Happy Birthday Milena Duchkova!!
Milena Duchkova (CZE)
Honor Diver (1983)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1968 gold (platform), 1972 silver (platform); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1970 gold (platform); EUROPEAN CUP: 1967, 1971 gold (platform); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 silver (platform); CZECHOSLOVAKIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 62 (1965-1977); ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3; EAST GERMAN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3; SWEDISH CUP: 1; Swimming World magazine’s World’s most outstanding female “Platform Diver of the Year”: 1968, 1970.
Milena Duchkova won Czechoslovakia’s first, second and only Olympic medals in any aquatic sport and she was the first female tower diver from any country to score more than 100 total points in the Olympics. This courageous little (5′ 2 1/2″) tower diver with the big eyes and the cute button nose started diving at age 12 and won the Olympics at 16, in 1968, although she wasn’t sure until two weeks before the Olympics that she would be allowed to go to Mexico for the competition. Her country was occupied by the Russians at that time, and she had to cross a bridge guarded by Soviet guards each day to train. She came back to win the silver medal in 1972 and competed (without medaling) in 1976 after she had shoulder surgery 8 weeks before the Games. She received the Czechoslovakian “President’s Award of Distinction” in 1972. Milena was a member of the Czech Olympic Committee and official medical doctor for the Czech diving team in 1978-1979. She began coaching in Prague 1978-1980 and in 1980 moved to Canada as head diving coach for the Newfoundland diving team, acting also as a coach and consultant to the Canadian National diving team. A brilliant student as well as athlete, Milena is fluent in 6 languages, won her Master of Sport ’66. Meritorious Master of Sport ’68, and coaching certificate also ’68. She graduated as an M.D. in 1977 into the faculty of medicine with a specialty in dental surgery. On immigrating to Canada, she worked her way through dental school at the University of Manitoba in two years and is presently on the faculty while still coaching the Pan Am Diving Club in Winnipeg. Her coach was Marie Cermakova throughout her diving career.
Happy Birthday Marco D’Altrui!!
Marco D’Altrui (ITA)
Honor Water Polo (2010)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 1984, 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: 7th; FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1994, gold; 1986, silver; FINA CUPS: 1983-bronze; 1985, 1987-5th, 1989-silver; 1993-gold; 1983 MEDITERRANEAN GAMES: bronze; 1987, 1990 MEDITERRANEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 1983 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 6th; 1985 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4th; 1987, 1989 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze; 1993 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold.
For the first time in history, the International Swimming Hall of Fame is recognizing a father and son as one, jointly in the same year. This honor goes to three-time Olympic water polo players Giuseppe and Marco D’Altrui of Italy.
Giuseppe “Geppino” D’Altrui was born in Naples on April 7, 1934. He played in over 300 Series A games, from 1952 through 1964. Coached by Hall of Famer Mario Majoni, Giuseppe competed in 75 Italian National Team games from 1954 to 1964. He was a member of the 1956 Italian Olympic Team that competed in Melbourne finishing fourth, but as the Captain of the 1960 Olympic Team, he helped to lead his team to a gold medal victory in front of a home-town crowd at the Rome Olympic Games. He was also Captain of the 1964 Olympic Team that just finished out of the medal count.
Giuseppe’s love for the game flowed naturally from his love of being in the water. “I can say that I have spent more time in the water than on earth and for me is never enough!”
Following in the footsteps of famous fathers can be a difficult burden for young athletes and few are the ones who achieve the same level of success. But for Marco, who was born on April 24, 1964, following in the wake of his father came as naturally as learning to swim, which he did before he was three years of age. “For me to stay in the water was a game, fun, a hobby. I was diving and played with the ball in full freedom from the time I was three,” says Marco.
From his father’s example Marco learned to love the water and the dedication, commitment and time management skills that make a champion. He played in over 700 Series A matches as a member of Recco and Pescara and like his father before him was a member of the national team for ten years. In 1984 and 1988 he was on the Olympic teams that finished 7th in Los Angeles and Seoul. Then, playing for Hall of Fame coach Ratko Rudic, at the 1992 Olympic Games, Marco and the Settebello once again won the gold, 32 years after his father. As a great defensive player, Marco helped to keep his opponents from scoring, resulting in a grand slam of the Italian National Team from 1992-1994 (Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships) and a grand slam of European Cups (Euro League Cup, Winners Cup, LEN Cup and LEN Super Cup).
“When athletes are young,” says Marco, “certainly the most credit goes to parents for their commitment both in terms of organization of management of daily life. I have no regrets at the sacrifices and am delighted to have followed in the footsteps of my father. Perhaps the best thing about the gold medal won in Barcelona was just to see the joy and emotion of my parents when I got off the plane with the medal around my neck. To win the Olympics was a dream that I’ve always had and it has accompanied me since I played with a small ball in the shallow water. I always wanted to imitate my father, who had won the gold medal at the Olympics in Rome. It goes to show that if you dream it, and work hard, you can do it.”
Happy Birthday Xu Yiming!!
Xu Yiming (CHN)
Honor Coach (2003)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: Head Diving Coach (men, women); Coach of OLYMPIC DIVERS: winning 15 gold medals, 4 silver medals, 1 bronze medal; NATIONAL TEAM HEAD COACH: 1985-2000; 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994, 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Head Diving Coach (men, women); Coach of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DIVERS: winning 10 gold medals, 7 silver medals, 4 bronze medals; Served Four Terms on FINA TECHNICAL DIVING COMMITTEE 1984-2000.
Born in 1942 in Guang Dong Province, China, Xu Yiming was destined to lead his country to world dominance in the sport of diving. He began as an eight-year-old diver, diving for Coaches Lui Chen Hai (1950-1960) and then Chen Kuan Xian (1960-1973). But it was not until age 30, in 1972, that he won the 10-meter platform event at the China National Games. The next year, Xu took the step from competitor to coach and started a dynasty of World and Olympic Champions.
From his coaching debut in 1973, Xu rapidly ascended in coaching success. With a strong sense of responsibility, he felt ill-at-ease about China’s slow progress in diving. He was convinced that the Chinese divers would some day do as well as any great divers in the world, provided that they broke away from conventional training methods and tried something new. Trainees used to practice basic somersault skills on a trampoline while a complete dive had to be tried over the pool at the risk of getting whopped by the water. With his diving experience, Xu knew only too well what a belly-flop was like. After carefully studying the training methods used by other coaches, he invented a new device for trampoline exercise. With two pulleys fixed on the ceiling and a belt attached to the waist of the trainee, he was able to increase the height of flight and the speed of somersaults to lengthen the time of descent so that the trainee could take his time in completing a sophisticated dive with his eyes open in the air.
It was with this new method of training that, at the 1974, 7th Asian Games in Teheran, the Chinese Diving Team swept all four gold medals. His first star pupil, Li Kongzhen, then only 15, was a victor.
Xu became five-times Olympic Diving Coach (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000) and from 1984-2000, coached divers to 15 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 1 bronze medal in Olympic competition, winning more than one-half of the available gold medals in those five Olympiads. In his 16 years as National Team Head Coach, Xu’s Olympic and World Championship medal winners include: Li Conejeng (platform 1984 Olympic bronze, 1986 World Championships silver); Tan Liangde (3m springboard 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic silver); Zhou Jihong (platform 1984 Olympic gold); Chen Lin (platform 1986 World Championships gold); Xu Yanmei (platform 1988 Olympic gold); Gao Min (3m springboard 1988 and 1992 Olympic gold); Sun Shuwei (platform 1992 Olympic gold); Fu Mingxia (platform 1992 Olympic gold, 3m springboard and platform 1996 Olympic gold, 3m springboard 2000 Olympic gold); Xiong Ni (3m springboard 1996, 2000 Olympic gold); Tiao Liang (platform 2000 Olympic gold); Xiong Ni / Xiao Hailiang (3m springboard synchro 2000 Olympic gold); Tian Liang / Hu Jia (10m platform synchro 2000 Olympic silver); Guo Jingjing / Fu Mingxia (3m springboard synchro 2000 Olympic gold); and Li Na / Sang Xue (10m platform synchro 2000 Olympic gold).
Xu was also “coaching” the coaches to advance their level of technique. Eighty percent of all diving coaches attended his two- to four-month long seminars held throughout the provinces.
From 1984-2000 Xu served four terms on the FINA Technical Diving Committee. In 1996, he offered and edited Basic Diving Coaching Manual, a 412-page publication presented by FINA to the world diving community. Printed in multiple languages, it describes his training methods used from 1973-1995 and includes new, innovative dryland equipment he introduced.
In 2000, FINA appointed Xu to produce a 10-volume video series on diving coaching which includes material from his first publication as well as new methods used from 1995-2002.
Xu is engaged to establish an international diving training center with all amenities and has designed competitive stadiums throughout China including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as well as at TsingHua University in Beijing. New dryland training facilities are designed with each location.
To Xu, success lies with strict discipline. You can never train too long or too hard. A perfectionist, Xu has an insatiable desire for success. He trains children into world champions.
Happy Birthday Mary Kok!!
Mary Kok (NED)
Honor Swimmer (1980)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1956 (boycott); WORLD RECORDS: 10 (440yd, 880yd, 800m, 1760yd freestyle; 100yd, 100m butterfly; 400yd, 400m individual medley; 1 relay) from 1955 to 1957.
Hall of Fame coach Jan Stender developed 8 world record holders living on one street in Hilversum, Holland, in 1955. Yet neither coach Stender nor any of his Dutch swimmers were allowed to compete in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. This boycott which the Dutch Government called as a protest to the Russian repression of the Hungarian Revolution was toughest on Mary Kok, perhaps the finest of the Dutch swimmers and the world’s most prolific record holder (10) in 1955. The versatile Mary (no relation to Hall of Famer Ada Kok) held the middle distance freestyle records and was one of the first world record holders in the four stroke individual medley and the butterfly stroke. After the 1956 Olympics, Mary Kok became one of the world’s greatest marathon swimmers. She is currently married to Kees Oudegeest coaching in Spain.
Happy Birthday Martin Lopez Zubero!!
Martin Lopez Zubero (ESP)
Honor Swimmer (2004)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: 11th (200m backstroke); 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m backstroke), 4th (100m backstroke), 7th (100m butterfly); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: 4th (100m backstroke), 6th (200m backstroke); FOUR WORLD RECORDS: 2-200m backstroke (L.C.), 2-200m backstroke (S.C.); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m backstroke), bronze (100m backstroke); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke), silver (200m backstroke); 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5 gold (4-100m backstroke, 1-200m backstroke (’91)), 2 silver (1-200m backstroke (’93), 1-100m butterfly (’91); Over 20 SPANISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS; Over 6 SPANISH NATIONAL RECORDS: 50m, 100m, 200m backstroke, 100m, 200m butterfly, 200m I.M. (LCM, SCM); 4 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2-200y backstroke, 1-200y I.M., 1-4x100m medley.
Martin Lopez Zubero was born April 23, 1969, with Spanish-American citizenship in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Swimming became the sport of his family, and at the age of 11, this skinny little kid watched his big brother David win the Olympic bronze medal in the 100m butterfly at the 1980 Moscow Games. At that time, he decided that he wanted to go to the Olympic Games too. Sister Julie was also an Olympian, both for Spain.
Martin progressed as an age-group swimmer. He competed for Coach Greg Troy at Bolles School and Coaches Randy Reese and Skip Foster at the University of Florida. Older brother David was always there as Martin’s personal coach. Ron Ballatore coached him at the Florida Aquatic Swim Team (FAST), post university level.
On the international scene, Martin became an unbeatable machine. He competed on three Olympic teams – 1988, 1992, 1996. He was 11th in the 200m backstroke at the Seoul Olympics of 1988 but came back four years later in Barcelona to capture the gold medal. At these 1992 Olympic Games, he was also 4th in the 100m backstroke and 7th in the 100m butterfly. Again in Olympic competition four years later in Atlanta, 1996, he finished 4th in the 100m backstroke and 6th in the 200m backstroke.
Zubero was a two-time world champion, winning the 200m backstroke at the 1991 Perth World Championships and the 100m backstroke at the 1994 Rome World Championships. He won the bronze medal for the 100m backstroke in 1991 and the silver medal for the 200m backstroke in 1994. He is a five-time European champion, winning the 100m backstroke in 1989 (Bonn), 1991 (Athens), 1993 (Sheffield) and 1997 (Seville). He was the 200m backstroke gold medalist in 1991 and silver medalist in 1993.
Swimming at the University of Florida, Martin was the 1991 NCAA Swimmer of the Year and four-time NCAA National Champion, winning the 200y backstroke in 1990 and 1991, the 200y individual medley in 1991, and the 4x100y medley relay in 1991.
Martin set four world records swimming backstroke. He was the first to swim under 1:58.00 for the 200m backstroke, when in 1991 at the Hall of Fame pool in Fort Lauderdale, he went 1:57.30, breaking Igor Poliansky’s (URS) six-year-old world record. Three months later in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he went a 1:56.57, another world record which stood for eight years until broken by Lenny Krayzelburg (USA) in 1999. He set two short course world records in the 200m backstroke which held for almost nine years until broken again by Krayzelburg.
Martin won the 100m and 200m backstroke at the Goodwill Games of 1990 and 1994. He and his brother David are only the fourth set of brothers to win Olympic medals in swimming competition, the others being Duke and Sam Kahanamoku and Warren and Pau Kealoha of the 1920s and Bruce and Steve Furniss of the 1970s.
Martin graduated from the University of Florida in 1998 with a degree in health and human performance and recreation. He is the assistant head swimming coach at the Bolles School and has been the Florida Age Group Coach of the Year in 1998, 1999 and 2002 (American Swimming Coaches Association).
Amid Chinese Doping Controversy, We Remember When Rick DeMont Was Not Granted Similar Leniency
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
21 April 2024, 05:30am
Amid Chinese Doping Controversy, We Remember When Rick DeMont Was Not Granted Similar Leniency
With the revelation that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the 2020 (2021) Olympic Games in Tokyo, several instances of inadvertent banned-substance have come to mind. Madisyn Cox and Markus Thormeyer, among them. Except in their cases, they were penalized with suspensions, not given the same leeway that the Chinese athletes have been granted.
At the 1972 Olympics, American distance star Rick DeMont was stripped of his gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle after following all correct procedures related to his use of asthma medication. He wasn’t given leniency, as is the apparent case with the recent Chinese situation. We turn to the archive to remind readers of the story of DeMont, who went on to enjoy a stellar coaching career.
The 50th anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games is a week away. There will be celebrations of Mark Spitz’s iconic seven-gold show. We’ll remember the precociousness of Shane Gould, the Australian teenager whose five solo medals remain a female standard. And we’ll honor the backstroke greatness of Roland Matthes, who doubled in his events for the second straight Olympiad.
Golden anniversaries are supposed to be joyous occasions. But there is nothing celebratory about what about what Rick DeMont endured in Munich. DeMont’s story, a half-century later, remains a sporting crime, a young man deprived of his rightful place in history. A young man let down by the adults around him. A man, defined by extraordinary achievements in the coaching world, who does not possess what is rightfully his.
When DeMont arrived in Munich, he was one of the younger members of the American delegation. Spitz, of course, was the highest-profile name on the roster. Yet, DeMont was a leading contender for a pair of Olympic titles – in the 400 freestyle and the 1500 freestyle. In the longer event, DeMont was the world-record holder, having set that global standard at the United States Olympic Trials. Munich, quite simply, was the stage to verify his status as the world’s premier distance freestyler.
The 400 freestyle was DeMont’s first event of the Games, held a few days into the competition. By the time DeMont took the blocks, he had handled the necessary pre-Games protocols. Most critical for the 16-year-old was a meeting with United States Olympic Committee officials to complete paperwork regarding his asthma, and to denote the medications (Marax, Actifed, Sudafed) he took for the condition. At no point did officials raise any concerns.
Photo Courtesy: Swimming World
Once the 400 freestyle started, the race evolved into a two-man battle between DeMont and Australian Brad Cooper, considered the favorite for gold. Cooper held the lead for much of the race, including into the final lap. But relying on his greater closing ability, DeMont cut into Cooper’s lead and drew even as the wall neared. At the finish, the gold medalist could not be determined by the human eye, and it wasn’t until the scoreboard flashed the results that a victor was known. At the touch, it was DeMont who prevailed in 4:00.26, with Cooper the slightest margin back in 4:00.27.
“I’ve been swimming come-from‐behind style since I began,” DeMont said of his late rally. “At the United States Olympic Trials, I was strictly thinking of the 1500 meters. Now, I love the 400, especially after tonight.”
Since DeMont was stronger in the 1500 freestyle, a second gold seemingly awaited the American later in the meet. Any chance at a double, however, quickly evaporated. And so did the gold medal that DeMont had captured in the 400 freestyle. Following his apparent triumph in the eight-lap event, DeMont was informed that his post-race doping test revealed trace amounts of Ephedrine, a banned substance.
The presence of Ephedrine in his doping sample was hardly a shock, as the substance was contained in his asthma medication. The substance was also not supposed to be an issue, as USOC officials – following the processing of DeMont prior to the Games – were charged with the task of informing the International Olympic Committee of DeMont’s use for medical reasons. If the IOC had a problem with the substance, it would have notified the USOC and an alternative option would have been sought. The USOC, however, never engaged with the IOC on the topic.
“It was (the USOC’s) responsibility to let me know there was an illegal substance in my prescription and either get it cleared or find an alternative,” DeMont once said. “They failed to do it. I was only 16 years old. I relied on those officials to tell me what I could take, but somehow, I ended up paying the price. I guess it was easier to hang a 16-year-old kid out to dry than to tell the truth.”
Days after his apparent gold-medal swim, DeMont was stripped of his title, with Cooper elevated to the status of Olympic champion. As ugly as the situation was at that moment, it was about to get nastier. After DeMont’s urine test revealed the Ephedrine in his system, U.S. team doctors confiscated the medication DeMont was taking for his asthma. More, at a hearing with IOC officials, DeMont was peppered with questions while Team USA doctors sat quiet, offering no assistance or defense. Simply, DeMont was abandoned by the adults around him – those who dropped the ball in the first place and now refused to accept their role in the mess.
“It’s a gross injustice,” said U.S. Men’s Coach Peter Daland of the IOC’s decision to strip DeMont of his gold medal. “Young De Mont was robbed, robbed because of the mistakes of adults. (USOC personnel) knew of the boy’s medical record because he had it on paper. They said nothing to me or his head coach about it. The communications were atrocious. It’s a young man being punished when he should be applauded. He overcame asthma to win a gold medal and took nothing more than his doctor ordered.”
As the IOC weighed his case, DeMont qualified for the final of the 1500 freestyle. Even if his pursuit of an overturn of the 400 freestyle verdict failed, at least DeMont would get the chance to compete for another gold. Ultimately, that opportunity never materialized. As DeMont was preparing for the final of the 1500 freestyle and the possibility of redemption, United States assistant coach Don Gambrill, with tears running down his cheeks, approached the teenager and told him the IOC ruled he was not allowed to compete.
Reports from Munich indicate that multiple options were considered in the DeMont case. One scenario was to allow DeMont to race in the 1500 freestyle. Instead, the IOC went with the harshest choice, and banned DeMont from the Games. DeMont left Munich devastated. In the minds of many, he hadn’t committed an error, but instead was let down by officials who were supposed to provide support.
A year later, at the inaugural World Championships in Belgrade, DeMont engaged in a rematch with Cooper in the 400 freestyle and became the first man to break the four-minute barrier. DeMont was timed in 3:58.18, with Cooper also cracking the four-minute barrier in 3:58.70. DeMont also went under the existing world record in the 1500 freestyle but had to settle for the silver medal when Australian Stephen Holland blasted an even quicker time.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Following his competitive days, DeMont emerged as one of the world’s finest coaches. For years, he worked alongside Frank Busch at the University of Arizona, where he eventually served as head coach from 2014-17. During his coaching tenure at his alma mater, DeMont mentored a bevy of NCAA champions and became well known for establishing a pipeline between the program and South Africa. It is DeMont who is primarily credited for molding the South African 400 freestyle relay that won gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens behind the efforts of Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend and Ryk Neethling. DeMont served as a South African coach in Athens and coached every member of that relay.
In 2001, DeMont was provided with a measure of vindication when the USOC honored him at a banquet and presented him with a black leather jacket given to all 1972 Olympians. The IOC, however, has not taken steps to restore DeMont’s gold medal, despite several conversations on the topic through the years.
“I don’t need any ceremonies,” DeMont said. “I don’t need any hoopla. I just want the IOC to repair the historical record.”
Happy Birthday Judith van Berkel-de Nijs!!
Judith van Berkel-de Nijs (NED)
Honor Open Water Swimmer (2014)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: WORLD PROFESSIONAL MARATHON SWIMMING FEDERATION LADIES CHAMPION 1965–1968; ENGLISH CHANNEL CROSSING: 1969; WINNER OF MANY MARATHON RACES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.
When women’s swimming was added to the Olympic program in 1912, it was inconceivable that women could ever compete equally against men in sports. The impossible became possible when Gertrude Ederle beat the record time of the male Channel swimmers in 1926.
Before the 1990’s, professional marathon swimming was unique in the world of sports with its inter-gender competitions. Men and women competed head-to-head, mano-o-mano for the same prize money and some extraordinary women often came out on top. In the 1950’s Greta Anderson beat every male marathon swimmer of her era at least once. And then came Judith de Nijs.
Judith was born in Hilversum, Holland, where she trained under the famous Dutch coach and Hall of Famer, Jan Stender, with her older sister, Lenie. Both girls became record breaking, elite swimmers for their native Holland. Judith began her career, specializing in the 400 meter individual medley and in 1961, she set a European record in the event. She then began swimming longer distances, swimming the 1500 meter freestyle, where she became the national champion in the event in 1962.
Inspired by the success of the Flying Dutchman, Herman Wilemse, Judith began competing in open water competitions in 1962. But when she entered the Canadian National Exposition, in 1964, she was a relative unknown among a field of the greatest marathon swimmers ever assembled. The CNE race was a grueling 32 miles across Lake Ontario from Toronto to St. Catherines, in near frigid waters. Almost from the start, Judith and the race favorite, the great Egyptian, Abdellatief Abouhief, swam shoulder to shoulder, trading short leads for fourteen hours before the Egyptian made his move. By then, thirteen of the eighteen swimmers who started the race suffered hypothermia and were pulled from white-capped, 53 degree water. Sixteen hours into the race, Judith, insensible was pulled out and 2 miles short of the finish line, Abouheif, suffered the same fate. While the cruelty of the swim marked the end of the CNE marathon, it was the beginning of Judith’s great career. From 1965 to 1968 and again in 1970, she was ranked number one in the world and in 1969, she joined Hall of Famer, Ada Kok, as the second Dutch woman to swim the English Channel.
In 1968, de Nijs kept to her aquatic roots and married Dutch water polo player, Bob van Berkel. They had a daughter and a son who both played water polo. Judith continues to swim competitively through Masters Swimming, winning national titles. She swims the freestyle events, and currently holds records in the 100 and 200 meter freestyle events.
Like Ederle, Gleitze, and Anderson, Judith helped move the gender-equity movement forward with her courageous swims.
Happy Birthday Eraldo Pizzo!!
Eraldo Pizzo (ITA)
Honor Water Polo (1990)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1960 gold; EUROPEAN CUP: 1965 gold; EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3 (1958, 1966, 1970); Member of Olympic Teams (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972).
Contemporaries say Italy’s Eraldo Pizzo had no peers during his 12 years of high scoring, world class water polo. He burst on the world scene in the 1960 Olympics, leading his team to a Rome gold at home. He made every Italian Olympic team and every all-star selection in the next few Olympics, 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972, but never again did the Italian team medal, in spite of winning three European Championships in 1958, 1966, and 1970 against the teams that beat them in the Tokyo, Mexico City and Munich Olympics. It is a tribute to Eraldo Pizzo, Mr. Italian Water Polo, that the Hungarians, Russians and Yugoslavs were unanimous in saying his time in the International Swimming (and Water Polo) Hall of Fame was overdue. During a 29 year career in top competition, Pizzo played on the Italian National team 178 times. His final world match was against the United States in the Munich Olympics in 1972, but he played ten more years of club competition in Italy for one of the longest careers in water polo history. Pizzo was on 15 Italian Water Polo teams. He was the top scorer in 1962 (27 goals) and in 1969 (69 goals). When he retired as an active player in 1982, he became the Pro Recco’s Club President for the next three years. He was elected to the International Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1984 and has received Athlete of the Year, Sportsman of the Year and Golden Swimmer Awards. He was decorated by the Italian President after receiving the Carnegie Foundation Silver Medal in 1984.
Happy Birthday Danyon Loader!!
Danyon Loader (NZL)
Honor Swimmer (2003)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (200m butterfly); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m, 400m freestyle); FOUR WORLD RECORDS: 3-200m butterfly (s.c.), 1-400m freestyle (s.c.); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (200m butterfly), bronze (200m, 400m freestyle); 1994 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (200m butterfly), silver (400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle), bronze (200m freestyle); 1993 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m butterfly), bronze (100m butterfly); 1995 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m freestyle), silver (400m freestyle); 58 NZL NATIONAL RECORDS.
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Danyon Loader’s first-place finish in both the 400m and 200m freestyles distinguished him as his country’s first Olympic gold medallist in swimming since New Zealander Malcolm Champion swam on a combined Australasia Team (New Zealand and Australia) in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. Loader was his country’s first swimmer to break world records (short course) in two different strokes, butterfly and freestyle. (New Zealander Pip Gould had set world backstroke records in the 100y, 220y, 100m and 200m events in 1957 and 1958.) He won gold medals in Commonwealth Games and Pan-Pacific Championships and won silver and bronze medals at World Championships. Unwantingly, he became a New Zealand hero and his country’s most successful international swimmer ever.
As a child, Danyon loved being in the water. He would voluntarily take up to four baths a day. His dad, Peter, taught him to swim at the Forbury Indoor Swimming Pool in South Dunedin. At age ten he joined the Zenith Amateur Swimming Club in Dunedin, but spent all of his time trying to get out of training, playing video games and hanging out. “I can remember that before Mom came to pick me up I’d wet my hair and togs and towel so that she thought I had been training,” he would say.
Then, in 1988, at age 12, he joined Coach Duncan Laing’s squad and his swimming career never looked back. Duncan became his mentor. He guided Danyon through a career in which Loader became the fastest swimmer in the world in his events. By age 13 he had won medals in the New Zealand National Age Group Championships and he soon began winning events on the national level. At the young age of 14, he represented New Zealand at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games. Only 2-1/2 years later, as still a young 17-year-old, at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he surprised the world when he won the silver medal behind USA’s Melvin Stewart in the 200m butterfly. His international dominance was breaking through, and in his humble fashion he was swimming because he enjoyed it and not because he was addicted to the thrill of being number one. The world was now watching this up-and-coming athlete from New Zealand.
Improvement and success were in play each year. In 1993, he set the 200m butterfly short course world record three times in eight days during the European World Cup Tour. The next year, at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, he won gold in the 200m butterfly, silver in the 400m freestyle and both freestyle relays and bronze in the 200m freestyle behind the established Kieren Perkins of Australia. He medaled in the same events at the Rome World Championships later that year.
In 1995, Loader won eight gold medals on the World Cup circuit in Europe, breaking the 400m freestyle short course world record in the process. But this was only the prelude to the next year’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic performance where he won gold medals in both the 200m and 400m freestyles, an Olympic feat accomplished only once before by Evgeni Sadovy of the Russian Unified Team in 1992.
Loader did all of his training with Duncan Laing at their hometown Moana Pool and later while attending Otaga University. Danyon was very low key and never pursued the limelight. According to Coach Laing, “He is a normal Kiwi lad at heart. He just does and gets results. He’s just one of those guys who goes into action and swims to win. Beneath the laid-back exterior is a steely determination, an absolute commitment to fulfill his potential. He does not speak of it, he just does it.” Australian Coach Don Talbot called him “The Quiet Assassin.”
All totaled, he set four world records – three in the 200m butterfly, short course, and one in the 400m freestyle, short course. The 400m freestyle record held for 3-1/2 years until broken by Australian Ian Thorpe.
After Atlanta, Danyon continued swimming for another 2-1/2 years. He attended two semesters at the University of California Berkeley (1997). Without a whole lot of specific training, he competed at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal as a member of the 4 x 200m freestyle relay. By the time he retired, he had set a record 58 New Zealand national records. But he preferred to go about his business with a minimum of fuss, Danyon Loader the person, not Danyon Loader the great swimmer. He practices Tai Chi for relaxation and is an accomplished SCUBA diver. Three months before the 1998 Commonwealth Games, he joined the New Zealand Army Territorial Force for service experience and to maintain his level of fitness. He has received the prestigious Lonsdale Cup by the New Zealand Olympic Commonwealth (1992) and was twice named Sportsman of the Year (1992, 1997) at the Halberg Awards. In 2000, he was named New Zealand Sportsperson of the Decade (1990s).
Danyon Loader is both ordinary and extraordinary, a quiet achiever who is an inspiration to thousands of his compatriots. He has most definitely raised the level of sport in New Zealand and around the world.
Happy Birthday Rick Demont!!
Rick Demont (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1990)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: WORLD RECORDS: 3 (400m, 1500m freestyle; relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 gold (200m freestyle), silver (1500m freestyle); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1975 gold (relay), silver (200m freestyle); AMERICAN RECORDS: 4 (400m, 1500m freestyle; 2 relays); AAU RECORDS: 5 (400m, 1500m freestyle; relays); First under 4 minutes for 400m freestyle.
Rick DeMont was born in San Rafael California, April 21, 1956. It did not take him long to become a record breaker, as seen by his 10 and under age group national record. Rick developed as a dominant middle distance swimmer, leading to his first world mark of 15:52.91 in the 1500 meters freestyle at the age of 16.
Then it was the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. At age 16, Rick DeMont became the youngest male swimmer ever to win the Olympic 400 meter freestyle, and he was favored to win the 1500 meter event too. He had already qualified for the finals. Then, suddenly he was removed form the pool, stripped of his medal and disqualified from any further competition. It seemed grossly unfair at the time, and times have not changed the feeling in most of us. It seems that Rick’s asthma medication included a trace of a substance called ephedrine, which was banned by the Olympic Medical Commission. When he was tested, it showed up in his sample. He made no attempt to hide it, for he had written it on his medical questionnaire form. The U.S. team doctors, not the 16 year old kid, were guilty. There was no way this trace of medication could have affected the outcome of DeMont’s race performance, even though he had been using medication to enable him to exercise with asthma since the age of four. However, the rule was innocently broken, and Rick is still hoping someday his case will be reviewed.
In 1973, at the first World Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, DeMont won the 400 meter freestyle, without the banned substance, beating Brad Cooper, the Australian who had won DeMonts’s Olympic gold medal by default. Cooper, who wanted to win it in the pool, was magnificent, but he lost by .52 seconds as Rick won in a new world record of 3:58.18 the first man to break the four minute barrier for the distance. Cooper was also under the four minute barrier, but lost by a touch.
1973 is the same year Rick was voted World Swimmer of the Year.
Today, Rick is an artist living in California. His achievements as the best in the world will always remain.