Happy Birthday MIKE BRUNER !!!
MIKE BRUNER (USA)
1988 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 gold (200m butterfly; relay); WORLD RECORDS: 2 (200m butterfly; relay); AMERICAN RECORDS: 2 (1650yd freestyle; 200yd butterfly); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1978 gold (200m butterfly); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 7 (400m, 1500m, 1650yd freestyle; 200m butterfly); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2 (1650yd freestyle; 200yd butterfly); 1982 Stanford University Athletic Hall of Fame; 1980 J. H. Kiphuth Award; 1980 American Swimmer of the Year.
Mike Bruner was high point winner in both the 1980 Indoor Nationals and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials. He qualified first or second for three events in the Moscow Olympics but never got to swim due to the political boycott. Fortunately he had better luck at the 1976 Montreal Games where his characteristically clean shaven head came away with two gold medals in the 200 butterfly and the 800 meter freestyle relay. This introspective man needed time to think, dream and plan and got this private time between Olympic Games and National Championships…by growing hair. “Hair gave me anonymity,” he said, “I enjoyed my swimming image as a ‘bald Daddy Warbuck head,’ but it was it was nice to hide behind my hair and be myself, too.”
Swimming at Stanford and all over the place with Bill Rose , Bruner won gold medals in twenty major national and world wide meets. Ironically his best year of the six he swam in top competition, was the last, when he was high point in both the indoor and outdoor U.S. Nationals, (1980).
The big question is how could a high mileage distance swimmer stay at it so long. “The hard way,” says Bruner. “I worked hard and long,” We studied what “the best were doing and then tried to top that in some way during his workouts,” said Coach Rose. “Mike had the ability to make practice into games with his intelligence and imagination. That’s it. He made himself the best and stayed up there through a combination of working, dreaming and playing winning games.” Rose as a coach kept it interesting by constantly changing workouts and figuring out how everybody else was going to swim the races. For this coach-swimmer relationship, Mike was first, last and always his own man.
Happy Birthday CATHY FERGUSON !!!
CATHY FERGUSON (USA)
1978 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 gold (100m backstroke; 4x100m medley relay); WORLD RECORDS: 4; AMERICAN RECORDS: 7; NATIONAL AAU Titles: 10; “World Swimmer of the Year”: 1965 (100m, 200m backstroke).
It was the final of the 100m backstroke in the Tokyo Olympics. There were six World Record breakers at the start of the race — Linda Ludgrove and Jill Norfolk (Great Britain, Sata Tanaka (Japan), Christine Caron (France), Ginny Duenkel and Cathy Ferguson (USA). Only one could win. It was Cathy Ferguson, backstroker supreme, but also capable of a fine Individual Medley or a Freestyle Relay leg to help coach Peter Daland’s Los Angeles Athletic Club win a National Championship.
Happy Birthday IRENE GUEST !! Honor Pioneer Swimmer and 1920 Olympian
IRENE GUEST (USA)
1990 Honor Pioneer Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1920 gold (relay), silver (100m freestyle).
Irene Guest, also known by her married name, Irene Loog, was a Philadelphia born, American Olympic Champion and World Record Holder. She represented the United States as a 19-year old and had either the good fortune or the misfortune of swimming on the same U.S. Olympic team (1920) with the all-time great Ethelda Bleibtrey. Bleibtrey won everything, which left Guest with a silver medal in the 100 meter freestyle (1:17.0), but a gold medal in the 400 meter “team race” (relay) in the Olympic and world’s record time of 5:11.6. The team consisted of Frances Cowells Schroh, Honorees Margaret Woodbridge, Bleibtrey and Guest, pictured below. Irene swam for the Philadelphia Meadowbrook Club and Temple University.
Irene was born on today, July 22, in the brand new year of 1900.
Happy Birthday LYLE DRAVES !!!
LYLE DRAVES (USA)
1989 Honor Coach
FOR THE RECORD: Lyle Draves was the first pure diving coach developing 3 Olympic Champions: Vicki Manalo Draves (his wife), Pat McCormick, Sue Gossick. Vicki was the 1st woman to win the Platform and Springboard at the same Olympics (1948). McCormick followed by becoming the first double, double Olympic gold winner (1952, 1956). Gossick won the Springboard in 1968. Draves coached female divers to 12 Olympic medals and 35 National Championships. His Olympic silver medalists include Paula Jean Myers and Zoe Ann Olsen, each of whom took a bronze. His divers Olympic medal count reads 7 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.
Lyle Draves was America’s first great diving coach beginning an era when diving coaches could specialize in divers and not coach swimmers too, or vice versa. He was a Hollywood film editor and his show biz background has helped his coaching or again, vice versa since Draves was diving in and then producing, top rated diving water shows before he became a film editor.
An Iowa farm boy, Draves met Fred Cady at a swimming meet in Iowa. Fred invited him to California where Lyle began coaching divers at the Lido Club at the famed Ambassador Hotel and at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. One of his first pupils was a 12 year old girl named Zoe Ann Olsen. Next, they both moved to the Athens Athletic Club in Oakland where he met Vicki Manalo. He later married Vicki, who was given away by 1948 and 1952 platform winner, Sammy Lee. Vicki and Zoe Ann took first and second off the springboard in the 1948 London Olympics. Vicki became the first woman diver ever to win gold medals in both tower and springboard at the same Olympics, narrowly beating Zoe Ann on her last springboard dive. After the Olympics, Vicki and Lyle toured the United States and Europe with Buster Crabbe and Dick Smith.
They quit barnstorming to raise 4 boys, all divers. Lyle returned to his coaching, first at tennis champion Jack Kramer’s Athletic Club and then at UCLA. His Olympic medal winning divers, in addition to Vicki and Zoe Ann, include Hall of Famers Pat McCormick, Sue Gossick, and Paula Jean Myers. The Draves boys are Acapulco and World Champion high divers who have followed the show biz side of their father’s heritage doing high and trick dives in such places a Magic Mountain, Sea World and Marineland.
ISHOF Honoree: Who was George “DAD” Center?
George “Dad” Center, 1991 Honor Pioneer Coach
ISHOF will be posting some of it’s older, maybe lesser known, but GREAT Honorees this summer to tell their fabulous stories and share their lives. Special thanks to the Outrigger Canoe Club in Hawaii and Marilyn K, the Historical Manager for the use of this article. We hope you learn a bit more about the tremendous people and history of our great sport!
Who Was “Dad” Center?
No history of the Outrigger Canoe Club would be complete without inclusion of the name of George David “Dad” Center. He was one of the men who made the Club what it is today. He was a leader and a teacher. But to many of the boys and girls who later matured into Olympic champions, business leaders, and Club stalwarts, he was affectionately known as “Dad”.
Coach, Club Captain, Director and friend of the youth of our Club, he encouraged physical fitness, team effort, sportsmanship and loyalty in all. Although most often known as a swimming coach, he was thought by many to be the “father of canoe racing” as he tried to revive the sport in the 1930s.
“Dad” was born at Kipahulu (Maui) on Christmas Day in 1886 during the reign of King Kalakaua. On the death of Kalakaua, “Dad” became a subject of Queen Liliuokalani. Next, a citizen of the Provisional Government and Republic of Hawaii with Sanford Ballard Dole as President. The American Flag went up over Hawaii in July of 1898 and “Dad” became a citizen of the United States and the Territory of Hawaii.
Educated in Hawaii and on the Mainland “Dad” distinguished himself as a school boy athlete in many sports. In his active athletic days “Dad” represented the Myrtle Boat Club in swimming, rowing and other sports. During the first half of the 20th century “Dad” was a swimmer, surfboarder, outrigger canoe paddler, canoe sailor, body surfer, fisherman, oarsman, yachtsman, volleyball player, golfer, basketball player, soccer player, track and field man, football player and expert participant in other athletic activities.
“Dad” missed becoming a charter member of the Outrigger Canoe Club by only a few weeks after it came into being in May of 1908, joining in June 1908. His first athletic endeavor for the Outrigger Canoe Club was in July 1908 in the Big Surf Contest (board) as the U. S. Atlantic Great White Fleet looked on.
To even list the contests in which “Dad” Center represented the Outrigger Canoe Club and the Myrtle Boat Club would cover pages. He was a familiar figure in early Regatta Days in Honolulu Harbor and at Pearl Harbor when he rowed for the Myrtles; but he was even better known later as a representative of the Outrigger Club in many sports, particularly in surfing events sponsored by the Club.
OCC Canoe Racing Team circa 1909
As early as Regatta Day of 1907 “Dad” was stroke of the Myrtle Freshman Crew which defeated Healani. On Regatta Day of 1909, “Dad” swung an efficient paddle (with Rusty Brown, Harry Steiner, Willy “Knut” Cottrell, Edmund Melanphy and Vincent “Zen” Genoves), in Prince Kuhio’s canoe Aa, as it won the six-paddle canoe contest for the Outrigger Canoe Club. And while “Dad” had many early athletic thrills, one of his greatest was to captain the Maile-Ilima Soccer Team which won the championship of the Hawaiian Association Football League in 1909.
Babe Dowsett, Miss Beatrice, Dad Center, Helen Martin
“Dad” Center coached swimming teams as early as 1912 when Duke Kahanamoku went to the Olympics to return to Hawaii a world champion. Others like Sam, David and Sargent Kahanamoku, Buster Crabbe, Gay Harris and Mariechen Wehselau Jackson followed in Duke’s footsteps.
Although his interest was primarily in swimming, outrigger canoeing was his personal love, and many a day he spent taking youngsters, tourists and all who could wield a paddle out to the surf in his koa canoe Miss Veedol.
“Dad” represented the Club in about every sport it took part in. Captain, coach, active-athlete, manager and adviser, “Dad” served on the Board of Directors of the Outrigger Canoe Club for many years. He was as much a part of Waikiki and the Outrigger as is the beach itself.
Dad Center with crewmates.
“Dad,” who shared with Duke Kahanamoku the honor of being the Outrigger Club’s “most honored member,” realized that Duke was a “coming champ” about 1910. As “Dad” said later, “I was swimming anchor on the Myrtles in a swimming relay race in Honolulu Harbor against Healani. Duke swam the final lap against me. Duke won by a touch. We knew then that we had a champion swimmer.” And, on August 12, 1911, the day that Duke (of the Hui Nalu) broke world-records in Honolulu Harbor, “Dad” swam second to Duke in the 220-yard race.
“Dad” was one of those who organized the Hawaiian AAU in 1911. Later, he served many years as its president, ending that service about 1939.
“Dad” was swimming coach at Punahou for about thirty years. He also coached water polo teams of Hawaii.
“Dad” coached and ran on the Outrigger track team as early as 1919; organized (with Dr. Paul Withington) and played on our football team; coached the U.S. Olympic Swimming team in 1920, was coach of the Outrigger swimming team and took a team to Japan in the early 1920s.
After a slate of officers were elected to the Club in 1917 who favored an athletic club to a social club, “Dad” was responsible for recruiting and forming winning football, basketball, baseball, volleyball and swimming teams, as well as the surfing and canoe racing that were the Club’s heritage.
“Dad” was also credited with starting the sport of sand volleyball in 1915 on the sandy beach in front of the Outrigger Canoe Club to entertain Club members on a day when there was no surf. He brought out the volleyball, strung the net, and the rest is, as they say, history. Outrigger members competed against each other for many years due to lack of competition, developing intense rivalries in open men and women and mixed tournaments. A century later, sand volleyball is played at high school, college and professional levels, and has been an Olympic sport since 1992.
1920 Hawaii team to Olympic tryouts: Lundy Lunger, Helen Moses, Duke Kahanamoku, Dad Center, Warren Kealoha, Pua Kealoha, Bill Harris
George David Center was selected to manage and coach the Hawaii swimmers who were picked to go to the Mainland for the Olympic Trials at Chicago in July, 1920. Eight swimmers won the right to be members of the team to enter the trials. They were: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, Ludy Langer, Warren and Pua Kealoha, William W. Harris, Jr., John Kelii, Harold (Stubby) Kruger and Helen Moses. They sailed from Honolulu in June of 1920. “Dad” liked to tell about this wonderful trip. “Duke was a bigger attraction than ever. People demanded to see him at every place the train stopped—even at small towns—so that Americans could have a glimpse of their famous world champion. People would come right into the train car and get Duke out of his bunk so they could get a peek at him.”
A seven-swimmer team emerged from the Chicago trials to compete on the U.S. Olympic team—Duke, Wild Bill Harris, Warren and Pua Kealoha, Ludy Langer, Stubby Kruger and Helen Moses. They sailed for Europe aboard the SS Princess Matoika. Among the 1,500 athletes parading before King Albert of Belgium, Cardinal Mercier, the clerical war-hero, and other world-known notables were “Dad” Center and his comrades. “Dad” had been appointed coach of the entire American swimming team. The Hawaii swimmers did well, bringing home many medals. After shaking hands with King Albert and his Queen, “Dad” and his fellow Americans from Hawaii moved on to visit Brussels, Paris, London and other parts of the world.
Duke Kahanamoku and Dad Center 1920 Olympic Games
Receiving medals on their return to New York, the Hawaii team, on November 9, 1920, was greeted with a royal aloha welcome at Honolulu. During the team’s tour it took part in twenty-six contests and brought back fifty-nine medals and other trophies of their victories at Antwerp, Paris, London, New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and way-points. The Honolulu Chamber of Commerce honored the swimmers with a luncheon and each swimmer received a gold medal.
In 1926, “Dad” led a Hawaii swimming team to the Sesquicentennial at Philadelphia. This year “Dad” coached and managed another swimming team that visited Japan. In the following year (1927), “Dad” was coach and manager of a second American swimming team that journeyed to Japan.
Dad Center
In September of 1927 “Dad” Center left Honolulu (as the representative of the Pan-Pacific Union) to urge the organization of a Pan-Pacific Olympiad of Sports, with invitations from the Pan-Pacific Union to have the first meet held in Honolulu in 1929 or 1930. Before sailing, “Dad” told the Pan-Pacific Union: “I believe in swimming as one of the greatest sports in the world and a great developer of mankind, and that is why I am interested in having as many of the countries on the Pacific get together every two years in an athletic contest like this, to develop our swimmers so that we can build up a team to represent Hawaii and America in the Olympics every four years.”
“Dad” had much to do with the creation and dedication of the First World War Memorial (Natatorium) at Waikiki in 1927. Duke Kahanamoku returned from California for this dedication and declared, “I can see Dad Center’s hand in it,” and that “with such men as Dad Center there is no reason why Hawaii should not hold a high place in the swimming world.”
“Dad” Center coached the Hawaiian swimmers who participated in the Olympic trials at Detroit in 1928. Only Buster Crabbe qualified for the American team to compete at Amsterdam (Holland). Duke Kahanamoku did not try for the team.
“Dad” was also the person responsible for the Club acquiring its famed koa canoes the Leilani and Kakina in 1934. He was an employee of Theo H. Davies and had been sent to Kona to oversee the take-over of a bankrupt lumber yard. He found the canoes sitting in a shed there and asked the Club if they wanted them. The Club agreed and began a fund-raising campaign to purchase them. “Dad” loaded them on a barge and they arrived in Honolulu Harbor along with a third canoe, the Malie (later renamed Malia). OCC chose the Leilani and Kakina to take home, and “Dad” took the Malie home and kept it in his yard until Waikiki Surf Club was formed and they bought the canoe from him years later.
Dad Center stroking.
“Dad” was known as the “father of canoe racing”. It was through his efforts and others that the 1933-1935 canoe races in Kona were held, giving canoe racing a jump start after it had nearly died out in the 1920s and early 1930s. He coached the OCC girl’s crew which entered. Local canoe races started up after the Kona races, giving rise to Outrigger’s 4th of July races in the late 30s and the Walter J. Macfarlane Regatta on July 4, 1943.
All his life “Dad” was the friend and teacher of thousands of boys and girls of Hawaii—particularly those who wanted to learn how to swim and surf. He could be seen nearly every day at the Outrigger Canoe Club, where he enjoyed volleyball and giving the kids a helping hand around the canoes and surfboards.
On May 1, 1950, “Dad” after almost fifty years with Theo. H. Davies & Co., Ltd., retired with appropriate ceremonies. He retired from business but “Dad” never retired from helping those who wanted and needed aid on the beach at Waikiki.
To all who had the honor and pleasure of knowing him, “Dad” Center is remembered as a shining example of what the Outrigger Canoe Club stood for. A quiet, modest man, “Dad” had the leadership that inspired all of his charges to do their utmost, not only for the Club and themselves, but for “Dad”; and for them the greatest reward for winning was a “well done” from him.
The Outrigger Canoe Club didn’t just happen. Dedicated men of “Dad” Center’s ilk have played important roles in the success of our Club.
“Dad” passed away in October 1962.
In 1979 fellow Winged “O”s Mark Buck and Tom Conner and Archie Kaaua believed that women were able to paddle longer distance races and started the first woman’s long-distance canoe race. They named it for the man who contributed so much to Outrigger sports: the George “”Dad” Center Memorial Canoe Race. The initial race course was from Hawaii Kai to the Outrigger Canoe Club Beach and was won by the OCC women. The course has been extended and the race now starts at Kailua Beach Park and ends at the Outrigger. The race is held every August and draws nearly 50 entries each year.
There are three perpetual trophies for the race: one for the first place finisher, the first koa crew to finish, the first junior crew, and the first masters crew. The trophies may be viewed in the Trophy Display Case in the OCC Lobby. Naming the race for “Dad” Center was a fitting tribute to the man who meant so much to the men and women athletes of the Outrigger Canoe Club.
“Dad” Center remains a fixture of the Outrigger Canoe Club. His photo and paddle are placed prominently behind the bar in the Ka Mo`i Boathouse. Members, old and young, toast him on a daily basis to say thanks for making the Outrigger Canoe Club the sports club that it is today.
Happy Birthday ANITA NALL
Anita Nall (USA)
2008 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m medley), silver (100m breaststroke), bronze (200m breaststroke); THREE WORLD RECORDS: 2-200m breaststroke, 1-4x100m medley; EIGHT US NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5 short course: 2-100m breast-stroke, 3-200m breaststroke; 3 long course: 1-100m breaststroke, 2-200m breaststroke; 1990 US OPEN: gold (200m breaststroke); 1991 US OPEN: gold (200m breaststroke); 1993 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m, 200m breaststroke); 1995 PAN AM GAMES: bronze (200m breaststroke);
She joined the swim team at age five following in the footsteps of her two older sisters. By age 12, she set age group records and at 14 notched an American record. Swimming for Coach Murray Stephens at North Baltimore Aquatic Club, she developed a technically perfect breaststroke using the new-style stroke of the time.
At age 15, only a sophomore in high school, she qualified for the 1992 Olympic team and in the process, set two world records on the same day in the 200 meter breaststroke, which were not broken for another two years. Competing as the “baby” of the 1992 U.S. Barcelona Team, Anita Nall won gold, silver and bronze medals swimming the breaststroke. Her gold medal swim came as a member of the 4 by 100 meter medley relay, which also set the world record. Her silver medal came in the 100 meter breaststroke, just out-touched by Russia’s Elena Rudouskaya, and the bronze medal in the 200 meter breaststroke, where only point two seconds separated gold from bronze. Anita continued swimming after the Olympic Games, winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke at the 1993 Pan Pacific Championships. Due to chronic health problems, that went incorrectly diagnosed for years, her swimming faltered and she was unable to qualify for the 1996 or 2000 Olympic Teams.
Today, Anita is a Holistic Nutrition Specialist focusing on nutrition and wellness where she conducts workshops for food allergy sufferers.
Drowning Prevention Book “Charlie the savior” Inspired by Baywatch
June 20, 2020
by: Swimming World Contributor
Downing Prevention
In 1997, young Charlie Hayes, asked his mother to see the set of the world’s #1 TV series Baywatch. This was his last wish as he was suffering from terminal cancer. His wish came true. He met the legendary creator, director and producer, Greg Bonann. The love he received from Greg, the screenwriter Tai Collins and the actors, extended his life for a few months.
The international drowning prevention program “Charlie the savior” is inspired by this touching story. It reminds the need for safety measures offering education on swimming, resuscitation, personal survival, applied lifeguarding and lifesaving sport with cross-sectional and entertaining way. The young readers get a Certificate of Accomplishment. It is distributed freely to serve the mission of every organization that strives to make our planet safer. It is available here.
Bonann commented: “Because of Charlie I realized the huge impact that our show was having around the world. We had an obligation that Baywatch would stay special. Stathis’ touching tale hopefully may serve a higher purpose; to save many children from drowning!”
ISHOF President/CEO Brent Rutemiller added: “I love this book as it is an educational as well as entertaining story. The message is strong and timeless. The spiritual nature appeals to all ages. Everyone can learn and be inspired by this work. The illustrations are beautiful, impactful and brilliant in color. A must read for everyone who touches water!”
ISHOF’s historian Bruce Wigo said: “Dr. Stathis Avramidis is one of the world’s great advocates for water safety and shares our vision of Every Child A Swimmer. In his latest book, he transforms a true life story into mythic proportions that is inspirational, entertaining and at the same time an incredibly valuable teaching tool that I believe will have a positive impact on global drowning prevention education.”
ISHOF award honoree and creator of the program, Dr. Stathis Avramidis, officer of the National Public Health Organization, Academic Fellow of Applied Lifeguarding and Lifesaving Sport in the University of Athens and President of the Greek Lifesaving Sports Association, added: “Education is the most powerful tool for injury prevention. This program serves a supreme goal and a personal debt. I thank my colleagues, the organizations, the reviewers, Greg, Tai and those that will implement it. Drowning is a multidimensional problem. Only united we can reduce it.”
Τhe free international drowning prevention program “Charlie The Savior” is endorsed by ILS, IFSTA, RLSS Commonwealth, ACFC, GLSA, WOWSA, ISHOF and inspired by true events that took place on Baywatch.
The program has been reviewed by 19 experts in 8 countries. It is endorsed by the following organizations that operate in 113 countries: Greek Lifesaving Sports Association, International Swimming Hall of Fame, International Life Saving Federation, Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth, International Federation of Swimming Teachers’ Association, A Chance for Children Foundation, World Open Water Swimming Association and International Water Safety Foundation. The talented Nikos Kouremenos gave the “kiss of life” to the text with his illustrations (promo video).
Happy Birthday CATHY FERGUSON !!!!
CATHY FERGUSON (USA)
1978 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 gold (100m backstroke; 4x100m medley relay); WORLD RECORDS: 4; AMERICAN RECORDS: 7; NATIONAL AAU Titles: 10; “World Swimmer of the Year”: 1965 (100m, 200m backstroke).
It was the final of the 100m backstroke in the Tokyo Olympics. There were six World Record breakers at the start of the race — Linda Ludgrove and Jill Norfolk (Great Britain), Sata Tanaka (Japan), Christine “Kiki” Caron (France), Ginny Duenkel and Cathy Ferguson (USA). Only one could win. It was Cathy Ferguson, backstroker supreme, also capable of a fine Individual Medley or a Freestyle Relay leg to help Coach Peter Daland’s Los Angeles Athletic Club win a National Championship.
Happy Birthday DOROTHY POYNTON !!!!
1968 Honor Diver
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1928 silver (springboard); 1932 gold (platform); 1936 gold (platform), bronze (springboard).
Dorothy Poynton, 5′ 1 1/2″, 112 lbs., still looks good in those TV commercials, especially when you remember that she placed third in the springboard diving in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics — same size and weight as she is today. She was 12 years old at the time. 116 medals and at least one of every U.S. diving title later, she won another Olympic bronze in the 1936 springboard diving final in Berlin. In between, Dorothy Poynton became the first woman to win the 10 meter (33 ft.) tower diving gold medal in two successive Olympiads, 1932 (Los Angeles) and 1936 (Berlin).
Dorothy Poynton joins Al White, Betty Becker Pinkston, Pat McCormick, Pete Desjardins and Sammy Lee as Hall of Fame Olympic double gold medal winners. She is the only one of these to have won medals in 3 Olympics. She is a product of the California dynasty that dominated Olympic diving for more than 30 years. Beginning with Hall of Famer Clarence Pinkston, the group includes Georgia Coleman, Marjorie Gestring, Mickey Riley, Dutch Smith, Paula Jean Meyers, Juno Irwin, Vickie Draves, Bob Webster, the aforementioned White, McCormick, Desjardins and Lee — and many others including 1968 Olympic springboard champion Sue Gossick.
Later in her life, Dorothy Poynton taught swimming and diving at her own “Dorothy Poynton Aquatic Club” in Los Angeles where she won her first Olympic gold medal.
Dorothy dies in May of 1995.
Karen Moe Set Her First Of Four World Records Over 200m Butterfly 50 Years Ago, Bound For Olympic Gold
by CRAIG LORD – SWIMMING WORLD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
11 July 2020
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first of four World records Karen Moe set over 200m butterfly, the last of which was good for Olympic gold at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
When 17-year-old Moe, clocked 2:20.7 in her home pool at Santa Clara this day half a century ago, she ended the five-rear reign on the clock of Dutch ‘gentle giant’ of butterfly, Ada Kok, the 1968 Olympic champion who had left the World record at 2:21.0 when she raced at Blackpool’s Derby Baths in England on August 25, 1967.
If Kok wiped 5sec off the standard in four chunks between 1965 and 1967 unchallenged by the pace of others, Moe’s four record between 1970 and 1972 are accompanied by the constant spur of American rivals, first Alice Jones in 1970, as the first inside 2:20, on 2:19.3 in August, and then Ellie Daniel, three times in 1971, the last of her marks a 2:18.4 in Minsk a year out from Olympic Games in Munich.
At U.S. Olympic trials in Chicago, Moe, coached at Orinda Aquabears by Ron Richison and then at Santa Clara by George Haines left no-one in any doubt that she was queen of pace once more: 2:16.62, the first World standard to be timed to to a 100th. Come Munich, the first heat saw the Olympic record fall, to Rosemarie Kother, of the GDR, in 2:18.32. The heat was on. Daniel chucked the gauntlet back with a 2:17.18 in the second prelim to grand lane 4 in a final featuring four swimmers inside 2:20 in qualification.
In the final, Kother and Daniel set the pace over the first 100m, turning in 1:05.46 and 1:05.62 respectively, to Moe’s 1:06.22. By the turn for home, the World record had drawn level with Daniel, in the lead on 1;40.83, Moe on 1:40.92, their teammate Lynn Collela now third in 1 :41.28, Kother on 1:41.55.
Karen Moe in full flight – Photo Courtesy: ISHOF
Moe had most left in the tank, scorched to the title in what would be the last solo World record of her career: 2:15.57, more than a second inside her trials time. That marked the first time the title had been claimed in a World record, after the event was introduced in 1968, and the last time it took a global standard to claim the crown until Beijing 20087, when China’s Liu Zige led an out-of-the-blue home 1-2 with Jiao Liuyang, 2;04.18 to 2;04.72, Aussie Jess Schipper third in 2:06.26.
In Munich, Moe led a USA sweep: Collela took silver in 2:16.34, Daniel bronze in 2:16.74, locking Kother out in 2:17.11. When she was inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a coach later in life, Moe noted that Haines taught his pupils that the winner would be the swimmer who could maintain the best and most efficient technique for the longest distance throughout a race.
Between 1973 and 1976, Kother would win the 1973 and 1975 World titles and take the World record down in five stages from 2:15.45 to 2:11.22. She entered the Montreal 1976 Olympic final as favourite but while her global standard survived for another two years, it was bronze for Kother, racing under her married name of Gabriel. Her 2:12.86 that day completed a GDR sweep at the start of the impact of the State Plan 14:25 systematic doping era in Olympic waters. Ahead of her were Andrea Pollack, in an Olympic record of 2:11.41, and Ulrika Tauber, on 2:12.50.
Moe was locked out in fourth on 2:12.90, just 0.04sec shy of returning to the podium four years after glory in Munich.
Moe would be a pioneer later in life too: she went on to coach women’s swimming at the University of California-Berkeley for 14 years. During that time she had tremendous success: three of her athletes – ‘fly legend and double ‘fly Olympic champion of 1984, Mary T. Meagher, Conny van Bentum and Hiroko Nagasaki – won nine NCAA titles (See Michael J Stott feature below).
Moe, the first person (man or woman) to be inducted into both the International Swimming Hall off Fame as a swimmer and the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame, she was forced to give up her coaching career and move into administrative roles after the death of her first husband, which left her as a widower with two children. She told Swimming World last year:
“I am sad that I had to give up my coaching career prematurely after becoming widowed with two young children. But, ‘once a coach always a coach,’ right? Just ask my friends at Masters swimming, where I am known to do friendly stroke interventions when my coaching impulses take over.”
Moe was serving as assistant director when she was terminated in 2004 after complaining about the treatment of women in the athletics department. Moe Humpreys (her married name) sued for gender discrimination and won a settlement of more than $3.5 million.
The Honors and a Very Meaningful and Insightful Speech At ASCA:
Last year, Moe Humpreys featured in Swimming World Magazine in our Lessons with the Legends series, with Michael J Stott. You can order the print copy of that Magazine, a version of the lovely feature reproduced here:
Lessons with the Legends: Karen Moe Humphreys
By Michael J. Stott
Before and after she became the first women’s head coach at the University of California-Berkeley, Karen Moe was a fighter. Born in the Philippines and educated in California, Moe emerged as a standout swimmer under Orinda Aquabears coach Ron Richison and Santa Clara’s George Haines.
Slight in build, Moe learned early that technical proficiency would be the key to her success. This despite the fact that from the ages of 15-17 she was required to wear a Milwaukee Brace 23 hours a day as treatment for the spinal conditions, scoliosis and spondylolisthesis. Her doctor made an exception to this protocol to allow her to participate in all of her swim practices.
Karen Moe Humphreys – Photo Courtesy: Tim Morse Photography
And what success it was—producing world records in the 200 meter butterfly in 1970 (at age 17), 1971, 1972 (twice) and an Olympic gold medal in Munich (and fourth in the 100 back.) Moe later re-emerged after a 40-month retirement (except for three college seasons), trained for 10 weeks, then made and was named a captain for the 1976 Olympic team. In the first heat, she set an Olympic record, only to finish fourth in the 200 fly final (with an American record 2:12.90) just behind a trio of steroid-fueled East Germans.
In 1978 at age 25, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from UCLA, Moe was hired as the Golden Bears coach. While at Berkeley, she compiled a dual meet record of 89-42-1, mentored six Olympians and 39 different NCAA All-Americans. Three athletes – Mary T. Meagher, Conny van Bentum and Hiroko Nagasaki – won nine NCAA titles. Her 1982 team finished fourth in the AIAW championship meet. In 10 NCAA year-ending competitions, her Bears had six fourth-place finishes and a fifth, and never ended the season worse than 12th. In 1987, she was named the women’s NCAA Division I Coach of the Year.
As Karen Moe Humphreys, she accrued additional honors when she was inducted into the International Swimming (1992) and ASCA (2010) halls of fame.
Looking back on her coaching, she recalls:
“I think the challenges I had when coaching were primarily because we were poorly funded. There were very few full scholarships. A lot of people were on very small scholarships or none at all.”
With the conclusion of her Cal coaching career, Karen Moe Humphreys assumed a variety of athletic administrative duties at Cal (1992-2004). Moe sued the university after being laid off abruptly. A three-year litigation was settled with her reinstatement with back pay and reimbursement of her legal expenses.
For an illuminating chronicle of her frustrating battle with the school administration, consult Karen Moe Humphreys: Oral Histories on the Management of Intercollegiate Athletics at UC Berkeley: 1960-2014.
In her own worlds
Karen Moe – Photo Courtesy: ISHOF
“I was fortunate and greatly influenced by two terrific technical coaches: my first coach at Orinda Aquabears, Laurabelle Bookstaver, and George Haines at Santa Clara Swim Club and at UCLA. Laurabelle taught me how to properly execute every stroke and kick so that mindful practice became natural for me. As an age grouper—in part because I was smaller than my competition—I came to believe that to be successful, I had to swim technically better and work harder and smarter than others.
“In 1970, at 17, I set the first of four world records and made the move to SCSC to train with others shooting for the Olympics. It was there that I learned the importance of specificity, mental training, race rehearsal and proper stroke mechanics.
“Despite being a world record holder when I graduated from high school in 1971, I was not recruited to swim in college. I retired after the 1972 Olympics and enrolled as a regular student at UCLA. By 1973, there were whispers of athletic scholarships becoming available for women. I decided to go out for the team, and in 1974, I was awarded one of the first athletic full rides for women at UCLA. This ultimately led to being in position to try out for my second Games at the ‘old age’ of 23, while attending graduate school.
“My UCLA degrees were in kinesiology with a specialization in exercise physiology. My graduate work was centered around a comprehensive study of all of the factors contributing to peak performance, building upon what I had learned at SCSC. I had just started grad school in the spring of 1976 when I decided to try out for the Montreal Games—I had swum only during the collegiate seasons the previous three years.
“In those brief 10 weeks, I trained with Coach Haines and focused intently and specifically on doing everything possible to qualify in the 200 butterfly. It was fun to feel like I was applying what I had been studying to my own performance. After the Olympics, I completed my studies and was able to do research with the UCLA men’s swim team. I worked as a teaching assistant and coached the Beverly Hills Swim Team.
“When I was hired as head coach at Cal, I was thrilled to be able to work with intelligent women and create a program where they could be successful by training smarter and believing in continued improvement. Back then, many believed women/girls peaked at 17. The environment on the pool deck shared with Nort Thornton was positive, stimulating, creative and groundbreaking. We also benefited from round-table discussions with coaches of other sports. It wasn’t until long after I left coaching that I realized that what we were doing was unusual and ‘ahead of our time.’
“My swimming and coaching careers were greatly influenced by the timing of – and opportunities created by – the 1972 passage of Title IX of the Civil Rights Code. I started coaching a summer league team while in college and also took a club position while in grad school. In school, I thought I was preparing for a career as a research physiologist, not in coaching. However, in the mid-’70s, universities were required to show compliance with Title IX, resulting in the formation of new college teams and many job openings. I knew that I had something unique to offer in this new field of coaching college-aged women.
Karen Moe, 1970 – world record Photo Courtesy: ISHOF
“While there were many more opportunities for jobs in women’s athletics, surprisingly few women were hired. Often in my career, I was the only woman involved, be it on a committee, a board of directors or the USA national team coaches list. Too many times I was ‘the first woman’ to be named the NCAA coach of the year or a head coach of a national team. I was even outfitted in men’s clothing for USA coaching assignments!
“I never questioned my right to coach in a field dominated by men although it was often annoying to be ‘the only.’ Perhaps this was because I had three wonderful women coaches as examples: Laurabelle Bookstaver, Claudia Kolb Thomas at SCSC and Colleen Graham at UCLA. Thankfully, I never thought that women shouldn’t or couldn’t coach. – Karen Moe Humphreys
“I am proud that I was the first person – not just woman – to be inducted into ISHOF as a swimmer and the ASCA HOF. I am sad that I had to give up my coaching career prematurely after becoming widowed with two young children. But, ‘once a coach always a coach,’ right? Just ask my friends at Masters swimming, where I am known to do friendly stroke interventions when my coaching impulses take over.”
Thank you to Karen Moe.
Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach whose Collegiate School (Richmond, Va.) teams won nine state high school championships. A member of that school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he is also a recipient of NISCA’s Outstanding Service Award.