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.
Rowdy Gaines Reveals 2028 Olympics Will Be His Last as NBC Sports Color Commentator
Rowdy Gaines — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
08 August 2024, 07:59am
Rowdy Gaines Reveals 2028 Olympics Will Be His Last as NBC Sports Color Commentator
For generations, Rowdy Gaines has been the voice of swimming in the United States, the excitable analyst joining Dan Hicks in the NBC Sports broadcast both for every Olympic Games going back to 1996 in Atlanta. Hicks and Gaines have called all the Olympic races for Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and every other star for the past three decades.
Gaines has also been the color commentator for nearly every other national and international-level meet, including the World Championships, national championships, NCAA Championships, conference championship meets and Pro Swim Series meets.
But that run will be done after the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Following the conclusion of nine days of action in the pool at the Paris Games, Gaines revealed on social media this week that he will leave his roles after calling a ninth Games alongside Hicks four years from now. Gaines chose LA as his final Games because he will be returning to the city where he won three Olympic gold medals, including in the 100 freestyle, at the 1984 Games.
Perhaps the most memorable call the excitable Gaines offered the world came at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing during the men’s 400 freestyle relay. With American anchor Jason Lezak trailing France’s Alain Bernard, Gaines told the world, “I don’t think he can do it, Dan,” but when Lezak began closing the gap in the final 25 meters, Gaines screamed, “There’s no doubt that he’s tightening up!” That gave way to Hicks’ call of perhaps the greatest comeback in the sport’s history.
In recent Games, NBC Sports has set up a “Rowdy Cam” so fans can see Gaines’ enthusiasm during the races and his nerves as American swimmers battle for Olympic gold. Most recently, NBC revealed the “Rowdy Cam” footage of the mixed 400 medley relay Olympic final, when the U.S. team edged out China down the stretch.
Paris Olympics: World Aquatics Cancel Marathon Swimming Training Due To Poor Water Quality
Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / NOC San Marino / Deepbluemedia
by LIZ BYRNES – EUROPE CORRESPONDENT
06 August 2024, 06:07am
Paris Olympics: World Aquatics Cancel Marathon Swimming Training Due To Poor Water Quality
Open water swimming at Paris 2024 is coming under ever-increasing scrutiny after World Aquatics cancelled a training session in the River Seine due to water quality concerns.
While, E. coli levels were acceptable, the levels of the Enterrococci bacteria exceeded World Aquatics’ maximum thresholds.
The women’s and men’s 10k races are scheduled to take place on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 August races at Pont Alexandre III but preparations have been beset with difficulties ever since the test event was cancelled on this day last year because of the water quality in the River Seine.
Belgium’s squad for the triathlon mixed relay was forced to withdraw from Monday’s competition after team member Claire Michel became sick after swimming in the river during the women’s triathlon competition. Belgian media have reported that Michel was hospitalized and diagnosed with E. coli after competing in the Seine, which has come under scrutiny for its poor conditions.
World Aquatics said in a statemtent:
“PARIS—Earlier today, World Aquatics made the decision to cancel the 6 August Marathon Swimming familiarisation due to water quality concerns. The athlete training session was due to take place from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., but following a 4:00 a.m. coordination meeting, the decision was taken by the governing body in collaboration with Paris 2024.
“The water quality review showed E. coli levels ranged from 326 to 517 (considered “very good” to “good”) at the four collection points taken on 5 August between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m.
“However, Enterococci levels exceeded World Aquatics maximum thresholds during the morning review. The latest Enterococci samples (taken between 12:30 and 13:20 on 4 August) showed levels exceeding the maximum acceptable World Aquatics thresholds.
“Laboratory analysis of the Seine’s Enterococci levels for 5 August was available at 11:00 a.m. today. These most recent Enterococci results demonstrate an improvement in the Seine’s water quality, but one of the four tests still did not meet acceptable World Aquatics water quality standards.
“A second familiarisation swimming session at the Pont Alexandre III competition venue is scheduled for 7 August from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. A water quality review session will be held at 4:00 a.m. on 7 August, where World Aquatics will decide whether the familiarisation session for 7 August can be held.
“With a favourable weather forecast and forward-looking analysis, World Aquatics and Paris 2024 remain confident that the Marathon Swimming competitions on 8 and 9 August will proceed as planned.
“World Aquatics decisions on water quality for the Marathon Swimming events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are made in consultation with World Aquatics Technical Delegates, World Aquatics Medical Delegates, Paris 2024 Organising Committee, Météo France, DRIEAT, the City of Paris, and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region which carried out the water quality tests.”
Happy Birthday Micki King!!
Micki King (USA)
Honor Diver (1978)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1968 4th (springboard); 1972 gold (springboard); NATIONAL AAU Diving Titles: 9; NATIONAL AAU Water Polo Titles: 2; CANADIAN NATIONAL TITLES: 2 (1m springboard), 2 (3m springboard); WOMEN’S NATIONAL COLLEGIATE Title (DGWS): 1First woman to compete in the Military International Sports Council Games (CISM); Diver of the year: 1965, 1969, 1972 (springboard); 1969 (platform); First woman coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
1968, at the Mexico Olympic Games, Micki King led all women divers with two dives to go. Her Olympic gold medal was all but in the bag when on dive number 9, a reverse 1 1/2 somersault, she hit the board and broke her arm. She completed her last dive and finished fourth. There followed months in a cast, a year of recovery, three more years of getting back in top form, and trying again in 1972. This time she won. An Air Force officer and the Air Academy’s first woman coach, Micki missed winning the first woman’s Superstars on the last event when she skimmed and toppled a hurdle for a five second penalty. She won a National Collegiate swimming title at Michigan and was twice the winning goalie for Ann Arbor at the Women’s National AAU Water Polo Nationals. An excellent speaker, Micki was also advance person for the Air Force Football Team.
The extinct Olympic sport that was the ‘dullest’ of all time
(Image credit: Dave Parrington)
It may have been “dull” but, ISHOF 1986 Honor Pioneer Diver aka “Honor Plunger” Frank Parrington, grandfather of University of Tennessee Diving Coach, David Parrington, didn’t think so!
Please Read this great story on this Olympic Sports of the Past featuring Dave’s grandfather!
In the plunge for distance, any form of exertion was strictly forbidden.
William Dickey teeters on the edge of the diving block, contemplating the placid waters of the lake below. He’s a future swimming champion – an elite sportsperson and member of the New York Athletic Club. Only, he doesn’t quite fit the mould.
Clad in a baggy one-piece bathing suit made from wool, and sporting a bushy chevron moustache, there’s not a bulging muscle or V-shaped torso in sight. The competitor takes a deep breath into his well-padded frame, and gently tips himself, arms outstretched, into the water below.
It’s a muggy September day at Forest Park in St Louis, Missouri and Dickey is competing in the 1904 Olympics. A few seconds later, he floats to the surface of the lake. He’s lying face-down, perfectly still, and gently drifting – his body frozen into a long stretch. This is impressive – the race is going well. He wafts along like a log caught in a light breeze, at around the speed of a sleeping duck. Could he… yes, he’s going to win. Might he even break the record?
Just five people have ever competed in the distance plunge at the Olympics (Credit: Alamy)
This is the “plunge for distance”, a race that was once a staple of any swimming competition – as conventional as the 50m (164ft) freestyle or 100m (328ft) backstroke. Then it silently disappeared from the sporting calendar across the globe. Now even professional swimmers have never heard of it.
The distance plunge, as it was also known, defied the usual conventions of athletics. It didn’t require superhuman strength, endurance, agility, speed, or even creative flair – in fact, apart from an initial dive, any form of exertion was strictly prohibited. But most of all, it was also, according to many contemporaries, eye-glazingly dull to watch, and holds the dubious distinction of having been labelled the lamest, weirdest and most boring Olympic sport of all time. But was it really that easy? And does it deserve its wearisome reputation?A floating body
The rules of the plunge for distance were as particular as those for any sport. The competitor began with a regular standing dive, of the kind you might attempt into the hotel swimming pool on holiday – casual, and not particularly ambitious. This was the “plunge”, and it was done from a height of 18 inches (46cm), without a diving board.
Once the competitor had hit the water, they had to keep their body perfectly still – they could not move a muscle or propel themselves in any way. There were two ways of assessing performance: the winner was either the person who travelled the furthest before they were forced to raise their face to breathe, or the competitor who achieved the longest distance within one minute.
Distance plunging was deceptively difficult – an art disguised as a nap at the surface of a swimming pool (Credit: Dave Parrington)
After a slow glide underwater, the plunger inevitably bobbed up to the surface, where they would continue to float passively, arms outstretched, hoping to rack up a few more inches. As they wafted along, there was so little action, athletes could have been mistaken for having abruptly fallen asleep. As a result, the event has been derided as “competitive floating“.
In 1930, the sportswriter John Kieran laid out his view in the New York Times: “The stylish-stout chaps who go in for this strenuous event merely throw themselves heavily in the water and float along like icebergs in the ship lanes.”
Even the British journalist Archibald Sinclair, who was sympathetic to distance plunging, stated matter-of-factly that the activity was often vetoed from swimming competitions because it didn’t produce any excitement among spectators. In all, “to the uninitiated the contests appear [an] absolute waste of time,” he wrote in the book Swimming, published in 1893.An unconventional athlete
With its relaxed approach to physical effort, distance plunging attracted an unlikely cast of champions that may otherwise not have become involved with competitive sport. They tended to be indifferent swimmers, and the vast majority had more body fat than the average sportsperson today.
Take Frank Parrington, who set the current world record of 86ft and 8in (26.4m). When he wasn’t cruising through water very slowly, winning the Amateur Swimming Association plunging championship 11 times, he worked as a police sergeant in Liverpool. Dave Parrington, head diving coach at the University of Tennessee, is his grandson. He explains that Frank Parrington got into distance plunging between serving in World War One and World War Two. He was a “big man with a big chest and a bit of a belly”, and was probably introduced to the sport at the local swimming baths, says Dave Parrington, who suggests that this physique may have nudged him in the direction of this particular event.
Frank Parrington first became interested in distance plunging after spending time at the local swimming baths in Liverpool (Credit: Dave Parrington)
Unlike in many other sports, possessing enough fat – and not too much muscle – was thought to be vital to the success of distance plungers. Slender athletes were written off as plungers, and rarely did well. In 1916, one champion swimmer went so far as to claim that the plunge for distance records were all held by “men of weight”, according to his analysis.
Fat is less dense than water, and can therefore provide competitors with added buoyancy, while muscle and bone are more dense, increasing the risk of a person sinking. Dave Parrington explains that lean, muscular people won’t necessarily end up at the bottom of the swimming pool, though some bodybuilders have this problem. Instead, when they rise up to the surface for the second half of their plunge, their legs might drop. “So all of a sudden they’re no longer flat, their legs… they’ll actually be bent below the water line,” he says. With their lower half dangling, a person’s chances of a successful distance plunge are slim – above all, this is a sport of hydrodynamics.A matter of skill
Even in its heyday, distance plunging was widely disparaged as a non-event that apparently required no skill or talent whatsoever. In the years before World War One, athletic unions and college authorities in the US were urged to drop the sport, which became something of a joke.
In August 1920, a group of youths improvised the “West Side Baths” on West 48th Street in New York City – a playful summer setup involving a fire hydrant and fire hose operated by a fireman, who sprayed water across the road to create a kind of urban river. According to a contemporary report in the New York Times, among the delirious fun to be had there was the satirical game “plunge for distance”, which involved a running bellyflop onto the street’s slippery asphalt, leading to a 15-20ft (4.6-6m) slide. The journalist noted “It takes more skill and a deal more hardihood than the plunge for distance in a swimming tank.”
But distance plunging was not just down to adipose tissue – and advocates of the sport believe its reputation was wildly off the mark.
Frank Parrington had an arsenal of subtle techniques to allow him to travel further (Credit: Dave Parrington)
In the absence of a professional coach, Frank Parrington used to take his young son to the swimming pool and ask for observations on his technique. Dave Parrington never met his grandfather, who was killed at just 42 years old during a series of devastating bomb raids on Merseyside during the spring of 1941. Nevertheless, his methods have been passed down the generations.
Firstly, it’s important to get the angle of entry to the water right, explains Dave Parrington. If you dive too shallow, you’ll surface too soon – too deep, and you’ll bob up abruptly. Frank Parrington was a master of this, he says, and also paid particular attention to his floating posture. “One of the things that my dad told me was that his father would ask him to make sure that once he had surfaced, his heels were touching the surface of the water, not hanging below it,” he says. This streamlined position allowed him to glide further, since the body must be kept perfectly still.
Finally, Frank Parrington taught himself to control his breathing. Many people exhale when they dive, says Dave Parrington, but “you want to make sure that when you enter the water you have air in your lungs to help maintain that buoyancy,” he says.
Frank Parrington won the Amateur Swimming Association plunging championship 11 times, and remains the world record holder to this day (Credit: Dave Parrington)
In addition to the factors distance plungers could control themselves, the event came with one major hidden challenge – currents. Many competitions, including the 1904 Olympics, were held outdoors. And if the water and wind weren’t perfectly still, athletes could encounter resistance that hindered their gliding efforts. Even at indoor contests, if the person who was in the pool just before them swam back towards the starting line before getting out, they could inadvertently create a similar effect.
Dave Parrington often practises distance plunging with his diving students, just for fun, and this has reinforced his own appreciation of his grandfather’s skill. “None of them even come close,” he says. Though Dave Parrington was once a competitive diver himself and participated in the 1980 Olympics, the furthest he has managed to plunge is 75ft (23m).An inevitable demise?
Alas, the subtle finessing involved in a distance plunge was largely invisible to the average spectator – and the sport’s reputation as formidably soporific never wore off.
As early as 1908, just four years after its Olympic debut, the distance plunge had already been removed from the programme forever.
Martin Polley, a professor in the department of history at De Montfort University, UK, explains that the Olympics were particularly experimental in the early 20th Century. Events included a water-based obstacle race, in which contestants had to swim under and clamber over rows of boats, underwater swimming – canned because spectators couldn’t see anything that was happening – tug-of-war and croquet.
After the Olympic rejection for the distance plunge, things were about to get worse. “It had been criticised in the press as early as the 1890s, in both the UK and the USA,” says Polley, who explains that by the 1930s, the sport was being phased out of national competitions. But even in the 1980s it still hadn’t completely vanished – he remembers competing in distance plunging competitions at secondary school in the UK.
The trickiest part, Polley says, was to keep your arms outstretched in the dive position once you had entered the water. “It’s counter-intuitive to be in a swimming event and not to move!” He also found it hard to contain his momentum to a straight line because the body tends to drift.
For a successful distance plunge, entering the water at the correct angle was crucial (Credit: Dave Parrington)
While he enjoyed competing – he remembers being pleased at having the pool entirely to himself when it was his turn – Polley confirms that watching the sport was indeed “pretty boring”. “There was not much crowd noise, as the competitor can’t really hear anything when they are underwater, but there were big cheers when people who had gone a long-distance surfaced,” he says. He never won any of these events himself, but he was probably mid-ranked, he says.
Today distance plunging is almost completely extinct, apart from the occasional resurrection at school swimming galas. But should the world heave a collective sigh of relief, or could we be missing out on the thrill of watching people float very, very slowly?
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For a sport that was widely scorned, just occasionally, the plunge for distance received rapturous reviews. At one event hosted by the YMCA youth organisation in Victoria, British Columbia, it was described as “certainly the most interesting event of the evening“, after a swimmer eventually cruised almost the entire length of the swimming pool.
In response to the threat of the sport’s banishment from certain competitions, one former champion remembered in 1917: “At many a meet I’ve seen the crowd watch breathlessly a close fight for laurels between evenly matched contestants, then break into a storm of applause at an especially good performance.”
The competitors for other swimming races at the 1904 Olympics had the stereotypical athletic physique (Credit: Alamy)
Dave Parrington explains that the plunge was particularly popular at exhibitions and the openings of new public baths, where plungers often disregarded the 60-second time limit and racked up impressive distances – all while holding their breath for several minutes. In these circumstances, his grandfather could travel some 110ft (34m).
Back at the 1904 Olympics, Dickey eventually cruised along for 62ft 6in (19m) to win gold. There was a current in the lake that day, but athletes nobly took this in their stride – it was suspected to be sweeping them forwards in their direction of travel. He didn’t know it at the time, but this would be the best Olympic plunge performance in history.
Frank Parrington ws inducted into ISHOF in 1986 –
You can read his ISHOF bio here: https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-frank-parrington/
Happy Birthday Mike Bruner!!
Mike Bruner (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1988)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
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 Eddie Reese!!
Eddie Reese (USA)
Honor Coach (2002)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: Assistant Coach Men’s and Women’s Team; 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: Head Coach Men’s Team; 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: Assistant Coach Men’s Team; 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: Assistant Coach; 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Assistant Coach Men’s and Women’s Team; Coach of 22 OLYMPIANS winning 22 gold, 10 silver and 3 bronze medals; 9 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS; Coach of 17 NCAA Individual Champions (1977-2001) winning 39 NCAA titles.
One of the most successful coaches in swimming history, Eddie Reese has a knack of bringing out the best in each swimmer, that is, getting them to swim fast. Never without a smile or a kind word, his poolside manner is his key. His swimmers have a lot of fun but underneath, they work their hardest. Eddie’s proven success is built on fun, confidence and hard work.
Reese was born July 23, 1941 in Daytona Beach, Florida. He entered Mainland High School at 13 years old and swam on every school swim team from ninth grade until graduation. He won two state championships in the 200y individual medley and held the National Junior Olympic AAU title in the same event.
He graduated from the University of Florida in 1963 with a degree in physical education. He had won seven Southeast Conference titles in the 200y and 400y individual medleys, 200y breaststroke and 400y freestyle and medley relays, tying for third on the Gators all-time SEC title leaders list over a three-year period.
He remained in Gainesville as a graduate assistant coach for one year. After a year at Roswell (New Mexico) High School, Reese returned to Florida as assistant coach from 1967 to 1973 before taking over the head-coaching job at Auburn University in Alabama. Shortly after leaving Florida, his younger brother Randy became head swim coach of the men’s and women’s Florida Gator teams. Reese spent six years at Auburn University taking a team that had never scored at the NCAA National Championships to a second place team finish his last year.
In 1978, he was hired as head coach of men’s swimming at the University of Texas in Austin, where he remains today. Through the 2001 season, he developed a record of 183 dual meet wins and 53 losses in a 23-year period. His teams have won 8 NCAA National Championships. Eddie’s induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame is measured by his international success on the world-swimming scene. Reese-coached swimmers by Olympic years include:
1976 – Montreal, Bill Forrester won the bronze medal in the 200m butterfly.
1980 – Moscow, Rick Carey, William Paulus, Bill Forrester and Kris Kirchner earned spots on the U.S. Olympic Team, but did not compete because of the boycott. Kirchner was a member of the 100m and 400m free relays, while Paulus won the USA Trials and set a world record in the 100m fly. Ken Armstrong was a member of the Canadian Team.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ou2oWmPsz9Q%3Ffeature%3Doembed
1984 – Los Angeles, Rick Carey captured three golds winning the 100m (55.79) and 200m (2:00.23) backstrokes and helping the U.S. win the 400m medley relay.
1988 – Seoul, Chris Jacobs earned a silver in the 100m freestyle (49.08) and two golds as a member of USA’s 400m and 800m relays. Doug Gjertsen also swam the third leg of the USA’s winning 800m free relay, while Shaun Jordan won gold in the prelim leg on USA’s winning 400m relay team. Kirk Stackle joined the U.S. squad with a second in the 200m breaststroke in trials. Bill Stapleton competed in the 200m I.M. and Daniel Watters made the U.S. team in the 100m breaststroke.
1992 – Barcelona, Hans Dersch earned a gold in the 400m medley relay (prelims). Doug Gjertsen captured gold in the 400m free relay (prelims) and a bronze as a member of the American 800m free relay. Shaun Jordan won gold swimming a prelim leg on USA’s 400m relay team.
1996 – Atlanta, Josh Davis earned three gold medals for his contributions to the USA relays. He swam the leadoff leg in finals of the 800m free relay, and took part in the 400m free relay, and swam the freestyle leg of the 400m medley relay in the preliminaries. Former Longhorn Gary Hall, Jr. struck gold swimming the anchor legs in the finals of the 400m free relay and the 400m medley relay. He also raced to two silver medals in the 50m and 100m freestyles. He attended Texas in 1993-1994.
Former Longhorn Brad Bridgewater swam to gold in the 200m backstroke. He attended Texas in 1992-1994. Carlos Arena was a member of the Mexican Swimming Team.
2000 – Sydney, Current swimmers Ian Crocker and Tommy Hannan as well as former Longhorns Josh Davis, Nate Dusing, Scott Goldblatt, Gary Hall, Jr., Jamie Rauch and Neil Walker competed for the United States accounting for one-third of the entire USA Swimming Team. Davis carried the youthful squad, capturing two silver medals as a member of the 400 and 800 freestyle relay teams.
In his first Olympics, Walker claimed a gold medal as a member of the winning 400 medley relay and a silver medal in the 400 freestyle relay, while Rauch, Goldblatt and Dusing all earned Olympic silver in the 800 freestyle relay event. Former Longhorn Gary Hall won gold medals in the 50 freestyle and as a member of the 400m medley relay. He also claimed silver as the anchor of the 400 freestyle relay and a bronze in the 100 freestyle. In addition, Crocker and Hannan won gold in the 400 medley relay. All total, 21 of Reese’s swimmers won 21 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 2 bronze medals through 2000.
In World Championship competition from 1978 to 2001, swimmers Dusin, Goldblatt, Hansen, Crocker, Walker, Hall, Davis, Gjertsen, Carey and Nevid have won a total of 9 gold, 7 silver and 2 bronze medals. At the Pan Pacific Championships from 1985-1999, 12 Reese coached swimmers won 17 gold medals, 7 silver and 8 bronze while at the Pan American Games from 1979 to 1999, 11 of his swimmers won 17 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze medals.
In long course swimming, Reese-coached Rick Carey set 3 world records in the 100m backstroke and two world records in the 200m backstroke. William Paulus set the 100m butterfly record in 1981. Swimmers competing on relays helped set nine world records including Chris Jacobs (400 FR), Doug Gjertsen (800 FR), Rick Carey (400 MR, 4 times), Ian Crocker (400 MR) and Gary Hall, JR. (400 MR – 2 times). Short course world records were set by Clay Britt (100m back), Rick Carey (100m, 200m back) and Scott Spann (100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 200m IM).
Eddie was selected head coach of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Swimming Team for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and assistant coach for the 1988 Seoul Games, 1996 Atlanta Games and 2000 Sydney Games. He was the American Swim Coaches Association Coach of the Year (1991) and awarded the College Swimming Coaches National Collegiate and Interscholastic Swimming Trophy. He was recognized by other Halls of Fame, including the Texas Longhorn Hall of Honor.
Eddie’s emphasis has always been “the team.” Individual success is derived from team play and team play is successful because of individual success. “A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything. And in swimming, there is no easy way.”
Rather than coach the sport of swimming, Eddie teaches it; and he places just as much emphasis on teaching the skills of life to his swimmers. He is a prime example of nice guys don’t finish last. They finish first.
Happy Birthday Aaron Peirsol!!
Aaron Peirsol (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2016)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (200m backstroke), 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m backstroke, 4x100m medley), silver (200m backstroke); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (200m backstroke), 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley), silver (4x200m freestyle); 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (100m backstroke) , silver (200m backstroke); 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 2002 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (200m backstroke, 4x100m medley, 4x100m freestyle), silver (100m backstroke), bronze (4x200m freestyle); 2004 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 2002 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 2006 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 2010 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 1999 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: silver (200m backstroke).
Growing up in the seaside communities of southern California, his love affair with the water came to him naturally. He was introduced to competitive swimming under coach Stacy Zapolski at the Costa Mesa YMCA when he was just five years old. At age eight he moved to a summer swim and water polo league in Corona del Mar with coach Ted Bandaruk. At ten, he joined Junior Lifeguards in Newport Beach before making the move to Irvine’s Novaquatics to swim under Brian Pajer.
Aaron Peirsol’s progress as a competitor was both rapid and steady. His laid-back California demeanor belied the fierce competitor within. Under the tutelage of Dave Salo, Aaron qualified for his first Junior Nationals at 13, swam in Senior Nationals at 14 and qualified for his first national team the next year. He burst onto the international scene at 16 by winning a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke at the 1999 Pan American Games. At 17, he won the silver medal behind Lenny Krayzelburg in the same event at the Sydney Olympic Games. After that he was unstoppable.
His first world title came at the 2001 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in the 200-meter backstroke. The first of his 13 long-course world records came in the same event at the USA Swimming Spring Nationals in 2002. After graduating from high school, he moved on to the University of Texas, where he would train under Hall of Fame Coach Eddie Reese for the remainder of his career.
At the 2003 FINA World Championships, in Montreal, the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal, he swept all of the backstroke events, including his participation on the USA’s gold-medal winning medley relays.
In 2007 he saw his unbeaten string of seven years in the 200-meter and six years in the 100-meter snapped by teammate Ryan Lochte. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Aaron won gold in the 100-meter backstroke and the 4×100 medley relay, while finishing runner-up to Lochte in the 200.
After a brief break away from the pool, but not the water, he returned the following year to raise the bar one last time. At the US Nationals, he smashed the 52-second barrier in the 100-meter with a stunning 51.94 world record swim – and at the FINA World Championships less than a month later came another world record performance of 1:51.93 in the 200-meter backstroke. The world records still stand – an astonishing seven years later.
Believing he had nothing more to prove in the pool, Aaron retired from the sport in 2011, but continues to develop the special relationship he has with the water and works to promote the protection of the world’s oceans.
Former ISHOF CEO Brent Rutemiller Posthumously Recognized by United States Aquatic Sports with Prestigious Max Ritter Award
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
21 July 2024, 03:48pm
Brent Rutemiller Posthumously Recognized by United States Aquatic Sports with Prestigious Max Ritter Award
United States Aquatic Sports President Patty Miller presented the prestigious Max Ritter Award to the family of Brent Rutemiller during a virtual ceremony last week. Rutemiller, who contributed widely to the sport of swimming for several decades, died last month after a courageous battle with cancer. USAS presented the award to Rutemiller’s widow, Ellen, and his daughter, Shoshanna.
Before his passing, Rutemiller was a key figure in the sport of swimming on multiple levels, including athlete, coach, journalist, publisher, advocate and executive. He was the former publisher of Swimming World and also served as the CEO of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Among those attending the ceremony were Rutemiller’s friend and 1980 Olympian Glenn Mills, Hall of Fame coach Mark Schubert, Olympic champion Anthony Ervin and World Aquatics’ Dale Neuburger.
“Brent was a great teacher, mentor and friend, and I miss him a lot,” Mills said. “The fighter that we saw over the last few years was not surprising. Brent always fought his battles with grace and thoughtfulness. He deserves all of these accolades and more.”
Courtesy: Peter Bick.
The Max Ritter Award is presented annually by United States Aquatic Sports to the organization or individual of a World Aquatics member country who has contributed the most to the advancement of understanding and good will among nations through international participation in amateur aquatic sports. Rutemiller’s plaque, which was sent to his family reads:
“United States Aquatic Sports salutes your lifelong passion for swimming, honors your leadership and celebrates your voice as an advocate of aquatic sports throughout the world.”
Rutemiller was expected to receive the Max Ritter Award during last month’s United States Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. Sadly, he passed away during Trials. Since his passing, Rutemiller’s vast contributions have been recognized. Among his achievements include being the driving force toward the Hall of Fame constructing a new building to celebrate aquatic sports, and leading Swimming World, including the implementation of the Morning Swim Show. Rutemiller was also deeply involved in the Special Olympics, and frequently celebrated the accomplishments of his swimmers.
“Brent’s personality and demeanor was the successful formula to rebuilding the relationship between the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the City of Fort Lauderdale,” Neuburger said. “During his tenure as the CEO of ISHOF, many would have considered the differences between the two parties as insurmountable but Brent was able to bring the two organizations together.
“Like in his battle with cancer, Brent was undeterred by the obstacles ahead of him; he saw them not as boulders in the road but nothing more than pebbles in his shoe. He was always happy and smiling when bringing people together who may not have wanted to work together. I don’t think that anyone else could have done this. Brent did things that others failed at doing, he often did things that people dream of doing.
“Few could say they didn’t have an enemy. Brent was an amazing individual who everyone loved, respected and admired. He was a very special person who is dear to all of us. I can’t think of anyone that embodies the Max Ritter Award. Brent is everything that this award represents.”