The Legacy of “Broadway Betty” Brey and the Impact on Notre Dame’s Basketball Program
by Kyle Sagendorph//USA Swimming
Mike Brey at the unveiling of his mom’s statue in her hometown of Weissport, Pennsylvania.
Six years ago, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team made its way through the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament, finding itself in the championship game pitted against the blue-blood North Carolina Tar Heels.
The scoreboard held tight throughout, with Notre Dame taking a five-point lead into halftime only to find themselves down eight points with just under 10 minutes to go. Eventually, behind Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant, a soon-to-be NBA first-round draft pick, the Fighting Irish would pull out a 90-82 win, giving the school its first ACC Tournament title in program history.
As Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey stood atop the ladder on the Greensboro Coliseum court, cutting down the last strand of netting to hang back in Notre Dame’s trophy case, he couldn’t help but think about his family, specifically his mother, who was in the stands watching.
“She saw Jack (Mike’s uncle, who played basketball at Duke) win the ACC title in 1960 in Greensboro as a player, and 55 years later she saw her son win in Greensboro as a coach,” Brey said.
The feat is a testament to the athletic genes that run deep through Brey’s family lineage, seeing Jack play basketball at Duke, Mike playing and coaching NCAA basketball, Brenda (Mike’s siter) earning NCAA All-American recognitions as a swimmer at LSU and more.
While these honors are all applause-worthy, the Brey family admittedly owes a large amount of their competitive nature and accomplishments to their mother, 1956 Olympic freestyler Betty (Mullen) Brey.
Betty’s story began in Weissport, Pennsylvania, a town that routinely hovers just around the 1,000-person mark on yearly U.S. Census data reports.
Betty’s father worked on the railroads, cleaning trains as they would pass through on the way to New York City. During a routine day at work, Betty’s father found a pamphlet for swim lessons at a YMCA in downtown New York. And thus, Betty Brey had become a swimmer.
“My sister and I called her Broadway Betty,” Mike explained. “They (Betty and her father) would go up to the city, catch a matinee on Broadway, and then go work out and then catch the train back.”
The training paid off, as Betty quickly rose through the swimming ranks in the 1940s, becoming one of the top female swimmers in the country. When she wrapped up with high school, she wanted to keep swimming, but at the time, women’s swimming was not an NCAA sport.
She knew she wanted to keep at it, so Broadway Betty did her research and found that one of the elite women’s swimming coaches at the time, Stan Tinkham, coached in West Lafayette, Indiana. Betty packed her bags and headed to Purdue University, where she became a full-time student, swimmer in her free time, and even a baton-twirler in Purdue’s historic “All-American Marching Band.”
“There’s a picture in my office of her twirling at the 50-yard line at Notre Dame Stadium,” Mike explained. “Purdue came up here and beat us when we were No. 1 in 1950, and I got a picture of it. People go ‘get out of here,’ when they see it, but I just say ‘that’s my mom’ back to them. She’s doing a back bend with a baton.”
The spare-time training that Betty did with coach Tinkham in West Lafayette paid off, as Betty continued her pursuit of becoming one of the nation’s best female swimmers. Suddenly, after years of trying to make the Olympic roster, her dream became a reality.
“She tried in ’48, didn’t make it. Tried in ’52, didn’t make it. Then she hung in there for ’56 and made it as ‘the old lady’ of the ’56 team,” Mike said.
That ‘old lady’ title came to Betty at just 24 years old, the age that current U.S. National Team stars Simone Manuel, Lilly King, Kathleen Baker and more are continuing to dominate today’s headlines at.
While it seems odd to give a 24-year-old the ‘old-lady’ title, at that time, it was unprecedented to be a woman in her mid-20s and still be competing at a high level. Of the female swimmers on the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team to have their age on record, Betty was the only woman in her 20’s and had five years on the next-closest swimmer to her age.
At the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Betty swam in the prelims of the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay, an event that the U.S. team would go on to claim silver in during the finals. Back then, only athletes who competed in the finals of a relay were awarded tangible medals back then, so while Betty played an integral part in the U.S. relay team’s silver medal, she was not awarded an actual medal.
Though she does not have an actual medal from the 1956 Olympic Games, the title of Olympian holds a lot of weight among the Brey family tree of athletes.
“That’s why I have pictures of her all over my office, it’s a reminder of her work ethic and I’m so proud to call her my mom,” Mike explained of the athletic influence her legacy holds. “It’s a reminder of the edge and the mentality to wake up every day and compete your tail off to be successful. She drove that into my sister and I.”
The legacy carried over when Mike and his two siblings, Brenda and Shane, were growing up. Betty and Paul, her husband and the father to Mike, Brenda and Shane, enrolled the kids in swim lessons in early. For Mike, his swimming career lasted until he was around 10 years old when he realized he wanted to switch to basketball.
With the fear of letting down his Olympic-swimming mom, Mike opted not to deliberately quit swimming, but rather strategically place his gear at the end of the pool by the exit door during summer swim camp. Betty would drop him off at camp, watch a few laps, and then when she went out to run errands, Mike would exit stage left and head to the basketball court.
Then, one day, it happened. Mike got caught.
In the car ride home, he sheepishly admitted to his mom that he may want to commit to basketball over swimming. The fear started to sink in.
To his delight, Betty responded: “Yeah, we’ve got you signed up for basketball camp beginning next week.”
The support of Betty meant the world to Mike, who went on to play collegiately at George Washington University before coaching five years at Delware and now being in his 21st year on Notre Dame’s coaching staff.
While basketball remained at the forefront for Mike’s playing and coaching career, he has continued to hold swimming near to him, going to the pool a few times a week. Mike views it as a sense of therapy; a time to be alone, go over practice plans, recruiting strategies and be himself with no distractions. He even relied on long-time Notre Dame swim coach Tim Welsh for tips and equipment and would even bring Notre Dame’s basketball team to the pool for workouts in the offseason.
From the mental side, Mike credits his mom with his coaching philosophy.
“Watching her coach, teach and really just interact with people and swimmers who she coached was maybe the greatest mentorship I could have had,” Mike explained. “She had that balance of intensity, confidence, instructing and even adding humor to loosen athletes up was an unbelievable role model for me as an instructor and educator for me.
“Dang Betty, she’s got me so that I can’t relax or retire, I still have to be chasing this thing. That’s because of her. Her genetics still has me chasing success and being crazy every day wanting to beat someone or something. I say that to vent, but then I think, ‘God bless her’ and ‘I’m glad I got it’ because those genetics have served me well.”
That intensity and mentorship is what stuck with Betty for her whole life, even when health complications started to show up in her later years.
In 2015, she suffered a heart attack and passed away at age 84. It was the morning of a March Madness game against Butler, where Notre Dame won in overtime, and just seven days after she watched Mike’s Notre Dame team beat North Carolina for the ACC Championships title in the Greensboro Coliseum.
“When she passed, people spoke at her service nonstop for an hour about the type of person she was,” Mike said. “The swimmers she coached are now in their 60s, and many of them came back to talk about her as a person and an educator.”
Broadway Betty held numerous titles over her lifespan: mother, coach, teacher, Olympian, veteran, role model, baton twirler and more. Above all else, her legacy is one of both compassion and competitiveness.
“Little ol’ Weissport, Pennsylvania, she got out of there and kept kicking doors down in the ‘40s and ‘50s, then swam Masters after until she was into her 60s.
“She was 65 and would come back to me and say, ‘I’m disappointed in my time,’ and I would tell her that she should be proud since she is 65 and still swimming. But she would tell me that she was at the bottom of her age group now and was determined to crush those 68-, 69- and 70-year-olds. That was her attitude until the day she died, and that’s why she was special.”
The sport of swimming meant the world to Betty, but it was what she did with the sport that will carry over for years to come.
Flashback Friday: When Pieter van den Hoogenband Took the 100 Freestyle Into Sub-48 Territory
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
21 December 2023, 05:32am
Throwback Thursday: When Pieter van den Hoogenband Took the 100 Freestyle Into Sub-48 Territory
In this latest installment of World Record Flashback, we celebrate the greatness of Pieter van den Hoogenband. The Dutchman produced a Hall of Fame career that featured seven Olympic medals, including three gold, and landed him enshrinement into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2013.
Sometimes, the topics of our World Record Flashback series are easy to select, as there is a predominant performance from an athlete to highlight. At times, the decision-making process is difficult, given the multiple squares of greatness on the Bingo card of success. See Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky as examples.
In the case of Pieter van den Hoogenband, the Dutch standout offered two options for this series. As the Olympic movement ventured into the 2000s, with Sydney serving as host, van den Hoogenband was nothing short of phenomenal during his trip Down Under, as he unassumingly became an Olympic champion.
If we chose the 200-meter freestyle as the focal point of this piece, it would have made sense. After all, over four laps is where van den Hoogenband upset Australian Ian Thorpe, the hometown favorite and poster boy of the Sydney Games. But that triumph has received its due through the years, so it seemed fitting to recognize the occasion when van den Hoogenband cracked the 48-second barrier in the 100 freestyle.
The 100 freestyle has long been considered the Blue-Ribbon event of the sport, dating back to the early days of the 20th century, when Charlie Daniels and Duke Kahanamoku etched their names in the history books. They were followed by the dominance of the legendary Johnny Weissmuller, with greats such as Don Schollander, Michael Wenden, Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi and Alexander Popov eventually claiming Olympic glory over the two-lap discipline.
As experts analyzed the Sydney Games and the podium challengers across the schedule, van den Hoogenband was certainly accorded medal-contender status in the 100 freestyle. As an 18-year-old at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, “Hoogie” announced his presence on the global stage. Behind a pair of fourth-place outings in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle, van den Hoogenband just missed the podium, but established the framework for the stellar career that would follow.
In the years between Atlanta and Sydney, VDH became a multi-time European champion, his skill molded by coach Jacco Verhaeren. It was a matter of time before that excellence extended from the continental level to worldwide dominance.
While he wasn’t the overwhelming favorite for gold in the 100 free upon his arrival in Sydney, that label changed when van den Hoogenband set a world record (1:45.35) in the semifinals of the 200 freestyle. He then equaled that global standard to upend Thorpe in the final and became the man to beat for the two-lap event. VDH’s defeat of Thorpe was a shock moment, since the Aussie teen was widely expected to sweep the 200 free and 400 free. Indeed, Thorpe delivered in the longer distance, but the Dutch star had a surprise prepared for the 200 free.
Van den Hoogenband still faced a gauntlet in the 100 freestyle, specifically the tandem of Russia’s Alexander Popov and Australian Michael Klim. Popov was the two-time defending champion, having claimed Olympic crowns in 1992 and 1996. More, he entered the week as the world-record holder at 48.21.
Meanwhile, Klim was riding a wave of momentum and had the full support of the Australian crowd. On the opening night of action, his leadoff leg of 48.18 propelled Australia to gold in the 400 freestyle relay, a title which handed the United States its first Olympic loss in the event. Klim’s time also broke Popov’s world mark and enhanced the plot of the 100 freestyle
One night after toppling Thorpe in the 200 freestyle, van den Hoogenband eased through his preliminary heat of the 100 freestyle in 48.64. That effort was the lone sub-49 marker of the opening round and good for the top seed entering the semifinals, where van den Hoogenband figured to do just enough to assure a center lane for the final. Yet, as was the case in the semifinals of the 200 free, the Flying Dutchman opted to press the pace – at a level never before seen.
Unlike many of his rivals, van den Hoogenband did not boast a hulking physique. A 6-3, 175-pounder, he possessed a wiry frame, with a concave chest that paid dividends in the water. Van den Hoogenband and the Dutch coaching staff often noted that his build resembled the hull of a catamaran and created less drag.
Racing in the second semifinal at the Sydney Aquatic Centre, van den Hoogenband turned in an opening lap of 23.16 and came home in 24.68. Today, sub-25 closing performances are the norm, with Kyle Chalmers and David Popovici having been 24-low. But van den Hoogenband was ahead of his time with his closing speed, and his competition paid the price.
Via his world record of 47.84, van den Hoogenband sliced .34 off what Klim managed a few days earlier in relay duty. Forever, VDH would go down in history as a barrier breaker, joining Jim Montgomery (sub-50 in 1976) and Matt Biondi (sub-49 in 1985) in swimming lore.
In the final, van den Hoogenband could not match his speed from the semifinals, but still comfortably prevailed. His time of 48.30 was nearly a half-second adrift of his newly minted world record, but well ahead of Popov’s mark of 48.69 for the silver medal, and the 48.73 of American Gary Hall Jr. for the bronze. Locked out of the medals was Klim, who could not replicate his relay heroics in the 100 freestyle and finished fourth in 48.74.
Van den Hoogenband was minimalistic in the assessment of his work.
“I won two gold medals and broke two world records,” he said. “At this moment, I am the best.”
For good measure, van den Hoogenband capped his trip to Sydney with a bronze medal in the 50 freestyle. Clocking 22.03, the Dutchman finished just behind the American tandem of Anthony Ervin and Hal Jr., who shared the gold medal in 21.98. For “Hoogie,” that additional piece of hardware was a surprise, as he touched the wall ahead of sprint specialists such as Popov, Bart Kizierowski and Mark Foster.
Four years later, when the Olympic Games returned to their birthplace of Athens, van den Hoogenband repeated as champion of the 100 freestyle and earned silver in the 200 freestyle, with Thorpe exacting revenge from Sydney. More, his world record endured for more than seven years and remains a superb time in the present day.
“At the end of the day (we had one major goal): To break 48 seconds for the 100 freestyle,” Verhaeren said. “We didn’t say we wanted to win, or we want to do this and that. Of course, the likelihood when you do that is winning. But we wanted to be the first athlete to break 48 seconds and we’d go from there.”
The job was done.
Happy Birthday Zoltán Szécsi!!
Zoltán Szécsi (HUN)
Honor Water Polo (2016)
FOR THE RECORD: 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver; 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver; 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver; 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold
Hungary is a land of thermal springs and although landlocked, swimming and water sports are ingrained in their culture. This love of water led to an early domination of international swimming and diving competitions in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1920s, it was water polo that came to symbolize Hungary’s unique strengths and individuality. From 1928 to 1980, the Hungarian National Water Polo Team dominated the sport like no other nation, reaching the podium at twelve consecutive Olympic Games. During this streak the Hungarians won six gold medals, three silver medals, three bronze medals, and back to back titles twice: 1932 and 1936 and, 1952 and 1956. It came to be that anything less than the gold medal was considered a failure.
So it became something of a national catastrophe and source of embarrassment when the pride of Hungary failed to medal in four consecutive Olympic contests. After finishing fourth in 1996, the Federation reached out to a young coach, who had made a name for himself coaching in Italy and Australia, to rescue the program.
Denes Kemeny started by building his team around two young men who had helped Hungary finish fourth at the 1996 Games in Atlanta: Tibor Benedek and Tamas Kásás.
Benedek was one of the most talented youngsters to ever play the game. He had joined the National Team as a teenager prior to the 1992 Olympic Games. His speed, quickness, rifle left arm and goal-scoring in Barcelona earned him the Hungarian Player of the Year titles in 1992, 1993 and 1994.
Tamas Kásás took up water polo at the age of six, being taught by his father Zoltan, a famous coach and silver medalist in 1972. Because of his world-class swimming speed, defensive skills, accurate shooting and passing he would come to be regarded as one of the world’s best defensive and all around players of his era.
Born in Szeged, Tamás Molnár was selected for the national team in 1997. He was a powerhouse at the all-important center position and could score or draw exclusions against the best defenders in the world.
The youngest to join the team in 1997, was 19-year old Gergely Kiss. He was not only a brilliant left-hander and center defender, but at 6’6”, 245 pounds, he was one of the most physically intimidating players in the sport.
It was 1998 when Péter Biros joined the team. Born in Miskolc, Biros had combined water polo with handball until the age of 17. He could play any position and could score from anywhere in the pool.
The final piece of Kemeny’s team was the goalkeeper, 21-year old Zoltán Szécsi. Standing 6’6” tall, he had learned to swim as an infant, but grew up playing a variety of other sports, like basketball and tennis, which was good training for his position.
Kemeny’s new approach brought immediate results, as the Hungarians won gold at the 1997 European Championships, silver at the 1998 FINA World Championships and gold at the 1999 World Cup.
At the 2000 Sydney Games, Hungary regained its Olympic water polo success by winning their first Olympic medal in 24 years, and their record seventh water polo gold medal, by routing Russia, 13-6.
Four years later, at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Gergely Kiss scored four goals, including the game-winner in an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Serbia-Montenegro to defend their title.
In Beijing, at the 2008 Olympic Games, the Hungarians faced off against the surprising team from the USA. In a wild shoot out, the Magyars took command in the fourth quarter for a 14-10 victory.
The win gave Hungary an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic title. While a total of 21 players won Olympic gold medals playing for Hungary over the period of 2000 to 2008, only six own three by themselves. It is to them, and their coach, that we honor the Hungarian Men’s National Water Polo Team as the first team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Happy Birthday Dagmar Hase!!
Dagmar Hase (GER)
Honor Swimmer (2013)
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (400m freestyle), silver (200m backstroke, 4×100 medley relay); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle), bronze (200m freestyle); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x200m freestyle); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (200m backstroke); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x200m freestyle), silver (200m backstroke), bronze (400m freestyle); 1995 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): silver (200m backstroke, 4x100m freestyle; 1991 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (4x100m medley, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle), bronze (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke); 1993 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); 1995 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x200m freestyle), silver (200m backstroke); 1997 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); NINE GERMAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1-50m backstroke, 2-100m backstroke, 2-200m backstroke, 4-400m freestyle.
She was born in Thale, a small town in East Germany into a family that wasn’t interested in sports. However, at age seven under the East German sport system, she was discovered by talent scouts, learned to swim, started to compete and was soon sent to a centralized sports academy away from home to further develop her talent.
Maybe it was her stubbornness that made her so ambitious as an athlete, for she soon began to rise to the top. Her first big success came at age ten, winning three gold medals at the National Championships in Leipzig.
She had to wait another ten years to celebrate her first big international success, when at age 20, she won the gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke at the European Championships, beating Hungary’s all-time great Kristina Egerszegi. In 1990, she switched teams to Magdeburg under Coach Bernd Henneberg, staying with him until retirement.
A great middle distance freestyle swimmer, she won seven Olympic medals, the first a gold in the 400 meter freestyle at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, when she upset world record holder Janet Evans and silver medals in the 200 meter backstroke and the 4×100 meter medley relay. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, she won another four medals – three silver in the 400 meter freestyle, 800 meter freestyle, 4×200 meter freestyle relay and a bronze in the 200 meter freestyle.
Competing in three World Championships, Dagmar earned two gold, three silver and one bronze medal. At the 1994 World Championships, she gave up her spot in the 200 meter freestyle to the up and coming Franziska van Almsick who qualified ninth, failing to make the finals, but went on to win the gold medal in world record time. For her ultimate act of sportsmanship, Dagmar received Germany’s prestigious fair play award in 1995. At the European Championships from 1989 to 1997, she earned six gold, four silver and two bronze medals.
After her retirement, she couldn’t stay away from the water for long, playing water polo and coaching age group swimmers on her hometown Magdeburg team since 2002.
Before the Beep: How American Star Regan Smith Prepares For Competition
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
20 December 2023, 06:56am
Before the Beep: How American Star Regan Smith Prepares For Competition
The 2023 campaign of Regan Smith was spectacular, highlighted by a quartet of medals at the World Championships in Japan, and some of the best times of her career in several events. As the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris creep closer, Smith will continue her preparation under coach Bob Bowman in the Arizona desert.
In Swimming World’s latest edition of Before the Beep, Smith reveals how she prepares for a big meet or critical race.
“I have worked really hard this past year to be able to roll with the punches leading up to race time,” Smith said. “I used to be fairly superstitious and very routine oriented, and I would feel a lot of anxiety if any part of my routine had to be altered. This anxiety would ultimately hurt my performance come race time. Having a pre-race routine is still very important to me, but it changes each time I compete. Doing this helps ensure that I’ll be able to handle any changes in variables.”
THE WEEK BEFORE THE MAJOR MEET
How do you mentally prepare for what is ahead?
“I like to think about the meet and just get amped up to race. Bob (Bowman) likes to have us suit up and do race efforts in practice about once a week. After doing that, I feel very pumped up to race for real. I also like visualizing the races I’ll be competing in during practice times. For example, yesterday our main set had 10 150s back-breast-free by 50. I imagined I was racing a 200 IM on each one just to get myself in that race mindset.”
What do you discuss with Bob Bowman leading up to the meet?
“Bob and I honestly don’t discuss much. He provides amazing practices and I show up daily and do those practices to the best of my ability. Doing that is the best preparation for me and he always knows when I am ready. It’s what works for us.”
HOTEL
Once you are checked in, do you have any rituals that you follow? Movie to watch? Food to Eat?
“I’m normally lucky enough to have my parents with me at domestic competitions, and we like to go to the grocery store right away and get me anything I need. I always like having pb and js, protein bars, oatmeal, yogurts, chocolate milk, and trail mix. We like getting other food items, too, but it varies each trip!”
At the hotel, do you stay to yourself and focus, or do you interact with teammates, family, etc.?
“I swim my best when I’m having fun, so I like talking to my family and teammates as much as possible. I’d prefer to be alone as little as possible.”
WARMUP
What is your specific timeline for arriving to the pool for warmup ahead of the meet? What needs to be in place for you to feel ready?
“I show up to the pool roughly 90 minutes before I race, sometimes earlier depending on how I feel. I like to sit for a few minutes and chat with teammates before getting my suit on and stretching while having a snack or a drink. Nothing specifically needs to happen for me to be ready. I just want to enjoy myself.”
What type of warmup does Bob have you do?
“Bob likes me to feel warm and loose (and so do I), so I’ll typically do anywhere between 1500-2k. I will do slightly less if my body feels great. I hit all the bases: Swim, kick, pull, drills, IM, some aerobic swimming, and some bursts/speed. The distances of each will vary depending on what event I am swimming and how my body feels in the water.”
READY ROOM
What does your typical ready-room process look like?
“I like to go with the flow in the ready room. I’m happy to chat if I have a friend in there, but I’m also happy to keep to myself if the ready room is quiet. I basically just relax in my chair and think about my race plan. Nothing too crazy. I used to dread the ready room and I know that most people do. I now try to enjoy the ready room because it means it’s almost time to race!
Are there any superstitions or checkboxes that you go through while waiting to be called to the deck?
“I make sure I have a backup cap and goggles in my parka pocket. I make sure my cap is on straight and my goggles are secure, and that’s about it! I’ve done the work, so now it’s time to go blank and let autopilot take over.”
BEHIND THE BLOCKS
How do you handle those final moments before hearing your name called for the race?
“I like to visualize my race and hype myself up. It can be very easy to get swallowed by your own fear before competing, so I like to practice positive self-talk.”
Is there any specific music you listen to behind the blocks, or do you go another route?
“I prefer to feed off the energy of the crowd instead of listening to music. I’ve come to really enjoy that. It makes me happy to hear people excited to see me and my competitors race. And a happy swimmer is a fast swimmer!”
Happy Birthday Claudia Kolb!!
Claudia Kolb (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1975)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 silver (200m breaststroke); 1968 gold (200m, 400m breaststroke; 200m individual medley); WORLD RECORDS: 23; PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1967 gold (200m butterfly; 200m, 400m individual medley), silver (200m breaststroke); U.S. NATIONAL OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1964, 1965 (100m, 200m breaststroke); 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 (200m individual medley); 1966, 1967 (400m individual medley); U.S. NATIONAL AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 25; “World Swimmer of the Year”: 1967.
1964-1968 Olympian Claudia Kolb swam all strokes individually and collectively better than any swimmer of her time and was further ahead of her competition in the individual medley (13.7 seconds in the 1968 Olympics) than any swimmer in recent years. Four different times she was high-point girl at the U.S. Nationals.
At 14, swimming the 200m breaststroke, Claudia, a freckle-faced kid from California, won an unexpected silver medal in the 1964 Olympics. It was a courageous effort, for she had qualified for the final only as fifth best. With 25 meters to go she was in fourth place. Suddenly Claudia abandoned all caution, put her head down and sprinted like mad for 10 meters to swim into second place (2:47.6) splitting the mighty Russian pair Prozumenschikova (2:46.4) and Babanina (2:48.6).
Four years later, at the Mexico Games, Claudia was the best in the world for the individual medley and she won the 200m and 400m gold medals with almost contemptuous ease – the former (2:24.7) by 4.1 from her teammate Sue Pedersen and the latter by a huge 13.7 from another American, Lynn Vidali.
She was the first holder of the world record for 200m medley with her 2:27.8 on August 21, 1966. Two years and several world records later, she had brought her time down to 2:23.5. She broke the 400m world record four times, taking it from 5:11.7 in July 1967 to 5:04.7 in August 1968. At the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnepeg she won the 200m butterfly, was second in the 200m breaststroke and set world records in both the 200m and 400m individual medleys.
Claudia, from the George Haines stable at Santa Clara, twice (1964,’65) won the United States outdoor 100m and 200m breaststroke titles (best winning times 1:17.1 and 2:48.6 in dead-heating with Cynthia Goyette in 1965). She won the 200m medley four times (1965-68) and the 400m medley twice (1966-67). Claudia won 25 U.S. National AAU Championships and set 23 world records during her remarkable 6-year career. In 1967 she was named “World Swimmer of the Year” by Swimming World magazine.
Happy Birthday Igor Milanovic!!
Igor Milanovic (YUG)
Honor Water Polo (2006)
FOR THE RECORD: 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 1987, 1989 WORLD CUPS: gold; SCORED 450 GOALS IN MORE THEN 300 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS; CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST CENTERS IN THE WORLD
Yugoslavia won its first water polo Olympic gold medal in 1968, breaking Hungary’s (and to a lesser degree, Italy’s) Olympic water polo dynasty. Hall of Fame players, Mirko Sandic, Zdravko Korvacic and Zoran Jankovic all helped give special rise to Yugoslavia’s water polo success. Although Yugoslavia won the silver medal 12 years later in 1980, it was in 1984 and 1988 that they won back-to-back gold medals in Olympic competition, largely due to the driving ability of the great Igor Milanovic. The Partizan Club was the country’s leading water polo team and produced most of the Yugoslavian Olympic players, including 6’10” Milanovic.
Igor joined the Partizan Club Team at age ten in 1975 and under the coaching of Nicola Stamenic and Vlaho Orlic; he soon became a skillful and inspirational player. At age 18, legendary coach Ratko Rudic promoted him from the junior team to the national team just in time for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles where he was instrumental in his team winning the gold medal. Four years later at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he once again steered his team to gold. At the height of his career, the Balkan War prevented his team from competing during the years between 1992 to 1995, thus forfeiting the 1992 Olympics.
Throughout his career, he also competed for Mladost, Croatia; Roma, Italy; and Katalugnia, Spain, the latter two in the Professional League. His career includes over 300 international competitions. He has scored over 450 goals.
Each of his coaches place him in high regard with Coach Rudic stating that he is the only player who could play in every position on the team.
Throwback Thursday: Janet Evans and Her Super Show in the 400 Freestyle; A Back Half to Behold (Video)
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
14 December 2023, 12:34am
Janet Evans – Ahead of Her Time
When Janet Evans stepped onto the blocks for the final of the 400 freestyle at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, the American star already had a gold medal in her grasp. A few days earlier, the 17-year-old bested the field in the 400 individual medley, an event that was the weakest of her three entries. As a result, Evans had to feel good heading into freestyle action, which was her strength.
As the world-record holder, Evans was the favorite in the 400 freestyle, but she was expected to be challenged by East Germany’s Heike Friedrich and Anke Mohring. Although they may not have tested positive for doping, it was widely understood that Evans wasn’t just racing against Friedrich and Mohring, but also against the systematic-doping program of East Germany.
Friedrich was riding the momentum of a title the previous night in the 200 freestyle and through the first half of the race, she was with Evans, who made the turn in 2:02.14. Evans turned at the 300-meter mark with a slight advantage, but she blew away Friedrich in the last 100 meters and clocked a world record of 4:03.85, with Friedrich earning the silver medal in 4:05.94. Mohring picked up the bronze in 4:06.64.
Evans produced a split of 1:00.40 for the last two laps and covered the back half of her race in 2:01.71 for an impressive negative split. Her world record endured for more than 17 years and wasn’t wiped out until France’s Laure Manaudou posted a time of 4:03.03 at the 2006 French Championships. Add in the 800 freestyle and the 1500 freestyle, and Evans owned three world records that lasted at least 17 years, a statistic that speaks to her ahead-of-her-era talent
“I wasn’t worrying about my time,” Evans said. “When I saw 4:03, I was really surprised. I knew I was going to have to bring it home really hard that last 100, but I felt really good. I felt really easy. I didn’t think I was going that fast.”
Evans’ time would have won every men’s 400 freestyle in Olympic competition through the 1968 Games in Mexico City.
Happy Birthday Lazlo Kiss!!
Laszlo Kiss (HUN)
Honor Coach (2012)
FOR THE RECORD: 40 YEARS WOMENS NATIONAL TEAM COACH; COACH OF SWIMMERS WINNING SIX GOLD, TWO SILVER, TWO BRONZE OLYMPIC MEDALS; 45 YEARS COACH OF SPARTACUS CLUB TEAM IN BUDAPEST (1963-2008); COACH OF SWIMMERS BREAKING THREE WORLD RECORDS; COACH OF SWIMMERS WINNING FOUR GOLD, TWO SILVER AND TWO BRONZE MEDALS IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION; COACH OF SWIMMERS WINNING 17 GOLD MEDALS AT EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS; HUNGARIAN COACH OF THE YEAR FOR ALL SPORTS: 1991,1992,1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000.
Every so often, a coach will come along who has the ability to lift his swimmers to new heights, as Laszlo Kiss did establishing Olympic champions.
Kiss was a 1960 Olympic swimmer who was disappointed when he failed to win a medal. American champion Mike Troy offered him some training tips which Kiss applied to a new team he began coaching three years later. From then on, Kiss never looked back, and for almost 50 years continued to develop Olympic champions.
As head coach of Budapest’s Club Spartacus Team, he later became the Hungarian National Team Coach for women for an unprecedented 40 years, continuing to develop swimmers from the grass roots level to Olympic champions.
His greatest swimmer was a thin little girl he developed from age five to become the greatest backstroke swimmer, perhaps of all time, Krisztina Egerszegi. Egerszegi is only the second woman, after the great Dawn Fraser, to win the same event in three successive Olympic Games when she won the 200 meter backstroke in 1988, 1992 and 1996, while winning the most gold medals by a female in individual events with five gold medals.
Other swimmers include Agnes Kovacs, who won the gold medal in the 200 meter breaststroke in Sydney, and the bronze medal in the 200 meter breaststroke in Athens. Karoly Guttler won breaststroke silver and bronze medals in Barcelona, 1992 and Atlanta, 1996. All totaled, his swimmers have won six gold, one silver and two bronze medals at Olympic Games and 23 medals at the European Championships, 17 of them gold. Between 1991 and 1999, Kiss was elected Hungarian Coach of the Year seven times for all sports.
From this small country of ten million people, Laszlo Kiss joins the other great Hungarian Hall of Fame coaches who have developed outstanding swimmers including Stefen Hunyadfi, Imre Sarosi and Tamas Szechy.
Could Australia Challenge Great Britain, United States for Men’s 800 Free Relay Superiority?
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
13 December 2023, 07:44am
Could Australia Challenge Great Britain, United States for Men’s 800 Free Relay Superiority?
In recent years, the Australian men has achieved their most consistent success in the 800 freestyle relay since the days when Ian Thorpe was handling anchor duties with teammates Grant Hackett and Michael Klim on board. Currently, Australia is riding a streak of four major meets winning a medal in the event, dating back to an upset gold at the 2019 World Championships. Australia won silver at the 2022 World Championships and bronze in 2023, albeit swimming over one second quicker and with an entirely new quartet.
This year’s Aussie group could not match the firepower of Great Britain, which boasted a team of world champion Matt Richards, Olympic champion Tom Dean and veterans Duncan Scott and James Guy. Also ahead were the Americans, with Carson Foster and Kieran Smith hitting 1:44 splits in a spirited silver-medal effort. But Australia got bronze, more than one-and-a-half seconds clear of fourth-place France, without a single weak leg.
A mix of newcomers and veterans all produced 1:45 splits, with 100 free superstar Kyle Chalmers going the quickest at 1:45.19 before Alexander Graham and Thomas Neill, both members of the bronze-medal team from the Tokyo (alongside Chalmers), going high 1:45s to seal the deal. But they would never have been in position without the breakout performance of Kai Taylor, a 19-year-old who broke 1:46 for the first time on the leadoff leg. After a disappointing individual performance in the 200 free, where he missed the semifinals, Taylor rebounded to lead off in 1:45.79, and his team was off and rolling.
Those four swimmers provide an excellent base for Australia’s 200 free corps, while Fukuoka alternates Flynn Southam and Elijah Winnington both have the ability to contribute to this relay, with the 18-year-old Southam having clocked 1:46.24 earlier in the year while Winnington led off the finals squad in 2022 in 1:45.83. Sam Short, the world champion in the 400 free and a medalist in the 800 and 1500 at World Championships, has contributed to this relay in the past, while Zac Incerti should return to the mix next year after a shoulder injury knocked him out for this year’s Worlds.
Depth earns relay medals at major meets, and Australia has no problem there. But winning relay gold requires sensational efforts, like when Chalmers split 46.56 anchoring Australia’s 400 free relay in Fukuoka to steal a gold medal. Well, there’s a new Australian star emerging in the 200 free, one with the capabilities of becoming that central relay figure in short order.
Max Giuliani was not too far away from qualifying for Worlds this year, finishing eighth in the 200 free final at the Australian Trials. His time that evening was 1:48.05. But improvements came swiftly. In late July, the 20-year-old traveled to the United States to race at the TYR Pro Championships, and he blasted a mark of 1:46.23. In October, racing in Europe on the World Cup circuit, Giuliani dropped his time of 1:46.18 and then 1:45.42, which made him the country’s top-ranked swimmer for 2023.
And most recently, with a phenomenal effort at the Queensland Championships, Giuliani joined the 1:44-club, leading off a relay in 1:44.79 to become only the third Australian ever under 1:45 and the second-fastest ever from his country, behind only Thorpe (1:44.06).
That time and his ridiculous improvement curve suddenly vaults Giuliani into serious contention for an individual Olympic medal in the 200 free next year. Giuliani is only the ninth man to swim sub-1:45 from a flat start this year, and only five swimmers have surpassed his time all year: Richards, Dean, Hwang Sunwoo, Pan Zhanle and David Popovici.
Add that time onto a relay with Taylor, who could feasibly work his way close to (perhaps even under) the 1:45-barrier in the next year, and supply some veteran reinforcement from Graham, Chalmers, Neill and/or Incerti. Southam has been inconsistent over 200 meters this year, but he is almost two years younger than Giuliani.
Suddenly, the prospect of a sub-7:00 relay, maybe even chasing down the British team, the American team and the world record, does not seem so improbable. As 2023 gives way to 2024, the men from Down Under already own the top spot in the 400 free relay, and they are quietly (or not-so-quietly) building a mighty team for the longer relay as well.