×100 m medley
1974 Vienna
100 m backstroke
1974 Vienna
200 m backstroke
1970 Barcelona
100 m freestyle
1974 Vienna
100 m butterfly
1970 Barcelona
4×100 m freestyle
1970 Barcelona
4×200 m freestyle
1974 Vienna
4×100 m freestyle
Blind Vision, by IMSHOF Honoree, James Pittar
James Pittar IMSHOF, International Marathon Honor Swimmer has just published a book, called “Blind Vision” read about it below.
Blind Vision – A blind man’s courage in the face of loss, triumph and love.
When 10-year-old James Pittar started having trouble seeing at night he could never have predicted that within a decade, his vision would be all but gone. For a kid that dreamed of representing his country, it was a hard blow. And for most people, it would have spelled the end of that dream. But not for James.
Just a few months shy of his thirtieth birthday, James did what no blind person has ever done before – he swam the English Channel. It signalled a shift in his mindset – from that point onwards, he would never think of himself as the underdog. He would learn that disability is only a barrier if you let it be.
James is incredibly generous in sharing his experiences and emotions, and it’s hard not to be drawn in as he takes us on a personal journey through his childhood, the loss of vision in his teens, the decision not to let it define him, and his continual dedication to growth and self-improvement throughout his life.
Blind Vision is a fascinating account of a unique and inspiring career in open-water swimming. But more than that, it is a story for anyone that’s ever been told they can’t. James Pittar is living proof that no matter what the odds, with dedication, passion, and the right people around you, you can.
To purchase the book, click here: https://www.inspiringbookshop.com/index.php?route=product/search&filter_name=Blind%20vision
To read more about Pittar and his IMSHOF Bio, visit: https://www.openwaterpedia.com/index.php?title=James_Pittar
Anywhere, Anytime: The U.S. Women Beat Russia In Opener of USA Water Polo Holiday Cup
17 December 2019
PRINCETON, NJ. As teams from the world over warmed up in Princeton’s De Nunzio Pool on Monday night, in the stands there was a relaxed, almost casual atmosphere prior to play between some of the world’s best women’s water polo players.
The big barn of an aquatics facility — an East Coast hub for age group and collegiate play — was populated with local polo fans milling about and exchanging pleasantries, as if old friends with a chance encounter at a familiar place.
But there was nothing like pleasantries being exchanged in the water, especially when the American and Russian teams scrummed in the second of two games on opening night of the 2019 USA Water Polo Holiday Cup.
Team USA gutted out a physical 9-5 win over Russia, after the Netherlands and Canada open with a match competitive for almost three quarters before the Dutch women finished with a seven-goal flourish to take a 17-8 decision. With their win the Americans extended their win streak to sixty-four; they last lost a match in April, 2018.
Tuesday’s matches: Russia vs. Italy and U.S. vs. Netherlands; both can be streamed via Facebook here.
Brilliant players in a distinctive indoor venue
This year’s Holiday Cup represents the melding of Team USA desires for recognition on the coast opposite the sport’s home in America with Canadian, Dutch, Italian and Russian hopes to compete against the world’s top squad wherever possible — and ideally in Tokyo next summer. The U.S. has already punched its ticket to the 2020 Games, and as two-time defending Olympic champions riding a gaudy win streak — including the victory Monday night — the rest of the world is chasing them. But outside of this country’s small, tightly-knit community of polo enthusiasts primarily located in California’s Bay Area and Socal regions, not many folks know about Team USA’s other-worldly success.
Canada, who last weekend hosted these teams in its own invitational in Montreal, is striving to improve in advance of the program’s first Olympic appearance since the 2004 Games in Athens. The other three teams in attendance this week in The Garden State have a decidedly more utilitarian goal: prepare for the European qualifications for the 2020 Games, a tournament that to be held at the end of next month in Budapest, Hungary.
Russian players warm-up under the lights at De Nunzio. Photo Courtesy: M. Randazzo
That there was a good crowd at the pool is a credit to USA Water Polo. The governing body responsible he for the sport in America worked to get local youth clubs involved. As they and their parents chatted in between action, the women water warriors practiced their craft, with a number of exceptional players in De Nunzio, even if this first day’s action felt like an exhibition.
Sabrina van der Sloot, the Dutch captain who is numbered as one of the world’s best players, did not flash her deadly shot, scoring only twice in limited action. But her passes were so accurate and her command in the pool distinctive; given the low stakes of the competition her talent radiated, perhaps eagerly absorbed by a bevy of local age-group players dotting the stands.
A couple of foreign players from American colleges populated the Dutch and Canadian rosters. For Head Coach Arno Havenga, his lanky 6-2 striker Maud Megens is quite familiar to fans of the USC women’s squad, where she has starred the past three years. Kitty Lynn Joustra, a center for Cal, was also in the water, while Arizona State’s Maud Koopman was on the Dutch attack.
The decided star of the game was Ilse Koolhaus, who struck early for four goals then sent much of the second half on the bench as her teammates turned a two-goal lead midway through the third period into a blow-out win, reeling off seven goals to close out the Canadians.
There were numerous familiar faces on Canada’s roster. Pacific’s Kyra Christmas tallied a hat-trick to lead her teammates, but could not stem the barrage of Dutch goals over the match’s final two periods. Emma Wright, Joustra’s teammate at Cal, and Monika Eggens — a former star for Hawai’i — registered <how many?> scores. Rounding out the Canadian attack was Shae Fournier, a one-time Hoosier like Canadian goalie Jessica Gaudrealt, was joined by Kindred Paul — formerly of Cal; Elyse Lemay-Lavoie of Hawai’i and former USC Trojan Hayley McKelvey.
Christmas was the lone bright spot in what was otherwise a disappointing match for the Canadians. Even though his team has qualified, Head Coach David Paradelo has to know that breaking into top five in the world — a goal professed last summer at the 2019 Pan American Games — is a tall order for a team competing in its first Olympics in almost two decades.
Two foes, two styles, same result
The Russians do not have any players matriculating at American schools, and they were not at all intimidated by a U.S. squad that had beaten them 18-13 in Montreal. On the game’s opening possession, Russian center Anna Timofeeva gave Makenzie Fischer a shot to the chin, causing the American defender’s head to snap back — and resulting in an offensive foul. This established a level of physical play that could never be termed “friendly;” the two teams wrestled and pushed and kicked, not giving any quarter.
Given their size, it might be assumed that the Russians would get the better of most encounters. But this underscores why the Americans are so good —and why they continue to extend a win streak that is now 20 months long. In a finesse game, Krikorian’s players are incredibly skillful and can beat teams with deft passing, superb shooting and overwhelming counter attacks, much as they did in the previous match between the two teams. But in the match the Russians chose to play on Monday — low scoring with every drive and shot contested — the U.S. is also entirely comfortable.
Maggie Steffens, whose toned physique is perfectly suited for a sport that demands speed, endurance and brute physical strength, sped around and through various Russian road blocks, not scoring but making opportunities for her teammates. The American captain made an inside pass to Makenzie Fischer to draw a crucial five-meter penalty in the third period that extended a U.S. advantage to three.
Team USA’s Maggie Steffens. Photo Courtesy: Marcos Brindicci
Leading the U.S. attack with two goals were Maddie Musselman— Head Coach Adam KriKorian’s designated sharpshooter who since her debut at the 2016 Olympics has become one of the world’s great scorers — and Kiley Neushul.
Melissa Seidemann, who like Steffens is chasing a possible third-straight Olympic gold, had a brilliant goal in front of the Russian cage, fighting off two defenders and beating goalie Anna Ustiukhina.
But the brightest star in a constellation of American brilliance was their goalie. Ashleigh Johnson stared at De Nunzio for four years, leading the Tigers to two NCAA tournaments and earning the 2017 Cutino Award — the first-ever player from the East to be honored as the country’s top female collegiate player. The 6-1 Johnson is so active in front of her cage, it might as well be that she is a goalie on turf, moving, feinting, leaping, preventing.
Time and again the Russians launched shots at or around her and her cage. The first half ended with the U.S. ahead 4-1 thanks to their goalie’s brilliance. Johnson proved mortal in the third and fourth periods, giving up goals to Elvina Karimova, Maria Borisova, Olga Gorbunova and Evgeniia Soboleva. But, with the lead narrowed to two, and their opponents looking to cut it in half, Kiley Neushul converted a power play, Musselman scored and Neushul scored again to keep the U.S. lead safe — and their awesome winning streak alive for yet another day.
David Boudia, Steele Johnson Win 3-Meter Synchro at USA Diving Winter Nationals
by DANIEL D’ADDONA
17 December 2019
David Boudia (West Lafayette, Ind.) and Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) won men’s synchronized 3-meter while Tarrin Gilliland (Midland, Texas) and Delaney Schnell (Tucson, Ariz.) took gold in women’s synchronized 10-meter as the USA Diving Winter Nationals opened Tuesday at the University of Minnesota.
In addition to claiming national titles, the winning teams also punched their tickets to the 2020 FINA World Cup, set for April in Tokyo. The World Cup will be the final opportunity for countries to qualify their spots to the 2020 Olympic Games. The U.S. has already secured its women’s synchronized 10-3-meter Olympic berth, but the U.S. is still seeking an Olympic spot in men’s synchronized 3-meter.
Boudia and Johnson, who won silver in men’s synchronized 10-meter at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, now look to qualify the United States for Tokyo in synchronized 3-meter. The duo came from behind to finish with 815.22 points over two lists of dives to pick up first 3-meter synchro national title together. Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass./Bloomington, Ind.) and Andrew Capobianco (Holly Springs, N.C./Bloomington, Ind.) scored 811.71 for silver, and Grayson Campbell (Vienna, Va./Austin, Texas) and Greg Duncan (Oakton, Va./West Lafayette, Ind.) scored 780.27 points for bronze.
“I’m not going to lie. It was intense. It was a high stress event. The top three teams were all battling for that World Cup spot, and we were right in the mix of it,” said Johnson, who was competing in a 3-meter synchro event for the first time since the 2012 Junior World Championships.
Boudia and Johnson led halfway through the final but dropped to third, 12.63 points back, after scoring just 66.30 points on their fourth-round inward 3 ½ tuck.
“We had a pretty big miss in the fourth round that we had to come back from. Luckily we kept our heads on our shoulders. David’s a huge competitor, and I’m a competitor. We’ve been through this before, and we know how to keep calm and execute when we need to,” Johnson said.
Boudia and Johnson rallied back with more than 80 points on their final two dives at USA Diving Winter Nationals, including 87.15 points on a reverse 1 ½ with 3 ½ twists to clinch the win.
“I knew that we had a chance. I didn’t know exactly what we needed to qualify but I knew that Michael and Andrew had missed a little bit. We just needed a really good dive to finish off. I wasn’t focused on crushing the dive. It ended up being exactly what I needed alongside Dave,” Johnson said.
Gilliland and Schnell scored 624.18 points to claim the women’s synchronized 10-meter national title, with both divers each participating as part of two teams in Tuesday’s contest. Gilliland won gold and silver, as she scored 603.78 points to finish second with Jessica Parratto (Dover, N.H./Bloomington, Ind.). Schnell and Parratto scored 596.10 points for bronze.
“Honestly it was taking one dive at a time. It’s really hard to reset after a couple minutes and get back up there and do it again. That was the biggest challenge,” Schnell said.
Gilliland and Schnell led after the morning preliminaries and maintained their lead throughout the entire final. They were the only pair to score 70 points or higher on all three of their optional dives in the final, highlighted by an inward 3 ½ tuck that scored 78.72 points and a back 2 ½ with 1 ½ twists that earned 73.92 points.
“The inward is a very strong dive for me, and I know that’s a really strong dive for Tarrin as well. Being able to put that dive together was really good for us,” Schnell said.
The USA Diving Winter Nationals continue through Sunday, December 22. Wednesday’s competition features women’s 3-meter synchro and men’s 10-meter synchro.
Robert “Bob” Burnside, Founding President, United States Lifesaving Association and 2014 Paragon Award / Aquatic Safety passes away, December 11, 2019
Bob was perhaps the best known and most iconic lifeguard in the
United States. His contributions to water safety are extraordinary. His love of
aquatics was probably most influenced by his stepfather, 1920 Olympian and
ISHOF Honoree, Stubby (Harold Herman) Krueger, and his mother, Jane Mackenzie,
who was a Ziegfeld Follies dancer.
In his early years, Bob was selected 22 times to the “All
American Swim Team”, and three times to the “All American Water Polo Team”. In
high school, he was the national record holder in the 100-yard backstroke and
the 120-yard IM. He was the first high school swimmer in the US to break the one-minute
barrier in the 100-yard backstroke!
Bob was hired as an ocean lifeguard by Los Angeles County in
1951. When a representative of Surf Lifesaving Australia met with Los Angeles
County leaders, Bob was appointed to become the president of what was to be
called the “Surf Life Saving Association of America”, created solely to compete
in an international lifesaving competition to be held in Australia during the
year of the 1956 Olympics. Bob was a member of that team, which had never
competed in an international lifesaving competition. Bob placed third in the
international belt race at Torquay Beach.
In 1963, Bob invited lifeguards from various lifeguard agencies
in Southern California to meet and discuss the concept of creating a true
national association of professional ocean lifeguards. The various delegates
agreed, and in 1964, the “Surf Life Saving Association of America” was formally
created as a nonprofit organization of professional beach lifeguards. Bob was
elected president and served in that capacity for four years. The organization
changed its name twice, and it is known today as the “United States Lifesaving
Association”.
In 1967, Bob served as manager of a new competition team, which
toured and competed in Australia and in New Zealand. The following year, 1968,
he toured the East Coast of the US to promote membership and to broaden the
interest in and to help move the organization toward a true national base. Bob
designed and produced the revolutionary plastic “Burnside Rescue Can” (patrol
can), which is now a standard for lifeguards worldwide, and an iconic symbol
for beach lifeguards. It was the symbol for the TV Series “Baywatch”.
Professionally, in Los Angeles, Bob was instrumental as a member
of the affirmative action committee to mandate women’s rights to take the beach
lifeguard test that led to the hiring of the first female ocean lifeguards by
the department. He eventually rose to become the chief lifeguard of Los Angeles
County. During his tenure, Los Angeles County created the first lifeguard
paramedic program, a hyperbaric chamber, lifeguard certification program and
pioneered the “prevention first” concept in lifeguarding. Previously the
profession had focused primarily on “reaction” to people in distress, rather than
“preventing” distress. Also, during his tenure, most of the municipal beach
lifeguard agencies in Los Angeles County were merged into a single county
agency, which continues to exist today.
Bob is the founder of “Club Tortuga” a USLA approved Mexican
water safety development project. As part of this operation, the first Spanish
beach lifeguard training manual was developed, primarily as a translation of
the USLA Training Manual. He also organized the development of a video
depicting lifeguard issues throughout Mexico and coordinated on-site training
and political support for Mexican lifeguards. Those efforts established
Mexico’s first government beach lifeguard employees, now serving under the
state fire division chief.
Bob earned the Australian Bronze Medallion, the Canadian and
Royal Lifesaving Instructors Certificate, the New Zealand Instructor
Certification and the American Red Cross Instructor Certificate for first aid
and water safety. He has been certified by the USCG as a rescue board operator
and he was part of the first certified Los Angeles County Diving Scuba
Instructors and a longtime member of the Department’s underwater rescue and
recovery unit, which was the first such team in the West!
Bob was a Grand champion in World Body Surfing in 1989, and for
13 consecutive years, the winner in his age division. He has been a masters
division national champion twelve times at the USLA National Lifeguard
Championships in the Iron Man, swim rescue board and rescue race events. He has
been a national master’s division swim champion and a National Dorymen’s
Association Champion, and winner of the Masters Inter-Mountain Downhill Ski
Championship!
Burnside will be missed by the many lifeguards around the world
who he helped, and friended through the years.
Untitled Post
Beautiful piece on Ursula Carlile, one of our newest Honorees (Class of 2020) from our very own, Swimming World Editor in Chief, Craig Lord.
I got a Christmas card from Australia today with this beautiful stamp on it commemorating 100 years since the first England to Australia flight … what an adventure, what a Ride!
Make that Ryde. The card was from Ursula Carlile. Each year, she tops my chart of beautifully crafted year-end travelogues, no longer with Forbes, who passed away in 2016 as racing was about to begin in Rio. How I miss his emails of tireless campaigning for the betterment of swimming and swimmers.
He was urging the Athlete Voice to let itself be heard decades before the current gen catch-up on rights, welfare, representation and much else. He was urging governors to adopt good governance athlete-first practices several decades ago. We wait yet, alas.
Ursula will be missing him more than any, of course. One of her pool managers accompanied Ursula on Celtic tour this year in Scotland and Ireland … what a Time they had!
Ursula is 83. She writes with the thrill of a 23-year-old out in the world soaking up experience … and she writes beautifully, her descriptions worthy of the best of travel books. She might have made a career of it.
Instead, she chose Forbes and swimming and they chose her. In April 2020, Ursula will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame … what a wonderful moment that will be, 101 years after the events immortalized on the stamp.
Ursula hopes to be there for the ceremony. I pray she will be on this night approaching third Advent, the full moon so bright that silver and shadow look like snowfall on birch, barn and lawn.
Ursula writes in her letter „I‘m not sure I deserve this honour“. Banish doubt Ursula! You do!
Forbes made the Hall in 1974, two years after one of his swimmers and one of the greatest of all-time, Shane Gould, sped to 3 gold, all world records, a silver and a bronze, all solo, at the Munich Olympic Games. Her tally remains a record haul of solo medals at one Games in the pool among women (Mr. Phelps is the man at the top of that count, 5 solo golds among 8 Beijing 2008 …).
Gould’s pioneering unfolded at a time when blazers travelled with teams and coaches were less than the proverbial child best seen but not heard. Coaches should be neither seen nor heard back then. So Forbes did not get to be on the deck with Shane. Ursula did, as chaperone and purveyor and conveyor of swim wisdom…
When you look back at the lives of Ursula and Forbes, the journey looks both immense, thunderously broad and yet shorter than the span it feels fair to expect.
Even so, what an adventure; what a ride! 
Merry Christmas to Ursula and all those who know her and of her through their own connection with the water
ISHOF Honoree Brian Goodell – Newly elected Mayor of Mission Viejo
It is really something when you know the mayor! Congratulations to Brian Goodell, 1976 – 400 and 1500m Olympic Champion and ISHOF Honoree, who swam (and won) the mile with the song “Radar Love” in his head. He is the newly-elected mayor of Mission Viejo. Here he is with ISHOF Honoree and proud coach Mark Schubert. (Thanks for the tidbit Eney Jones!)
To read more about ISHOF Honoree Brian Goodell, click here:
https://ishof.org/brian-goodell–(usa).html
To read more about ISHOF Honoree Mark Schubert, click here:
https://ishof.org/mark-schubert.html
Mel Marshall: “You Spend A Lot Of Days In The Dark For A Few Really Specials Days In The Light”
by CRAIG LORD – SWIMMING WORLD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
10 December 2019
For the third time in as many weeks, Mel Marshal, mentor to Adam Peaty, Luke Greenbank and other speedy swimmers, has been honoured for her work.
The Action Woman Awards celebrate what the title suggests. Marshall collected the Lifetime Achievement Award, the oddness in the accolade for a 37-year-old not escaping the notice of Clare Balding, BBC presenter and Mistress of Ceremonies as she handed over the prize.
“Mel, you’re very young to be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award… you’re only, what, 37 or something like that,” said Balding, famous beyond British shores for superb handling of a diversionary “more tea vicar?” moment in an interview with an elated Bert Le Clos back in 2012 after his ” beautiful boy” (Chad) had just claimed Olympic gold over 200m butterfly a fingertip ahead of a certain Michael Phelps (G.O.A.T).
There was no bleep to blot out Bert’s expletive of joy (before he asked ‘is this live?’). Balding steered the conversation masterfully clear of the !*$& off to calmer waters in which the sensitivities of the shire wallow.
“But,” justified Balding as the young Marshall with decades of achievement ahead of her stood before her on stage not much more than a decade beyond her own racing days, “It’s because you’ve done so much in such a short period of time.”
Or so it may seem for those who haven’t lived it. Gracious words of acceptance from Coach Marshall were followed by these gems:
“In sport you can spent a lot of days in the dark for a few really specials days in the light and so, today’s one of those days where you’re in the light, so it’s just a real honour – and thanks very much.”
Balding nails the obvious when she notes that Marshall’s relationship with her swimmers is “based on trust”, two-way trust. Says the winner of six medals for England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games:
“It’s like a marriage. We spent a lot of time together and a lot of time disliking each other… I say it’s like climbing Everest. Some days you need an oxygen mask, some days you need a tent, some days you need support and some days you just need somebody to listen to you. And we work through this challenges every single day and I’m incredibly lucky.
“When I left swimming in 2008, I wanted to work at the highest level with the best possible athletes and I really, honestly, get to live my dream every single day. They are a true privilege – and they have their moments, don’t get me wrong, but most of the time we’re all striving for the same thing and that’s a really special place to work.”
@btsport
“In sport, you can spend a lot of days in the dark, for a few really special days in the light.”
“I get to live my dream every day, my athletes are a true privilege.”
An inspiring speech from @massivemel after she won the #ActionWoman Lifetime Achievement Award
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Balding raises the matter of motivating Peaty to strive for better when his best is so far ahead of the rest and Project 56 has been nailed, Tokyo defence and gold just around the corner.
Marshall, who this year lifted the UK Coaching Performance Coach of the Year Award and, for the forth time, the British Swimming Coach of the Year Award, and hopes so but scratches her ear in search of the inner voice that will deliver what she really wants to say:
“But, for me it’s in the sense of… a lot of performers don’t see their best performance because once the money comes, the car comes, all that kind of stuff, they just kind of get lost in that. But he [Peaty] hasn’t uncovered his best performance yet and he hasn’t found then best version of himself as a performer of a human being yet.
“Every single day we try to get that little but better as a person and get that little bit better as an athlete. And that’s what we’re going to try to uncover: the best version of him [Peaty].”
Kylie Masse Named Swimming Canada’s Female Swimmer of 2019
Being a model of consistency has made Kylie Masse one of the world’s best backstroke swimmers.
The 23-year-old, who trains at the University of Toronto, is the first Canadian to win back-to-back FINA World Championships gold medals. Since her bronze medal performance at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Masse has won every major 100-metre backstroke race she has entered.
Kylie Masse – Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
At the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Masse defended her 100-m title while adding bronze in the 200-m backstroke. She also helped the women’s 4×100-m medley relay finish third.
Her success on the international stage has resulted in Masse being named Swimming Canada’s Female Swimmer of the Year.
It’s the third consecutive year Masse has won the award. While proud of what she’s accomplished, Masse is also focused on the future.
“It’s always an honour,” said the LaSalle, Ontario, native. “It’s important for me to be proud and be happy with my success in the past but also continue to look forward and continue to work hard and see what I can improve on.
“I think it’s only gets harder. I will continue to push myself day in and day out to continue to improve myself.”
Swimming Canada High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson, said Masse’s achievements put her among the world’s elite athletes. He said:
“I would describe her as one the best athletes in the world. To be a back-to-back world champion, and perform on the stage when it matters, is a testament to her abilities, commitment and dedication.”
In a sport where a fraction of a second can be the difference between elation and desolation, Masse continues to refine and enhance her stroke. A tiny tweak can have a big impact. Kylie Masse said:
“All those little things are so specific, but they can also take a lot of time off or it can add a lot time if you’re doing it poorly. There are a lot of small technical things that take a while to be consistent with and nail, so I just continue to practice those, and they become a habit.”
Talent is the foundation for any athlete, but the proper attitude is essential to help build success. Coach Linda Kiefer marvels at the positive mindset Masse brings to practice every day.
“I’m amazed by it sometimes,” said Kiefer. “I’ve seen too many athletes; they walk in and they’re not happy. She is a very happy-go-lucky person and that’s a compliment to her.
“I love that about her. It makes it a lot easier when you have an athlete that enjoys what they are doing.”
Atkinson credits Kiefer and Byron Macdonald, who also coaches Masse, for stoking her “ambition and desire to perform.”
“She’s a great racer,” said Atkinson. “You can improve technique, you can work on training, but champions have the inner ability to race when it counts. Kylie’s coaches have brought that out of her.”
Being the best at what she does makes Masse a target for other swimmers. She said:
“That’s something I had to learn to deal with,” she said. “It’s something that doesn’t come easy. I try to really focus on myself and not think about what other people are thinking or what other people saying. I bring it back to just having confidence in my training, confidence in myself and my support team around me.”
Kylie Masse – Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Masse set the 100m backstroke world record of 58.10 seconds at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest. American Kathleen Baker lowered the record to 58 seconds in July of 2018. Another American, 17-year-old Regan Smith set the mark of 57.57 seconds swimming the backstroke leg in the 4×100-m medley relay at this year’s world championships.
“I’m happy for her and it’s great that backstroke is so strong right now and so deep,” said Kylie Masse. “It’s really motivating for me and definitely pushes me to continue and try to be better.”
Kiefer said regaining the world record is on the agenda, but winning gold at this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo is the main goal.
“In the Olympics, the time is not as important as getting your hand on the wall first,” said Kiefer. “You remember who wins gold, silver and bronze at any event at the Olympics, but you don’t remember how fast they swam.”
The 100-m backstroke remains Masse’s focus but her world championship bronze in the 200 shows the progress she’s made in that event.
“It’s come a long way,” she said. “I have a lot more that I want to improve on. It’s a different race than the 100-m, so it’s been a kind of trial and error. I’m happy with how it’s come along so far.”
The road to Tokyo will begin with the Olympic and Paralympic Trials in April. Having experienced the 2016 Olympics will benefit Masse as she prepares for this summer’s Games.
“I feel like I’m more mature with my swimming,” Kylie Masse said. “Just recognizing how to handle the nerves and excitement and all the attention that leads up to trials. I’ll still be nervous, and I think that’s good to be nervous.
“It’s still early. I’m just being in the present now, and really focusing on each practice and giving it my all.”
FINA Marathon Swim World Series Announces 2020 Schedule
by DANIEL D’ADDONA
10 December, 2019
As open water swimming moves toward the Olympic year, FINA has announced the calendar for the 2020 edition of the FINA Marathon Swim World Series, which includes an 11-leg competition, taking place between February and October.
The FINA Marathon Swim World Series will open on February 8, in Rosario, Argentina, and will then move on to Doha (QAT) on February 15. After a short break, the participating athletes will then proceed to the beautiful scenario of Victoria, in Seychelles, on May 3.
The competition will then visit Europe, with stops scheduled in Budapest, Hungary, on June 6, and then Setubal, Portugal, on June 13. Lac St-Jean (July 19) and Lac Mégantic (August 8), will host the Canadian legs of the circuit, before returning to the Old Continent on August 30, in Ohrid (MKD).
The last three events will be held in Asia, with Nantou (TPE) welcoming the open water stars on September 19, and Chun’An (CHN) staging the 10th race of the year on October 16. The final leg of the 2020 Series is scheduled in Hong Kong, China (HKG) on October 25.
The 2020 FINA Marathon Swim World Series will distribute a total of US$ 680,000 as prize money to the best swimmers in the competition.
In the 2019 edition of the circuit, the winners of the Series were Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) among men, and Rachele Bruni (ITA) in the women’s category.
2020 FINA Marathon Swim World Series calendar:
1. Rosario (ARG) – February 8
2. Doha (QAT) – February 15
3. Victoria (SEY) – May 3
4. Budapest (HUN) – June 6
5. Setubal (POR) – June 13
6. Lac St-Jean (CAN) – July 19
7. Lac Mégantic (CAN) – August 8
8. Ohrid (MKD) – August 30
9. Nantou (TPE) – September 19
10. Chun’An (CHN) – October 16
11. Hong Kong, China (HKG) – October 25