SwimLight Feature: Getting to Know Rowdy Gaines, the Man Behind the Iconic Voice of Swimming (Video)
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
30 May 2024, 07:45am
SwimLight Feature: Getting to Know Rowdy Gaines, the Man Behind the Iconic Voice of Swimming (Video)
Rowdy Gaines is a legendary figure in the world of swimming, celebrated not only for his remarkable achievements as a swimmer but also for his influential role as the broadcasting voice of Swimming. Transitioning from the pool to the broadcast booth, Gaines has become a beloved commentator known for his deep insights, infectious enthusiasm, and knowledge of the sport. Over a career spanning soon-to-be nine Olympic Games, he has guided audiences through the thrilling highs and emotional lows of competitive swimming, bringing the sport to life for millions of swimming fans worldwide.
In the heart of Winter Haven, Florida, where the landscape is covered with over 120 lakes, swimming is not just a skill but a way of life. For Rowdy Gaines, this watery playground was the very essence of his upbringing and the foundation of his journey to Olympic glory. After finding his initial passion for swimming in high school, his persistence and dedication to the sport would eventually lead him to greatness.
“I grew up in Winter Haven, Florida, which is like right in the center of the state. There’s like 120 lakes in Winter Haven; it’s 70-something percent water,” Gaines said. “So water was really part of the DNA of who I was growing up. I learned how to swim literally before I learned how to walk, and I swam maybe one summer as a six-, seven-, or eight-year-old on a little country club team. I didn’t start swimming again until 17. I was a junior in high school, and one reason is that I had tried out for so many different sports in high school and kept getting cut, so swimming was just next. I didn’t get cut, and it was something that I certainly fell in love with. It took me a couple of weeks, but I think once I realized I wasn’t going to get cut and I started seeing progress, I just fell in love with it and then literally became obsessed with getting better.”
From the exhilaration of pushing his body to its limits during training to the sense of peace in the water, Gaines feels deeply connected to swimming. He finds satisfaction in the tangible results and the feeling of improvement that follows. In addition, swimming serves as a form of meditation, offering Gaines a sanctuary where he can escape the world’s noise and focus solely on swimming in the water.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
“When I was swimming and training for the Olympics, I craved the feeling of what my body, my mind, and my soul felt like when I was finished training,” Gaines said. “I didn’t like training, but I loved the feeling of after it was over with. So, swimming from that perspective, I just love the feeling of exhaustion and knowing that I got better. I didn’t like the process, but I loved the result. The other form is that it’s a sort of a meditation for me. I feel so comfortable in the water. I can take my mind off of everything and just kind of concentrate on the movements of being in the water, which brings me great joy.”
Gaines sees his Olympic journey as a learning experience, emphasizing the importance of commitment, sacrifice, and teamwork. Despite the challenges and moments of doubt, he stayed true to his goals and found comfort in the routine of training. For Gaines, the Olympics served as the culmination of his hard work and a moment of validation for his intense commitment to his goal.
“I know hindsight is kind of a cheat, but in retrospect, it really was about the journey,” Gaines said. “I learned so much about myself during the journey leading up to that. I mean, the lessons I learned at the Olympics probably didn’t amount to much, but I learned a lot about sacrifice and the commitment and the responsibility and the teamwork and all those words that, certainly, you have to kind of learn if you’re going to be a swimmer. It’s not for the faint of heart. So, for me, after the Olympics, it was just really cool to be able to say that I stayed committed to the goal. I didn’t give up. Many days, I wanted to give up, many days. I think a big part of the Olympic experience for me also is this journey is a four-year journey. Well, for me, it was an eight-year journey because I made the team in 1980. So a lot about the journey is getting into a routine. I love routine in my life, so the Olympics was all about having that routine leading up to it. I always look back at the Olympics, and it was just sort of like icing on the cake. The cake part was the journey, and the icing was the Olympic Games.”
Gaines entered broadcasting in the mid-80s, initially covering swimming for TV shows like Battle of the Network Stars. He gradually became more well-known in the sport, commentating on various swimming events before landing his first Olympics gig in 1992. Since then, his broadcasting career has grown, with Paris 2024 marking his ninth Olympics.
“Back in the mid-80s, I was asked to do the swimming part of Battle of the Network Stars. This was a TV show that had different celebrities and B-list actors and actresses compete against each other in different sports, and that happened to be in Orlando,” Gaines said. “Then, they had another event called Battle of the Corporate Stars with different corporations. So I kind of got into that kind of gig where I would call the swimming, and next thing you know, I started doing some stuff for TBS and TNT. They started covering some swimming. I did the Goodwill Games and just kind of slowly but surely built up that resume, and I did my first Olympics in 1992 for Barcelona, and that was NBC. It wasn’t over the air. I did the cable side of things. Then, my first Olympics was in 1996 for NBC, the regular network of NBC. So [Paris 2024] will be my ninth Olympics.”
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
As the voice of USA swimming, Rowdy Gaines has witnessed many unforgettable moments in the sport. His favorite, the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay in Beijing 2008, is so famous it inspired the documentary The Greatest Race. Gaines also enjoyed broadcasting Michael Phelps’ 100-meter butterfly victory in Beijing 2008, Katie Ledecky’s first gold medal in London 2012, and Misty Hyman’s unexpected win in the 200-meter butterfly in Sydney 2000.
“Well, that’s an easy one. That’s the 400 free relay in Beijing,” Gaines said of his favorite race. “That race is so famous that they did an hour-and-a-half documentary on it. One race, a three-and-a-half minute race and the documentary is called The Greatest Race. But there have been many, I have probably a Mount Rushmore of races, one certainly Michael Phelps, probably, the 100 fly where he won that same Olympics, by one one-hundredth of a second. I think Katie Ledecky, her first gold medal in London, is something that I’ll always remember. I think when Misty Hyman won in 2000, she beat Susie O’Neill in the 200 butterfly. That’s another one that stands out. If you pin me down, I could probably get three or four. But those are the ones that stand out in my mind off the top of my head.”
When it comes to the most anticipated events of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Gaines is particularly excited. On the men’s side, he believes the 100-meter freestyle will be a race filled with unknowns and fierce competition. For the women, Gaines is most excited to see the 200-meter backstroke, an event so competitive that the sixth-place finisher at the Trials could medal at the Olympics.
“I think I’m a little biased because it’s my race, but there’s two. There’s the men’s 100 freestyle, which I’m most excited about, but there’s so many unknowns about the race, so that’s what makes it so exciting,” Gaines said. “It’s not like (before) where it was kind of like Caeleb [Dressel] and everybody else. Now it’s sort of wide open, and plus, it dictates what our 400 free relay will look like in Paris. So, for me, on the men’s side, it’s the 100 free. For the women, it either has to be the 100 or 200 backstroke, probably the 200 backstroke, because the woman who finishes sixth at the Trials would probably win a medal at the Olympics; that’s how good that event is for the women. So that’s the most exciting one, I think for me. The 200 IM will be cool, and the women’s 50 will be amazing. I mean, the women have so many incredible events, but if I had to pick one, it’s probably the women’s 200 backstroke.”
Gaines advises swimmers preparing for the U.S. Olympic Trials to stay focused while in the arena but leave the stress behind once they walk out of the venue. He emphasizes the importance of balance, recalling how he managed to keep his mind off of the competition by distracting himself with music, TV, and non-swimming conversations. Gaines’ key advice is to be all-in when competing but to find ways to relax and unwind outside of competing.
Rowdy Gaines
“Well, I’m probably the last one now to give advice to these kids because it’s a completely different sport than when I swam, but the feelings are still the same,” Gaines said. “The feelings of anticipation and stress and anxiety, and for me, I think the best advice I could give is when you walk into the arena, you’re all in. You put the blinders on and your game face the entire time. But when you leave the arena, leave it there, and I tried to do that, especially at our Trials in ’84. Otherwise, it’s going to eat you alive if you live and breathe it outside that arena because it’s just such an anxious time. So, I did everything in my power to try to take my mind off of it. I’d sit there in front of the TV. We didn’t have internet or anything. So, I would do everything in my power to forget about swimming. I wouldn’t talk about it with my friends. My coach and I would go to dinner, and we would talk about completely different stuff, and he knew the kind of, hey, listen, let’s leave it there. When we get there, you’re all in. But when we leave there, we leave it there.”
Gaines had a couple of unique pre-race rituals that he followed throughout his swimming career. One of his superstitions was elevating his feet for five minutes before every race, a ritual he began in high school. Additionally, Gaines always swam double-arm backstroke during his warm-down, a ritual he never skipped before he was finished swimming.
“I would always have to put my feet up. I would lay down anywhere and literally elevate my feet,” Gaines said. “It was a superstition of mine that I always had to do before a race. I had to take five minutes and elevate my feet. Which I did pretty much starting my whole career. I remember somebody telling me in high school, and I’m sure it was just an urban legend, but that was a superstition, and I always had to do double-arm backstroke before I got out of the water. So weird. Right before I got out, after I swam, during the warm down, at some point in the warm down, I had to do double-arm backstroke.”
If Rowdy Gaines could create a new swimming event, he would likely focus on the underwater dolphin kick. Acknowledging the dangers of this potential event, Gaines suggests an underwater race where swimmers must breathe and take a stroke every 25. He is fascinated by how swimmers today can disappear underwater for so long, reminding him of the days when he competed.
“I’m guessing it would be the fifth stroke that’s already out there. [Underwater dolphin kick] is a little tricky because it’s also potentially dangerous,” Gaines said. “You know, it used to be it go as far as you wanted to, and they changed that obviously. So, there’s an inherent danger in holding your breath. So I’d probably implement that it’s an underwater, but you have to come up and breathe and take a stroke for a 25 or two strokes for a 25 or something. One arm cycle, one stroke. I don’t know, but I think it’s cool that everybody just disappears underwater. In the old days, they would go 45 meters underwater.”
When asked about his favorite pool of all time, Rowdy Gaines says it is the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, which he compared to iconic sports venues like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. This historic facility, where Gaines made the Olympic team in 1984, holds a special place in his heart. Despite the existence of older pools, Indy remains a central hub for swimming, making it Gaines’ favorite pool to return to time and time again.
“That’s an easy one, too. It has to be in Indy because Indy is sort of our Wrigley Field, Fenway Park,” Gaines said. “Wrigley Field has been around for 100 years. We don’t have a Wrigley Field. Our oldest facility is probably Indy, which we still compete in. We have older pools, obviously, but we don’t compete in them anymore, but we still go to Indy. I made the Olympic team in 1984, 40 years ago in Indy. It’s sort of our Wrigley, and that’s my favorite pool to go to.”
Happy Birthday John Hencken!!
John Hencken (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1988)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1972 gold (200m breaststroke), bronze (100m breaststroke); 1976 gold (100m breaststroke; relay), silver (200m breaststroke); 1980 Member Olympic Team; WORLD RECORDS: 13 (100m, 200m breaststroke; 1 relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 gold (100m breaststroke; 1 relay), silver (200m breaststroke); AMERICAN RECORDS: 21 (100yd, 200yd, 100m, 200m breaststroke; 5 relays); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 14 (100yd, 200yd, 100m, 200m breaststroke; 3 relays); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5 (100yd, 200yd breaststroke).
With 13 world records and 14 AAU nationals, John Hencken is the only swimmer who ever qualified for three Olympic teams in both the 100 meter and 200 meter breaststroke. Hencken was the last great (and the fastest) of all those “flat on the water” American breaststrokers who appeared in the 1960-70s. “The stroke was like a fine sports car that needs constant tuning,” says Hall of Fame honor coach Howard Firby. Only Hencken survived more than a few years. He shared the era with honoree David Wilkie both indoors and out, long course and short. Without each other as constant rivals, who know how many wins each might have garnered.
In spite of or maybe because of this competition, John Hencken managed five NCAA Championships, 14 AAU Championships and 21 American records to go with his 13 world records and five Olympic medals. Unlike many breaststroke champions, no one could ever label Hencken a 100 breaststroke sprinter or a 200 man. His world records were about equally divided as he lowered the 100 meter from 1:05.68 in 1972 several times to 1:03.88 in 1974 and 1:03.11 in 1976. In the 200 he dropped the world record from 2:22.79 in 1972 to 2:18.21 in 1974. Scholar swimmer John Hencken graduated from Stanford in general engineering-product design and completed his MBA at the University of Phoenix.
Happy Birthday Gail Emery!!
Gail Emery (USA)
Honor Synchronized / Artistic Swimming Coach (2000)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1988, 1992, 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: Head Coach; 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Coach; 1983 – Present FINA WORLD CUP: Team Coach; 1979 to Present NATIONAL TEAM: Coach; Coach of OLYMPIC SWIMMERS winning 11 gold and 3 silver medals, WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SWIMMERS winning 14 gold and 9 silver, FINA WORLD CUP SWIMMERS winning 24 gold and 5 silver medals, GOODWILL GAMES SWIMMERS winning 3 gold medals; Coach of 56 U.S. National Team Championships, 11 Junior National Team Championships; Coach of 150 swimmers to National Titles.
Not since the days of Hall of Fame Honoree and San Francisco Merionettes coach Marion Kane, has a coach dominated the world of synchronized swimming. Her entry into the sport more than 38 years ago marked the beginning of a competitive and coaching legacy that has made Gail Emery synonymous with achievement and success. And she did it all with a competitive but compassionate heart that brought out the best in her athletes. Of all synchronized swimming coaches, she is the coach who perhaps had the greatest impact in this sport as it was developing on the Olympic scene.
She started at age eight when in 1959, Gail’s mom Sue Alf, long time coach and national judge, introduced Gail to synchronized swimming. She swam first with the Solfettes of Walnut Creek, California, then the Howell Swim Club of Danville and finished her competitive career with the Santa Clara Aquamaids under Hall of Fame coach Kay Vilen. It was here she became a national team champion in 1972 and was part of a demonstration team that performed at the Munich Olympics. Twelve years later, in 1984, synchronized swimming became an Olympic event and Gail was on the Olympic staff.
In the fall of 1972, Gail began coaching the Walnut Creek Aquanuts, a team her mother had founded. Eight years later in 1980, her team finally defeated the long-reigning Aquamaids of Santa Clara beginning a streak of 10 consecutive national championships, never before achieved.
As she began developing future world and Olympic champions, Gail was selected as the National Team coach in 1979, a position she held for 5 Olympic quadrennials. She served as Olympic head coach for three Games (1988, 1992, 1996) and coach/manager for one (1984). Her personal swimmers – duet pair Karen and Sarah Josephson won Olympic silver in 1988 and gold in 1992. Kristen Babb-Sprague won the solo gold in 1992. In 1996, five of Emery’s life-long athletes made up the eight girls who won the team gold medal in the first-ever perfect-routine score in Olympic history. With head coach Charlotte Davis in 1984, Gail helped coach Tracie Ruiz to the gold medal in the solo event and to another gold medal in the duet with Candy Costie. Tracie won the silver in 1988. That’s a total of 10 Olympians – eight of which originated from Emery’s club.
Gail served as coach of every World Championship team from 1982 to 1998 with her U.S. teams winning seven of the 18 gold medals. In FINA World Cup competition, Emery-coached teams have won 25 gold medals and four silver medals, with a 1993 and 1995 sweep of the gold medals – solo, duet and team. Her prodigy’s have earned Pan American Games gold in duet (1987, 1991) and in team entries in 1983, 1987, 1991 and 1995.
Emery’s athletes introduced a technical expertise to the sport that shed the old-school description of synchronized swimming as “water ballet” and led to the acceptance of the sport as a physically demanding yet artistically expressive athletic event. She implemented scientifically designed training methods and diverse, cross-training regimens to take her teams to a level only pursued by others. Her Olympic and international champions are testimony to this: Karen and Sarah Josephson, Kristen Babb-Sprague, Mary Visniski, Tracy Long, Michelle Svitenko Africano, Tammy Cleland, Heather Pease, Jill Savery, Nathalie Schneyder and Margot Thien. As the assistant head coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, four of Emery’s prodigies are among the team’s athletes.
In 1998, Gail took over the reigns of Stanford University’s synchronized swimming program and quickly won the NCAA National Championship, only the second time in 22 years for the school. Whether it is at the collegiate, national, World Championship or Olympic levels or at the Rome Open, American Cup, Pan Pacific Championships, Japan Cup, Moscow Invitational or Swiss Open, the legacy left by Gail Emery and the athletes that she coached will be long remembered and respected.
ISHOF Honoree Missy Franklin to Fly With US Air Force Thunderbirds
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
27 May 2024, 09:52am
Missy Franklin to Fly With US Air Force Thunderbirds
Olympic swimming champion Missy Franklin is taking to the air.
The five-time Olympic medalist was invited to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds on Thursday as part of the academy’s graduation celebration, according to the Denver Gazette.
The flight will take off from Peterson Space Force Base. Previous passengers included skier Mikaela Shiffrin and speedskater Apolo Ohno.
Franklin won Olympic gold in the 100 and 200 backstroke, the 800 free relay and the 400 medley relay in London in 2012 and earned five total medals over two Olympics, also medaling in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Missy Franklin won six gold at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, including sweeping the 100 and 200 backstroke again, and winning the 200 free, one of the top performances in the history of the World Championships.
In college, Missy Franklin led Cal to the NCAA championship led by her still-NCAA record 1:39 in the 200-yard freestyle
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2023.
The U.S. Air Force started flights with Olympians in 2019 to showcase the relationship between the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to the Gazette.
Happy Birthday Cathy Carr!!
Cathy Carr (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1988)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1972 gold (100m breaststroke; relay); WORLD RECORDS: 2 (100m breaststroke; relay); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2 (100m breaststroke); AMERICAN RECORDS: 4 (100m, 100yd breaststroke; 2 relays); 1974 Hall of Fame Outstanding College Athletes of America.
Cathy Carr is the first Olympic gold medal swimmer from New Mexico. Her Olympic victories at the 1972 Munich Games were a surprise to everyone except perhaps for Cathy herself. Just one year after placing fourth (100 & 200 breast) in the U.S. Outdoor Nationals, Carr won the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 meter breaststroke but was not taken seriously by the U.S. coaches as a threat to medal against the 60 competitors from 22 countries around the world.
The Europeans were always favored, especially Swimming Hall of Famer Galina Prozumenshikova, the first Russian to win an Olympic swimming gold in Tokyo and a bronze and silver winner in Mexico. But in the 1972 Olympics, even though Prozumenshikova was definitely favored, Cathy Carr beat her and set a new Olympic record to boot with a time of 1:15 in the prelims. In the finals two days later, Cathy took off in the center (lane 4) and led all the way, beating Prozumenshikova by two body lengths. It was as decisive as it was surprising. She won in world record time 1:13.58 beating her own Olympic record by more than a second and the world record of Hall of Famer Catie Ball by half a second. As the fastest American, this also qualified Cathy for the medley relay in which she won another gold in world and Olympic record time.
In addition to the two gold medals and the unofficial title of the USA’s most pleasant surprise winner, Cathy Carr showed that previous press clippings don’t win the Olympics. Cathy proved in the year after the Olympics that her surprise showing at Munich was no fluke. She retired to become a wife, mother and elementary school teacher. Coaching credits for swimmer Cathy Carr are owed to: Jimmy Stevens, Marc Lautman, John Mechem, coach-to-be Rick Klatt and Mike Troy.
Happy Birthday Jill Sterkel!!
Jill Sterkel (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2002)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1976 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 1980 OLYMPIC GAMES: (boycotted); 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat); 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat); THREE WORLD RECORDS: 2 (4x100m freestyle relay), 1 (4x200m freestyle relay); 1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 1982 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (4x100m freestyle relay), 4x100m medley relay), bronze (100m freestyle); 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze (water polo); 1983 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 1975 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay), silver (100m freestyle); 1979 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay, 100m butterfly), silver (100m freestyle); 1983 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 20 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 13 individual, 7 relays; 21 NCAA/AIAW NATIONAL: 16 individual, 5 relays.
n 1971, Jill Sterkel appeared in her first US National Championship meet at the age of ten. At age 14, she qualified for the Pan American Games, the same year she made her first appearance in the world rankings, with a 12th in the 100m freestyle. Sterkel strongly kept the momentum going, becoming a member of four U.S. Olympic Teams (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988), the most for any American swimmer in the first 92 years of the modern Olympiad. She won medals at each Olympics in which she competed.
Her first Olympic medal came in 1976 at Montreal when her 4x100m freestyle relay defeated the favored East German team and won the gold medal in the world record time of 3:44.82, with teammates Kim Peyton, Wendy Boglioli and Shirley Babashoff. Little did the athletes know at the time, but the competitors from East Germany had been under a planned drug doping program for six years. Their female swimmers won every event except two. When the East German drug scandal was exposed 17 years later, it proved their swimmers performances to be unfair, unbalanced and completely against the rules. They had won 11 of 13 gold medals and many silver and bronze medals.
At the 1980 Moscow Games, Jill’s Olympic aspirations were again dampened by another incident out of her control – U.S. President Carter’s boycott of the U.S. Olympic Team from competing in Moscow. Jill was picked to win three gold medals and to be team captain.
But, she could not compete.
Jill’s second gold medal came as a member of the 1984 Olympic 4x100m freestyle relay team (preliminary heat). When the 50m freestyle became an Olympic event in 1988, she tied with Katrin Merssner (GDR) for the bronze medal with a career best time of 25.71 behind Kristen Otto (GDR) and Yang Wenyi (CHN). This was Jill’s fourth Olympic quadrennial. She also received a second bronze medal for swimming the 4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat. Sterkel was elected captain of the U.S. Team for three Olympic Games – 1980, 1984, 1988.
Jill started her swimming career as an age group swimmer with coach Don Garmon (1966-1971). She then moved to El Monte Aquatics Team (1971-1979) in her home state of California where she trained under Don LaMont, competing in her first U.S. Nationals at age 12. By 14, she was competing at the 1975 Pan American Games where she won gold as a member of the 4x100m
freestyle relay and took home a silver medal in the 100m freestyle. Sterkel was then coached by Hall of Fame coaches Paul Bergen (1979-1983), Richard Quick (1983-1988) and Mark Schubert (1988-1991) while at the University of Texas, Austin.
Jill won gold medals at the 1978 World Championships (4x100m freestyle relay) and the 1979 Pan American Games (14x100m freestyle and medley relays) where she also won a silver in the 100m freestyle.
Sterkel competed at the 1982 World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, winning silver medals in both relays and a bronze in the 100m freestyle. At the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Jill won the gold on the freestyle relay. All totaled, Jill won 20 U.S. National Championships and 21 NCAA/AIAW National Championships while swimming for the University of Texas Longhorns.
Not only was Jill a great swimmer, she was also a member of the 1986 U.S. National Water Polo Team that won a bronze medal at the Madrid World Championships. From 1986 to 1991, Jill was assistant women’s swim coach at the University of Texas, and head coach from 1992 to present. “I am glad and proud to be able to give girls growing up in the sport some sort of example to follow…,” Jill Sterkel said in a 2001 USA Today interview. One of the first females to break into the USA Swimming coaching hierarchy to coach at the World Championship level, Sterkel is “an American swimming legend,” said Dale Neuburger, USA Swimming President,
“and she’s already distinguished herself as one of our country’s foremost coaches.”
Jill Sterkel’s accolades continue to flow. She won nearly every award available in swimming, from Olympic gold to the Broderick Cup U.S. National Female Athlete of the Year and a Texas-record 28 All-America honors. She was named assistant women’s swimming coach for the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka.
Sterkel has had a profound impact on the Texas women’s swimming program. She placed two swimmers on Olympic teams: Whitney Hedgepath (1996) winning silver medals in the 100m and 200m backstrokes and gold on the 4x100m medley relay – preliminary heat and Erin Phenix (2000) winning gold on the 4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat. Sterkel was inducted into the Texas Women’s Athletics Hall of Honor and was the 2000 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.
Happy Birthday Bruce Furniss!!
Bruce Furniss (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1987)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 gold (200m freestyle; 1 relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1975 gold (relay), silver (200m, 400m freestyle); 1978 gold (relay); WORLD RECORDS: 10 (200m freestyle; 200m individual medley; 5 relays); AMERICAN RECORDS: 19 (200m, 200yd freestyle; 200m, 200yd, 400yd individual medley; 9 relays); AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 11 (200yd, 500yd freestyle; 200m, 400yd individual medley); 7 relays); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 6 (200yd freestyle; 4 relays); KIPHUTH AWARD: 1975, 1976.
Bruce Furniss coped with painful arthritis using swimming as a remedial exercise. That he enjoyed himself during a twelve year career and turned his therapy into a successful competitive swimming career is an understatement. This younger brother of Pan American champion and world record holder, Steve Furniss, set out to own the 200 meters. He won two Olympic gold medals in world and Olympic record times in the 200 and in the 800 freestyle relays at Montreal and broke his brother Steve’s world record in the 200 individual medley. Twice he was high point winner at the U.S. Nationals and twice he was picked as World Swimmer of the Year in the 200 freestyle and individual medley. His world record total of ten included both 400 and 800 freestyle relays at the World Championships in Berlin. He added 19 American records including ten in yard distances which were the world’s fastest times.
Bruce, as an age grouper under Tom DeLong, Flip Darr and Jon Urbanchek, as a Senior National AAU swimmer with Dick Jochums, and as a college swimmer with Peter Daland, certainly added to the reputation of these distinguished coaches. During much of Bruce Furniss’ career he swam tired, without the benefit of a good night’s sleep. On trips he usually roomed with his best pal, Tim Shaw, a character who rarely needed more than six hours sleep and did most of his talking to roommates late at night.
Happy Birthday Nathalie Schneyder!!
Nathalie Schneyder (USA)
Honor Synchronized / Artistic Swimmer (2013)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (team); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: gold (team); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: gold (team); 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995 FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team); 1991 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team); 1988, 1992 SWISS OPEN: gold (team); 1991 ROME OPEN: gold (team); 1993 CHINA OPEN: silver (duet); 1994 FRENCH OPEN: gold (team); 1992 U.S. NATIONALS: gold (team), 4th (solo); 1993 U.S. NATIONALS: silver (team), bronze (duet), 5th (solo); 1994 U.S. NATIONALS: silver (team), 4th (duet) 6th (solo); 1995 U.S. NATIONALS: silver (team), bronze (solo).
When Nathalie fell into the swimming pool at the age of four and almost drowned, her mother decided she needed swimming lessons to keep her safe. Within four years, she was competing in synchro as a member of the Walnut Creek Synchronized Swimming Team.
Like in any sport, a number of coaches helped her along the way. Linda Kreiger started her synchronized swimming career; Betty Hazel coached her when she was twelve; Joan Marie Vanaski was her junior team coach who taught her to dance; Hall of Famer Gail Johnson Pucci brought her from the junior team to the club’s “A” team, developing her creativity; Lynn Virglio provided most of the 3,000 to 6,000 yards training before they started synchro training each day; Karen Babb worked tirelessly to get her figures up to par; and Chris Carver, National Team Coach gave her the final touch. But it was Hall of Fame coach Gail Emery who served as her club coach and developed her into the Olympic champion she would become.
As member of the United States National Team for nine years, she and her team rarely missed the top of the podium, winning five FINA World Cups and two FINA World Championships. Winning the 1994 French Open Team Championship in front of her family was special to Nathalie, because her mom and dad had both emigrated from France to the USA. At the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, Nathalie reached every athlete’ s dream when she helped the USA win the gold medal with a perfect score of “10 “ in the freestyle event. This was the first and only perfect score of “10” in Olympic synchronized swimming history until Russia received the same award in Beijing for their freestyle routine. But for all of her accomplishments in the pool, she is also famous for the perfect pose with teammate Margo Thien that appeared in “Life Magazines” Celebration of the Olympic Body.
Since retiring from the sport, she has coached, been a consultant and choreographed for teams in China, Great Britain, Argentina and the Netherlands, as well as the U.S. Junior National Team and helped Stanford to their first synchronized swimming Collegiate National Championship.
Katie Ledecky, Ryan Murphy, Caeleb Dressel Well-Positioned For Another Successful Trials
Katie Ledecky — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
21 May 2024, 05:22am
Katie Ledecky, Ryan Murphy, Caeleb Dressel Well-Positioned For Another Successful Trials
Top American swimmers have begun their final preparations for next month’s Olympic Trials, with most having completed their final in-season races prior to their all-important trip to Indianapolis. All of their training and racing efforts this year and from the previous two years will culminate in a football stadium in four weeks.
With Olympic spots and even swimming careers on the line, the pressure will be immense as always, although perhaps slightly less than the last edition of Olympic Trials when a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic gave veterans and hopefuls even more time to overthink and overanalyze the meet. At any Trials, though, not all possible contenders can handle the weight of Olympic selection. Some might tighten up behind the blocks or deviate from their race strategy — and the results will be costly.
So much about Trials is unpredictable, but here is a rather safe bet: expect multi-time individual Olympic champions like Katie Ledecky, Ryan Murphy and Caeleb Dressel to be ready. None of those three have provided any sizzling performances thus far in 2024, but that’s no concern. All three have built steadily throughout the season and recorded some of their quickest times during this weekend’s Club Excellence Series.
Ledecky, competing at the Atlanta Classic, swam the world’s fastest time in the 1500 freestyle, a result which might be faster than the eventual silver-medal-winning time at the Paris Games, and she swam her first sub-4:00 400 free performance of the season, notching a time that only Summer McIntosh and Ariarne Titmus have beaten in 2024.
The 27-year-old Ledecky has literally never had a poor end-of-season performance since she rose to prominence at the London Olympics in 2012. Her one blemish came when she was sick at the World Championships in 2019, but she still earned a gold medal and two silvers. Ledecky has already won seven Olympic gold medals, and should everything proceed as expected over the next two months, she will likely move into a tie for second-most Olympic gold medals of any athlete regardless of sport. Golds in the 800 and 1500 free, which Ledecky is heavily favored for, would give her nine, behind only the other-worldly 23 of Michael Phelps.
Does anyone really think Ledecky will be unprepared for Trials?
Similar story for Murphy, the top American backstroker for the better part of a decade. His results thus far in 2024 had been forgettable, particularly in the 200 back, but he recorded his season-best mark in the event by more than a second at the Southern California Invite this weekend while also clipping his season-best in the 100 back.
Ryan Murphy — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Murphy is known for holding some of his cards until absolutely necessary, so we can reasonably expect to see times at Trials that will vault him into the gold-medal conversation in both backstroke distances. Remember, Murphy has won gold or silver in the 200 back at every major meet since the 2016 Olympics, and he has been on the podium for the 100 back at every meet but one during that time. It also will not hurt that Russian rivals Evgeni Rylov, Kliment Kolesnikov and Miron Lifintsev are all expected Paris because of the country’s current ban from Olympic sport aside from neutral athletes.
As for Dressel, after a shaky cameo at last year’s U.S. Nationals, we have seen him steadily progress back toward the form that made him the most dominant swimmer in the world for five years. His times have been notable, including a 48.30 season-best mark in the 100 free at the Atlanta Classic, but just as impressive was his performance Friday night: a solid 1:47.38 in the 200 free, potentially putting himself in the 800 free relay conversation for the Olympics, followed by a 51.38 in the 100 fly not long after.
Dressel’s closing speed is on point; his 26.15 homecoming split in that fly race was three tenths quicker than he went in his world-record-setting performance at the Tokyo Games.
His Olympic cycle might have included its significant hurdles, but like Ledecky, his current University of Florida training partner, and Murphy, his former club teammate and friend for more than 20 years, Dressel is on track, producing the sort of confidence-building swims that bode extremely well for what is to come.
We have no hesitation in projecting that next month in Indianapolis, these three swimmers will spend plenty of time in the spotlight as they each pick up tickets to another Olympic Games.
Happy Birthday Vladimir Salnikov!!
Vladimir Salnikov (URS)
Honor Swimmer (1993)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 12 WORLD RECORDS: 400m freestyle (5), 800m freestyle (4), 1500m freestyle (3); OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 (participant), 1980 gold (400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 800m freestyle relay), 1984 (boycott), 1988 gold (1500m freestyle); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1978 gold (400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle), 1982 gold (400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1977 gold (1500m freestyle), 1981 gold (1500m freestyle), silver (400m freestyle), 1983 gold (1500m freestyle, 400m freestyle).
Regarded as one of the greatest distance freestylers of all time, Vladimir Salnikov joins the ranks of the Hall of Famers Arne Borg of Sweden, Murray Rose of Australia, and Mike Burton of the United States. A 12-time world record holder and 1980 and 1988 Olympic gold medalist, Salnikov was the first man to swim under the 15-minute mark for the 1500-meter freestyle.
Salnikov first emerged into the world swimming scene at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. At age 15, Salnikov became the first Soviet swimmer to make the Olympic finals in the 1500-meter freestyle with a fifth place finish. It is interesting to note that distance times dropped rapidly during the 1970s. Salnikov’s time of 15:29.45 would have given him the gold medal four years earlier in Munich.
The first of Salnikov’s many triumphs and world records came at the 1978 World Championships in Berlin. Salnikov won the 400 and 1500-meter freestyle and established a new world mark for 400-meters. One year later Salnikov, known as a “monster in the waves,” became the first man to swim under eight minutes for 800 meters freestyle, establishing another world record of 7:56.49.
At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Salnikov accomplished what long-distance swimmers had been trying to do for years–he swam under 15 minutes (14:58.27) for 1500 meters freestyle. Not only did he establish another milestone in world swimming history, but Salnikov’s victory was all the more sweet since he set the world mark in front of a roaring home crowd by shaving four seconds off of Brian Goodell’s record of 1976. Salnikov also won gold medals for his performances in the 800-meter freestyle relay and the 500-meter freestyle.
Salnikov went on to swim under the 15-minute mark three more times during his career. His fastest record, 14:54.76, which he set in 1983, lasted nearly a decade. It wasn’t until 1991 that Salnikov’s record fell to Jorg Hoffman of Germany, who swam 14:50.36 at the World Championships in Perth, Australia.
The son of a sea captain in Leningrad, Salnikov began swimming at age eight, and like many youngsters, had an unfortunate predisposition to colds and ear infections. As a teenager, his perseverance was noticed by Coach Igor Koshkin, who is credited with developing Salnikov to his world-class stature. Salnikov’s training also included short period at Mission Viejo with coach Mark Shubert and Hall of Famers Brian Goodell and Tim Shaw.
In 1984, Salnikov’s wife Marina took over as his coach. Marina is a former Soviet national track and field record holder in the 100-meters and a sports training psychologist. It is with his wife Marina that Salnikov trained for the 1988 Olympic Games and another change at Olympic victory.
At age 28, when most people consider a swimmer “over the hill”, Salnikov came back from a 10-second deficit to defeat West German’s Stefan Pfeiffer and East German’s Uwe Dassler to win the 1500-meter freestyle. His time of 15:00.40 was the fifth fastest in history (Salnikov owned the top four at this time as well). For his remarkable performance, Salnikov received a standing ovation from his peers that night in the Olympic Village. No other athlete in Seoul received such a spontaneous outburst of congratulations.