Own a piece of USA Diving History – ISHOF Honoree Silent Auction – Bid Now!
Get this and more at https://qtego.us/qlink/ishof
The Tokyo Olympic Games were one of the Most Successful in recent history for USA Diving. The Team came home with three medals, two silver and a bronze and eight divers made it into the finals. This hat is signed by the entire 2020/21 USA Diving Team and includes signatures by: Andrew Capobianco, Silver medal, synchro 3m, Tyler Downs, Alison Gibson,Hailey Hernandez, Michael Hixon – Silver medal, synchro 3m, Brandon Loschiavo, Krysta Palmer – Bronze Medal, 3m, Jessica Parratto – Silver Medal, synchro 10m, Delaney Schnell -Silver Medal, synchro 10m, Jordan Windle, and Katrina Young.
Donated by USA Diving/Lee Michaud
Shipping this item is available for an additional feeSTARTING BID: $100
https://qtego.us/qlink/ishof/F9G160
Lots for items to bid on, travel, merchandise, Olympics, check it out now!!!!
#ISHOF #CityofFortLauderdale #USADiving #WorldAquatics #EveryChildASwimmer #SwimmingWorld
ISHOF Silent Auction: Another Great Item up for Bid!! Signed Rebecca Soni ARENA CARBON PRO SUIT
Rebecca Soni: ISHOF 2021 Honor Swimmer, Breaststroke Specialist, Two-time Olympian: 2008 and 2012, 3 gold and 3 silver, and EIGHT World Records.
The is the ARENA CARBON PRO SUIT which was first soft launched at the London Olympics in 2012 and went live around January of 2013. This was the first suit in Arena’s “Carbon Series” and is a bit of an icon in Arena’s history as it was the first carbon technology suit.
When Arena introduced this suit in 2012, all technical racing suits were black – so this suit immediately got a lot of attention, and we all remember when Soni walked out in this Hot Pink elite technical racing suit at the Olympic Games next to every other athlete in solid black. Own a piece of history. This is not the actual suit Soni wore during the Games but it is one of the few made at that same time period and autographed by Rebecca.
Framed suit is 38 x 19 x 1.5 Donated by Arena
Shipping this item is available for an additional fee
The Starting bid for this item is $500.
Click here to bid and see all the items: https://ishof.home.qtego.us
Happy Birthday Kirsty Coventry!!
Country: ZIM
Honore Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m backstroke), silver (100m backstroke, 200 I.M., 400 I.M.); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m backstroke), silver (100m backstroke), bronze (200 I.M.); SIX WORLD RECORDS; 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC) gold (200m backstroke), silver (400 I.M.); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (200m backstroke, 200 I.M.); 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m, 200m backstroke), silver (200 I.M., 400 I.M.); 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (100m 200m backstroke, 200 I.M., 400 I.M.), bronze (100 I.M.); 2002 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (200 I.M.).
The United States. Australia. Hungary. They are nations familiar to the podium at major international competitions, including the Olympic Games. Zimbabwe doesn’t fit the mold, but Kirsty Coventry single handedly put the African country on the swimming map, thanks to her consistency, longevity, and versatility.
Coventry first competed at the Olympics as a teenager at the 2000 Games in Sydney. Although she failed to advance to any finals, the experience was valuable and allowed the Zimbabwean to get an up-close view of elite racing. Over the next few years, Coventry continued to hone her skills, with a major decision to attend Auburn University, an NCAA power program.
Behind her work at Auburn, Coventry elevated her status on the international stage and made her second Olympics, in 2004 in Athens, a successful appearance. Coventry collected a full set of medals in that Olympiad, claiming a gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke, a silver medal in the 100 backstroke and a bronze medal in the 200 individual medley.
Coventry was even more impressive at the next year’s World Championships in Montreal, where she became one of the few athletes in history to win four individual medals at a single Worlds. In addition to winning titles in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, Coventry was the silver medalist in the 200 individual medley and 400 I.M. Her win in the 100-meter backstroke arrived over world record holder Natalie Coughlin, one of the few defeats the American endured between back-to-back Olympic crowns in 2004 and 2008.
Lauded as a hero in her homeland, Coventry proved that even athletes from smaller nations can reach the pinnacle of their sport. She added two medals at the 2007 World Championships and in early 2008, she set her first world record, breaking a 16-year-old standard in the 200 backstroke.
At the 2008 Olympic Games, Coventry won four medals. In her first three events in Beijing, Coventry earned silver medals in the 400 individual medley, 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley. She broke through in her fourth event, winning gold in the 200 backstroke in world record time.
A year later, Coventry won a silver medal at the World Championships in the 400 I.M. and secured another world title in the 200 backstroke, where she lowered her world record. Coventry also competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, bringing her total number of Olympic appearances to five.
Overall, she won seven Olympic medals and eight medals at the World Championships, all from individual events, and was a five-time world-record setter.
Beyond her success in the pool, Coventry has had an impact in several organizational roles. Coventry has been a member of the International Olympic Committee for more than a decade, helping to ensure positive experiences for athletes. She has also served in roles with World Aquatics and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Kirsty Coventry will be remembered for her multi-event talent and enduring legacy as a major factor in international competition. But she’ll also be remembered as an inspiration, proving that greatness comes from all places.
ASCA Announces Finalists for Coach of the Year Award
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
21 August 2024, 02:18pm
Five coaches who had numerous medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics have been named finalists for the prestigious ASCA George Haines Coach of the Year award. They are Bob Bowman, Todd DeSorbo, Dave Durden, Greg Meehan and Anthony Nesty.
This award is presented annually to the individual whose coaching effectiveness has contributed the most towards American swimming excellence on the World stage. Only coaches whose American athletes achieved medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics were considered for this award. The last three winners are Dave Durden, Anthony Nesty and Gregg Troy.
The 2024 ASCA George Haines Coach of the Year winner will be revealed on September 5 at the Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Celebration during the ASCA World Clinic at the Rosen Centre Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Team GB athletes unveil Golden Train in time for Paris 2024
About the ASCA finalists:
Bob Bowman, Director of Swimming and Head Coach of the Men’s Team at the University of Texas.
Todd DeSorbo, Head Coach at the University of Virginia, was the head coach of the Women’s US Olympic team.
Dave Durden, Head Coach at the University of California Berkeley, was an assistant coach for the US Olympic Team.
Greg Meehan, Head Coach of the Women’s Team at Stanford University and assistant coach for the US Olympic Team.
Anthony Nesty, Head Coach at the University of Florida, was the head coach of the Men’s US Olympic team.
The ASCA Coach of the Year has been awarded since 1961. The award is named after coaching great, George Haines, and has been awarded to other trailblazers in the profession such as Doc Counsilman, Eddie Reese, Bob Bowman, Jon Urbanchek and many others.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with ASCA. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
The Olympics Are Over: Where Will the World’s Top Swimmers Compete Next?
22 August 2024, 09:36am
The Olympics Are Over, So Where Will The World’s Top Swimmers Compete Next?
The 2024 Olympic Games are over. For three years, swimming fans waited to watch some of the biggest stars in the sport battle it out in the iconic La Défense Arena, and the results were certainly worth the wait. Fortunately, the swimming action will continue in just a few days with Paralympic swimming, but once the Paralympics are over, when is the next time that we will see the world’s top swimmers compete on the national or international stage?
Here are the next high-level meets taking place domestically and worldwide for the remainder of 2024 and the entirety of 2025.
2024
World Aquatics Swimming World Cup (SCM)
Stop One
Location: Shanghai, China
Date: October 18th–20th, 2024
Stop Two
Location: Incheon, South Korea
Date: October 24th–26th, 2024
Stop Three
Location: Singapore, Singapore
Date: October 31st–November 2nd, 2024
The World Cup is the first big international meet after the Paris Olympics, and multiple high-profile swimmers will compete. The World Cup will feature a short-course meters format, and consist of three “stops” or meets that will take place in Eastern Asia. Swimmers will compete at each stop for three days before moving onto the next location. Heats will be held in the morning session, and finals will be held in the evening session at all three stops.
Toyota U.S. Open (SCY)
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Date: December 4th–7th, 2024
The Toyota U.S. Open is one of the more unique meets on the 2024 schedule. This meet is different, as swimming fans can watch their favorite professional swimmer compete in short-course yards instead of the traditional long-course meters. National and international swimmers are known to race at this meet, which will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the beginning of December.
World Aquatics Swimming Championships (SCM)
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Date: December 10-15, 2024
The upcoming World Aquatic Swimming Championships are slated to take place in Budapest, Hungary, at the famous Duna Arena. This meet will also be the first time that Hungary will host the World Championships in a 25-meter pool. The championships will last six days, with heats in the morning session and semifinals and finals in the evening session.
Speedo Winter Junior Championships (SCY)
Location: East–Greensboro, North Carolina; West–Austin, Texas
Dates: December 11-14, 2024
The fastest 18-and-under athletes will race at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships in the middle of December. These young swimmers will look to leave their mark on the national stage and be recognized as upcoming stars. This meet will have two locations: the Eastern United States will race in Greensboro, North Carolina, while the Western half will race in Austin, Texas.
2025
TYR Pro Swim Series (LCM)
Stop One
Location: Westmont, Illinois
Date: March 3rd-8th, 2025
Stop Two
Location: Sacramento, California
Date: April 2nd-5th, 2025
Stop Three
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Date: April 30th-May 3rd, 2025
The 2025 season kicks off with three TYR Pro Swim Series stops. The electric Westmont, Illinois, stop is up first at the beginning of March, followed by a stop in Sacramento, California, at the beginning of April, and the final stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to close out April and kick off May. Many national and international swimming stars are expected at the TYR Pro Swim Series meets.
National Championships (LCM)
Location: To be determined
Date: June 3rd-7th
The National Championships are back in 2025. This meet is nearly as competitive as the U.S. Olympic Trials. American swimmers will compete for a spot to represent Team USA at the World Aquatics Championships later in the summer. This meet is set to take place from June 3rd-7th, 2025, but the location is yet to be determined.
2025 World Aquatics Championships (LCM)
Location: Singapore
Date: July 11th-August 3rd, 2025
The 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be one of the most anticipated meets of the 2025 season, especially since this meet takes place a year after the Paris 2024 Olympics. This meet may feature new, rising swimmers or well-known veterans and give the world a perspective on where some top athletes stand in their careers. These World Championships will take place in Singapore and will feature water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming, and high diving as well.
Speedo Junior National Championships (LCM)
Location: Irvine, California
Date: July 30th-August 3rd, 2025
The summer Speedo Junior National Championships feature long-course racing instead of short-course yards. The meet will be held in Irvine, California, beginning at the end of July and concluding at the beginning of August. Summer Juniors is highly competitive, and because this meet is contested in the traditional Olympic pool, young swimmers have a chance to show their skills early in the next quad.
TYR Pro Championships (LCM)
Location: Irvine, California
Date: August 5th-8th, 2025
The TYR Pro Championships will close the summer 2025 season. It will occur shortly after the Speedo Junior National Championships and be located in Irvine, California, which has hosted numerous international and national meets. Many professional and collegiate swimmers will be present at this meet.
Toyota U.S. Open (SCY)
Location: To be determined
Date: December 4th-7th, 2025
In December 2025, the world’s fastest swimmers will have another chance to showcase their short-course swimming. The Toyota U.S. Open is back and will continue to be one of the most unique meets on the schedule. The location of the meet is yet to be determined.
Speedo Winter Junior Championships (SCY)
Location: To be determined
Date: December 10th-13th, 2025
Again, the fastest 18-and-under athletes can compete at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships in 2025. The locations for the meet have yet to be determined, but they will take place in the middle of December, just like in 2024. These meets are excellent opportunities for young swimmers to race against the best and gain attention from the swimming world to see who has the potential to be the next rising star.
After Olympic Dominance, Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh Secure in Positions as World’s Best
Leon Marchand — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
19 August 2024, 05:06am
After Olympic Dominance, Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh Secure in Positions as World’s Best
Hundreds of swimmers competed over the nine days at La Défense Arena, all of whom had poured years of training and focus into ensuring they would be at their best for the Paris Olympics. Fifty-seven departed with at least one piece of individual hardware to commemorate a top-three finish, but all carried a sense of finality. The Olympics had been the target, not a stepping stone to some other competition, and the long buildup was over.
Of course, most will return to training soon enough for further cracks at international competition, but it will be four more years until another event comes around with the prestige of the Olympics. History tells us at least half of the headliners from Paris will have declined precipitously by the time the Games of the 34th Olympiad open in Los Angeles while younger swimmers who were not in contention or not even qualified for this year’s Olympics will be winning medals.
At the Olympics, more than any other meet in the world, results matter. Slow pool, lackluster winning times, fewer world records than expected? Who cares? Show up to perform, and your legacy in the sport is secure forever. Whereas World Championships performances can be scrutinized to project swimmers’ results in future years, the Olympics is the endgame.
Such circumstances breed pressure, and the swimmers who most successfully navigated that pressure deserve credit as the best swimmers of the Olympics and best swimmers in the world. Indeed, no one with even a rudimentary understanding of the sport would deny that Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh are the clear No. 1 choices for their respective genders right now.
Marchand, 22, captivated France and the world with his four-gold-medal performance, becoming only the third man and fourth swimmer overall to win that many individual events in a single Olympics. He was just short of his own world record in a dominant 400 IM triumph while he became the second-fastest performer ever in his three other races. Marchand then added a fifth medal when his breaststroke split helped France to the country’s first-ever medal in the men’s 400 medley relay.
Summer McIntosh — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Unlike her French counterpart, McIntosh was not perfect individually, coming in just behind Ariarne Titmus in the 400 freestyle before dominating the 400 IM and defeating stellar competition to win the 200 butterfly and 200 IM. McIntosh was unable to add any relay medals as all three Canadian women’s relays that she anchored fell to fourth. Still, she secured her swimmer-of-the-meet status with a win over two other individual gold medalists, Kate Douglass and Kaylee McKeown, in the 200 IM on day eight of competition.
Notably, the argument is not that McIntosh has the top résumé of any female swimmer who competed in Paris. That distinction still belongs to American freestyle great Katie Ledecky while Swedish sprinter Sarah Sjostrom is not far behind, but in the women’s meet this time around, McIntosh’s supremacy could not be questioned, particularly after her dramatic final victory.
Post-Paris, the contenders will be coming for perches atop the sport currently occupied by Marchand and McIntosh… but not yet. Not as most competitors enjoy their vacations and celebrations while only beginning to plot their returns to training. Not with the first opportunity to dethrone the current king and queen of the sport a long way off.
Yes, there will be other meets of significance in the coming months. Select 18-and-under swimmers will continue their quest toward Los Angeles this week as the Junior Pan Pacific Championships get underway in Canberra, Australia. A collection of experienced and fresh talent will gather in Budapest in December for the Short Course World Championships, with further international gold medals on the line. As usual with Short Course Worlds, particularly when held so close after the Olympics, we will not know which Olympic stars will choose to jump back in so soon.
Budapest will surely produce some exceptional performances, but because of the likely-limited participation roster and the 25-meter format, we will not use the meet to judge the best swimmers in the world. No, Marchand and McIntosh will remain in those positions all winter and spring, at the very least until the next global long course competition, with the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore scheduled for July 2025.
That’s the next meet when results will truly be judged for their placements, rather than as a lead-in to something bigger. The top swimmers in Singapore will then become the world’s best for that moment, even if World Championships medals and golds lack the prestige provided in the Olympics. From that moment on, the chase will be on for Los Angeles.
Paris Olympics: In and Out of Pool, Katie Ledecky Brought Power and Grace to Latest Games
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
15 August 2024, 06:10am
Paris Olympics: In and Out of Pool, Katie Ledecky Brought Power and Grace to Latest Games
At both the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Katie Ledecky faced the media at a press conference and let her emotions pour out. She spoke of the sport’s meaning in her life, and expressed appreciation for those who played a critical role in her ascension to future Hall of Famer. Tears flowed. Her voice cracked.
Typically stoic and businesslike in her approach to the sport, Ledecky’s openness at the end of a quadrennial serves as an important reminder. She is beautifully human. Vulnerable. Not a machine, despite the power with which she moves through the water. And the mental and physical toll of Olympic preparation is something only a miniscule percentage of athletes can truly understand.
At the recently concluded Olympic Games in Paris, the Ledecky scene played out again. This time, it followed Day One of competition at La Defense Arena. But the crux of the press conference was the same.
“Yeah, I love this sport so much,” she said. “I get emotional about it. I love those people (teammates and coaches), and that’s what carries me through, keeps me going.”
Ledecky kept her Olympic momentum rolling at the Paris Games. The upstart who first represented Team USA at the 2012 Olympics is now a four-time Olympian, more medals collected than any other female swimmer.
Another chapter written.
SHINING IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS
Katie Ledecky is familiar with the attention that accompanies global championships and is magnified at the Olympic Games. A four-event program guaranteed significant attention over the nine-day meet in Paris, and the 400-meter freestyle wasted no time thrusting the American into the spotlight.
The event was held on the first day of the meet and featured a clash between the last three world-record holders – Ledecky, Australian Ariarne Titmus and Canadian Summer McIntosh. The showdown was dubbed The Race of the Century II, nicknamed as the successor to the 2004 Race of the Century, when Ian Thorpe, Pieter van den Hoogenband and Michael Phelps battled in the 200 freestyle at the Athens Games.
Retaining her title, Titmus recorded a wire-to-wire triumph over McIntosh, who occupied the silver-medal position throughout the race. A bronze medal for Ledecky gave her a complete set of medals from the event, complementing her gold from the 2016 Olympics and a silver from the 2020 Games.
“It’s awesome for the sport and awesome for women’s swimming,” Ledecky said of the event’s drama. “It’s a testament to Ariarne and Summer and the performances they’ve had over the last few years. And I’d like to think that I contributed a little bit to the buildup around that race.”
The 400 freestyle is no longer Ledecky’s domain, but she continues to dominate in the longer freestyle events. Sandwiching a United States silver medal in the 800 freestyle relay, in which she handled the third leg, Ledecky added additional Olympic gold in the 1500 freestyle and 800 freestyle. The 30-lap discipline was a rout, with Ledecky repeating and setting an Olympic record of 15:30.02 and prevailing by more than 10 seconds. The effort handed Ledecky the 20-fastest performances of all-time.
The 800 freestyle required a bit more work, but Ledecky eventually broke free of Titmus and got to the wall in 8:11.04, more than a second clear of her rival. By winning the 800 freestyle, Ledecky joined Michael Phelps as the only other swimmer to claim gold in the same event at four consecutive Games. Ledecky won her first title in the event as a 15-year-old in 2012. Phelps achieved the feat in the 200 individual medley from 2004-2016.
“Coming into the 800, I just felt a lot of pressure from myself, just from my history (in the event),” Ledecky said. “And I knew going into it that it was going to be a really tough race and that everyone in the field was going to throw everything they had at me.”
The gold medal in the 800 freestyle was the ninth of Ledecky’s stellar career, moving her into a six-way tie for second in Olympic history. While Phelps leads with 23 gold medals, Ledecky is tied for the No. 2 spot with fellow sporting legends Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Caeleb Dressel, Larisa Latynina and Paavo Nurmi.
The four-peat also raised Ledecky’s career-medal count to 14, making her the most-decorated female swimmer in Olympic history, that honor shared with Australian Emma McKeon. In addition to her nine gold medals, Ledecky owns four silver medals and a bronze medal.
The greatness is not lost on Ledecky’s competitors.
“She’s just a champ,” Titmus said of Ledecky. “I have the most respect for her of any athlete I’ve ever competed against. I know how hard it is to go back-to-back and (for her) to be on top of the world in the same event for over 12 years is just remarkable. I feel so honored to be part of her story and hopefully it’s made me a better athlete as well.”
A CLASS ACT
If Ledecky never wins another Olympic medal, her legacy is firmly established. She is the greatest female swimmer in history. Plain and simple. Yet, what further elevates Ledecky’s status as a sporting icon is how she carries herself. She’s the first to praise her foes. She heaps recognition on her teammates. She repeatedly acknowledges her coaches, family and friends. It’s all from the heart. Pure.
On the final day of swimming action, Ledecky watched the final of the men’s 1500 freestyle from the stands. From the starting beep, American Bobby Finke – a training partner of Ledecky – attacked the race and was under world-record pace. With each stroke, Ledecky enthusiastically cheered her friend. When Finke ultimately broke the world record, no one in the building was more thrilled than Ledecky.
There’s a reason she was selected as a Team USA captain for Paris. There’s a reason she was chosen as a United States flag bearer – along with rower Nick Mead – for the Closing Ceremony of the 2024 Games. It’s called respect.
Heck, when Ledecky surged up the all-time medals lists in the French capital, speaking about herself was not the approach. Rather, she took a moment to cast praise elsewhere.
“I try not to think about history very much,” she said. “I know those names, those people that I’m up there with. They’re swimmers that I looked up to when I first started swimming. It’s an honor to be named among them. I’m grateful to them for inspiring me and so many great swimmers over the years in the U.S. that have helped me get to this moment.”
AHEAD TO LOS ANGELES
In the days after a Games concludes, most athletes beam over their upcoming break from the physical and mental demands of training. It is an opportunity to recharge and prepare for the future. For some, that might be life’s next chapter, as retirement calls. For others, detachment from that familiar black line on the bottom of the pool is a welcome split, if only to ensure the reunion will be free of resentment.
Ledecky does not operate in this sense. She has always enjoyed the demands of training, gaining satisfaction from completing countless laps and grinding sets. The pool is an escape for the 27-year-old, and her unique relationship with the sport – one that is organic and cannot be faked – offers further insight into her longevity and greatness.
So, it isn’t a shock that Ledecky plans to swim on – races inside SoFi Stadium at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles part of her long-term plan. She’ll be 31 when the Summer Olympics return to the United States for the first time since 1996, more than twice as old as when she made her Games debut. If she earns the chance to compete in L.A. and defend her crowns in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, it will require the same dedication Ledecky has exhibited for more than a decade.
And that is just fine.
“I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in the sport yet,” Ledecky said in Paris. “I’d love to continue on and just seeing the kind of support that the French athletes are getting here, I think all the U.S. athletes are thinking about how cool that could be in Los Angeles having the home crowd. So that would be amazing to be able to compete there.”
Paris Olympics: The Fingerprints of Bob Bowman Detected All Over Games
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
13 August 2024, 05:28am
Paris Olympics: The Fingerprints of Bob Bowman Detected All Over Games
For the sixth straight Olympics, Bob Bowman sported red, white and blue gear on deck. But after previously only representing the United States, it happened to be in support of the home nation’s tricolor at the Paris La Défense Arena, coaching France’s biggest star of the Games in any sport.
What the American found in Paris was something vaster, something befitting the aspirations of a coach whose reputation has long since been cemented by mentoring the greatest swimmer in history. The United States of Bob Bowman, were it so constructed out of the pupils he’s overseen at Arizona State and now the University of Texas, would’ve walked away from the Paris Olympics as the story of the pool competition.
Led by Leon Marchand’s four gold medals, freed of much of the baggage of the underperforming American men, with a Hubert Kos here and a Regan Smith there, Bowman’s contingent performed like few others in Paris. In doing so, the pro group he’s led since the Tokyo Olympics lived up to Bowman’s coaching credo in this second chapter of his career, after North Baltimore Aquatic Club and the University of Michigan with a swimmer of some renown named Michael Phelps.
Fast swimmers are what Bowman seeks out. Turning good swimmers into great ones and greats into legends is his guiding principle, whatever flag may adorn their caps and suits. Paris marked a celebration of unparalleled success.
“I think as a coach, it’s always amazing to bring forward your swimmers, whoever they are,” Bowman said. “… For me, I’m here trying to help everyone do their best. And if they do, I feel good about it.”
Leading Leon
For the adoring French public, Bowman will be as synonymous with Marchand’s performance there as he long has been with Phelps in America. Once a promising youth swimmer born in Toulouse to Olympian parents, Marchand has grown into a world-beater thanks to his time in Tempe with Bowman. There, he’s built upon an excellent technical foundation from long-course swimming in his youth with the speed work and underwater proficiency required of short-course yards competition. A busy racing schedule in the NCAA has forced Marchand to develop toughness that eludes many European swimmers, especially in their early 20s.
Most importantly, for a swimmer whose talent and aspirations exceed all but the elitest of echelons, finding the man who navigated Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals was a vital piece of the puzzle. In doing so, Marchand joined Phelps (twice), Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto as the only swimmers to win four individual gold medals at the same Olympics.
Bowman is under no illusions as to his role in Marchand’s journey. It’s as a sagacious presence just off stage, advising and extracting the best while Marchand laps up the limelight his swims have earned. Bowman didn’t discover Marchand, who made an Olympic final in Tokyo before he’d started in Arizona. But he has helped Marchand bring out the best in himself.
“This whole meet is about me fulfilling a promise I made to a kid three years ago,” Bowman said. “And that I can come through and deliver because not only was it a challenge for him, it was a huge challenge for me. So to put it together, see it come to fruition, it’s incredibly satisfying, and to be able to help him meet this moment, ready for it, it’s amazing.”
Marchand fulfilled the promise in the pool, not Bowman. He began the Games by dominating the men’s 400 individual medley, the event in which he took down Phelps’ last remaining world record in 2023. Marchand added the Olympic record, under Phelps’ former world mark from his eight-for-eight golden performance in Beijing, and a winning margin of nearly six seconds over the field.
He added a golden double on the fifth night of the meet that exceeded anything even Phelps had ever done. He outdueled reigning 200 butterfly champion Kristof Milak by a half-second, rallying on the final lap, then dominated the 200 breaststroke to deny Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook a second straight gold. Both were Olympic records.
He made no mistakes in the 200 IM to become the first man since Phelps in 2008 to complete the IM double, then shared the French glory by helping the country win its first ever medal in the men’s medley relay (the event dates to the 1960 Games) with bronze.
A Stacked Stable
Were Marchand Bowman’s only star in Paris, the credit may have been due solely to the Frenchman’s brilliance. But swimmers of all flags lined up to testify as to Bowman’s influence.
It was felt among the American delegation, which counted Bowman as an assistant coach in Tokyo. Veterans like Paige Madden and Simone Manuel have rebuilt their careers working with Bowman. Regan Smith, who won three individual silvers and two relay golds, has taken her undeniable talent to new levels after working with Bowman, on the physical and mental aspects of the sport. Bowman guided Drew Kibler in his final push toward making a second Olympic team in the 800 freestyle relay, and Kibler played a key role in returning the U.S. to the podium in that event.
“Bob and Eric (Posegay) really pushed me and held me to the highest standard as well as my teammates,” said Madden, whose shock bronze in the women’s 800 free was the result of a best time by nearly eight seconds and one of the best moments of the meet for Team USA. “I train with the best people in the world. Regan Smith has pushed me every single day, and shout out to her for that. I’m so thankful for that. And I think I had a few breakthroughs in training that in turn, made me believe in myself.”
“I think it’s taught me a lot and it’s helped me definitely strengthen things on the mental side, because I think I’ve always had it physically,” Smith said after setting the world record at U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 backstroke. “I just for a long time didn’t have it mentally. But I’ve worked really, really hard with Bob, and a lot of my teammates, and I’ve learned a lot from all of them. And I think that’s really helped what culminated a great swim tonight.”
With Bowman in charge, Arizona State became a haven for international swimmers, too. Ilya Kharun, who trained primarily with Bowman’s assistant and new ASU head man Herbie Behm, netted bronze medals in both butterfly events for Canada. Hubert Kos, who exploded into a world champion in the 200 back last year summer, parlayed that into Olympic gold this year.
“Without him I’d probably be like 15th in the 2IM right now,” Kos said. “It’s been an incredible journey with him, and I’m just to happy be part of a team like that. The magic touch is the work. He doesn’t let us be second best. He doesn’t let us stoop down to a level he doesn’t want from us. That brings out the best in us.”
Those swimmers have also brought out the best in Bowman, in a way. Bowman’s ability to help Phelps reach transcendent status was singular, in both Phelps’ greatness and the complexity and length of their relationship. Phelps was never Bowman’s only student, and the success of Allison Schmitt, Chase Kalisz and many others spoke to Bowman’s pedigree as stemming from more than just Phelps.
But in guiding the swimmer who could come as close as any since Phelps as warranting a place in the same breath as the greatest of all time, Bowman is also adding new chapters to his legacy.
Paris Olympics: Top 10 Performances From Swimming Competition
Bobby Finke — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
08 August 2024, 05:29am
Paris Olympics: Top-10 Performances From Swimming Competition
Thirty-five gold medals were awarded over nine days of swimming at La Défense Arena, and despite significant struggles by the U.S. men, the American team emerged with the most gold medals (eight) and most overall medals (28) while accounting for three of the four world records set. With the competition concluded, we can assess which swimmers impressed the most on the sport’s biggest stage.
Below are our picks, with a heavy emphasis on record-breaking swims and those in which an athlete used a clutch performance or came from behind to secure gold.
Paris 2024 Olympics: Day six highlights
1. Bobby Finke (USA), Men’s 1500 Freestyle
The man who never led at any point of his first two Olympic-gold-medal-winning swims in 2021 took a different approach this time. The rest of the world, most notably, Ireland’s Dan Wiffen, had figured out his strategy of coming from nowhere on the final length, so Finke went out hard and swam under world-record pace for all 30 laps. Unlike the final at last year’s World Championships, when Australia’s Sam Short served as the pace-setting rabbit and Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui swam with Finke all the way, Finke had to set his own standard this time.
The strategy worked, with Wiffen and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri never able to make up the deficit. Moreover, Finke managed to knock off the world record, the 14:31.02 set by China’s Sun Yang that had lasted since the London Olympics. He built enough of a gap ahead of record pace to hold on despite Sun’s legendary final 100 meters and take down one of the oldest records on the books.
2. Pan Zhanle (China), Men’s 100 Freestyle
Pan Zhanle — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
The global pace in the men’s 100 free had been largely stagnant since the banning of full-body polyurethane suits in 2009. The world record had only dropped by 11-hundredths during that time, with David Popovici and Pan Zhanle coming through for new marks after James Magnussen, Cameron McEvoy, Caeleb Dressel, Kyle Chalmers and others all made runs before falling just short of Cesar Cielo’s global standard that stood for 13 years.
Then, Pan blasted the record by four tenths while winning gold over a stacked heat by more than a second. Pan, a few days shy of his 20th birthday, put together the perfect 100 free swimmers had been striving for, going out in 22.28 and returning in 24.12, both splits well ahead of the field. That secured him individual gold, and h would add another gold medal later in the week when he anchored China’s 400 medley relay to the top spot in 45.92, the fastest relay split ever.
3. United States, Mixed 400 Medley Relay
The first relay world record came from the Americans in the mixed medley relay, the same event in which they had finished fifth three years earlier in Tokyo after deploying a faulty lineup. No such problems this time, but even the perfect strategy required perfect execution to emerge with a tight victory over China.
The two returning members from the Tokyo group got redemption: Ryan Murphy, who had missed the final of the 200 back three days earlier, put together his best race of the meet on the leadoff leg, while Torri Huske, who had handled the butterfly leg at the last Olympics, swam a 51.88 relay split, by far the fastest of her career, to take down Chinese anchor Yang Junxuan and secure the win. On the middle legs, Nic Fink and Gretchen Walsh were both nearly perfect.
4. United States, Women’s 400 Medley Relay
One day after the mixed relay triumph, the American women finished the meet with a dominant 400 medley relay performance, with Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske returning from the mixed relay to comprise the back-half of the team after Regan Smith and Lilly King. This one was not remotely close, with the Americans crushing the field by three-and-a-half seconds, but the team made history by becoming the first to ever break 3:50.
Three individual world-record holders swam for the U.S. Sunday evening, with Smith, King and Walsh, and they all produced. Smith had the second-fastest 100 back mark ever on the leadoff leg. King, who had largely struggled previously in Paris, was the only swimmer to break 1:05 on the breaststroke leg. And Walsh recorded the fastest butterfly split ever, allowing Huske to cruise home to a new record.
5. Leon Marchand (France), Men’s 200 Butterfly & Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Leon Marchand — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
No world record here, but what Leon Marchand achieved Wednesday evening was one of the all-time great performances in the sport’s history. Michael Phelps captured two gold medals in one night on three different occasions in his legendary career, each time, one of those golds came in relays. In Paris, Marchand won both the 200 fly and 200 breast, defeating the defending champions on both occasions.
There was a dramatic final turn in the 200 fly final that allowed Marchand to run down Hungary’s Kristof Milak, his final split an absurd 28.97 that beat everyone else in the field by more than six tenths. He came in at 1:51.21 to break the Olympic record and swim faster than Phelps ever did. Two hours later, Marchand never trailed in the 200 breast final, and he did not allow Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook to close the gap down the stretch. Once again, his final time of 2:05.95 was a new Olympic record, and it made him the second-fastest man ever.
6. Summer McIntosh (Canada), Women’s 200 Butterfly
She did not break a world record in this one, but when the mark at question is a 15-year-old standard from the polyurethane suit era that no one has ever approached, the second-fastest time ever is pretty darn good. Summer McIntosh had already won gold in the 400 IM, cruising by more than five-and-a-half seconds in that race, but the 200 fly would be much tougher as American Regan Smith was swimming well and not backing down. McIntosh turned eight tenths ahead of Smith at the final turn, but Smith’s dynamite underwater kicks nearly caught the Canadian teenager.
McIntosh would reassert herself, and even as Smith swam a time of 2:03.84, breaking her own American record, McIntosh would blast a personal-best mark by more than a second, her time of 2:03.03 a new Olympic record. The 2:01.81 established by Liu Zige in 2009 remains way out there, but McIntosh could reach 2:02-territory soon enough.
7. Leon Marchand (France), Men’s 200 IM
More Leon Marchand? You bet. The man won four individual Olympic gold medals, a feat only Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps ever accomplished beforehand. He did not break any world records in Paris, but each of his finals swims were the second or third-fastest times in history in his respective events. Two days after his historic gold-medal double, Marchand completed his individual program in the 200 IM, and he came up just short of an 11-year-old world record held by Ryan Lochte.
The 22-year-old Frenchman was facing a strong field that included the gold and silver medalists from the Tokyo Games, Wang Shun and Duncan Scott, respectively, but as usual, Marchand pulled well clear of the field on the breaststroke leg. He moved under world-record pace heading into the last 50 before finishing in 1:54.06, six hundredths shy of Lochte’s world record, leaving the pursuit of 1:53 until next year.
8. Kaylee McKeown (Australia), Women’s 100 Backstroke
Only two other Australian women, Dawn Fraser and Ariarne Titmus, have ever successfully defended an Olympic gold medal in swimming. McKeown has done it twice, overcoming tough fields in the 100 and 200 back in Tokyo to bring her total of Olympic gold medals to five and become one of the most successful Aussie Olympians in history.
McKeown makes the list here for the 100 back as she overcame the loss of her world record to American Regan Smith in June to run down Smith in the Olympic final. McKeown trailed Smith halfway down the final lap, but her finishing speed has become legendary, and McKeown is always ready with her best form in the biggest moment. She finished the race in 57.33, tying her best time that had been the world record while finishing three tenths ahead of Smith.
9. Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden), Women’s 100 Freestyle
Sarah Sjostrom — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
She has owned the world record in the event for seven years, but Sarah Sjostrom had never won an Olympic or World Championships gold medal in the 100 free before Paris, despite collecting has collected 14 world titles in her career in the 50 free and the butterfly events and an Olympic gold in the 100 fly in 2016. Her accomplishments in the 100 free include four Worlds silvers and one bronze, plus 2016 Olympic bronze the still-standing world record of 51.71 Sjostrom clocked on a relay leadoff at the 2017 World Championships.
Sjostrom originally planned on only swimming the 50 free in Paris, but she opted to add the 100-meter race back to her lineup because she would have two days of rest before the one-lapper, in which she entered as heavy favorite. And she ended up shocking the field with a gold medal, overcoming two-time world champion Mollie O’Callaghan, No. 3 all-time performer Siobhan Haughey and surging American Torri Huske.
10. Kristof Milak (Hungary), Men’s 100 Butterfly
Returning to the international level after missing the 2023 World Championships, Kristof Milak could not defend his gold medal in the 200 fly thanks to the magic of Leon Marchand. Entering the 100-meter race, where Milak is the second-fastest performer in history, he was somewhat overshadowed thanks to the exploits of Josh Liendo, Maxime Grousset, Noe Ponti and others plus the return of Caeleb Dressel, the man who beat Milak for Tokyo gold in world-record time.
But Milak sparkled with a 50.19 prelims time, and he led the event through semifinals as well. Milak lacks the speed of many rivals in the 100 fly, but after turning fourth at the halfway point, the 24-year-old picked off his rivals and won a tight finish with Canada’s Josh Liendo, 49.90 to 49.99, to win the second individual gold of his career.
Olympic Women’s Water Polo: Australia Tops U.S. in Shootout to End Four-Peat Quest
Gabriella Palm of Australia faces a shot from the United States’ Maddie Musselman during a women’s water polo semifinal match on Thursday; Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
08 August 2024, 11:57am
Olympic Women’s Water Polo: Australia Tops U.S. in Shootout to End Four-Peat Quest
The American quest for four straight gold medals in women’s water polo is over.
Gabriella Palm stopped Maddie Musselman in the sixth round of the penalty shootout at the Paris La Defense Arena Thursday, sending Australia to a 14-13 win in the semifinals.
The Aussies will face Spain, which survived a 19-18 decision with the Netherlands in penalties in the earlier semifinal, for gold. The Dutch and Americans will faceoff for bronze.
The first 11 shooters converted in penalties, with Zoe Arancini beating Ashleigh Johnson for a second time in the sixth round. Palm, who had been subbed out after the first three penalties, came back in and denied Musselman’s attempt to her right to set off the green-and-gold celebrations.
Olympic Women’s Water Polo Group Stage Day 1 Recap
Olympic Women’s Water Polo Group Stage Day 2 Recap
Olympic Women’s Water Polo Group Stage Day 3 Recap
Olympic Women’s Water Polo Quarterfinals Recap
Arancini and Bronte Halligan scored three times each for Australia. Abby Andrews led the way with five goals on a day where Alice Williams, the tournament’s leading scorer, was held scoreless after picking up three exclusion fouls. Palm was one better than Johnson on the day, with 13 saves. Johnson had 12.
It was a dour ending for Musselman, who was excellent with three goals and two assists. Jenna Flynn scored three times for the U.S.
The Americans, coming off a 5-4 win over Hungary in the quarterfinals, tried to keep it low-scoring again. They led 5-2 at the half, thanks in large part to six saves from Johnson.
Musselman scored two of the game’s first four goals, one on a five-meter penalty.
The Aussies were playing most of the way without Williams, who picked up two exclusion fouls on the same possession in the first quarter. She committed her third just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, drawn by a dogged Musselman.
The American youth gave it some breathing room late in the second quarter. After Palm turned aside Ryann Neushul, Jovana Sekulic was first to the ball at two meters and deposited the rebound. A block of an Arancini shot with 25 seconds left led to a Jewel Roemer outlet that found Emily Ausmus, who took her space and beat Palm in close to set the halftime edge.
Australia respond out of the break, Andrews taking the lead. She scored four times in the third quarter, ripping home a pair of goals in the first two minutes to get Australia within one. Johnson got her hand to the last one and briefly stemmed the tide with a save on Halligan on the next possession. But Andrews tied the game at 5 with a rip from distance, then when Flynn scored off a Jordan Raney dish, Andrews took a Sienna Hearn feed and picked out a corner on the power play to knot it at 6.
Maggie Steffens, vying to become the first individual to win four straight gold medals, scored her first goal of the game off a Musselman feed to make it 7-6 at the end of the third, but the Americans’ offensive execution abandoned them in the fourth, with five turnovers.
Musselman set up Fattal to make it 8-6 early in the fourth, but Halligan got it right back. Halligan tied the game at 2:54, and two saves by Johnson got the game to the shootout, with Palm denying Musselman with 2:30 to play and Raney hitting the crossbar late on.