Black History Month The Story of Charles Jackson French – A Hero For Our Time
by Bruce Wigo
On January 19, 2020, the United States Navy announced it was naming a new aircraft carrier after African American WWII war hero “Dorie” Miller. The announcement came more than 78 years after the events at Pearl Harbor that earned him the Navy Cross, the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps’ second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The U.S.S. Doris Miller is seen as a belated salute to the contributions of African Americans in the military. But it is just a first step. There is another Navy man who was at least equally heroic and deserves recognition.
The world first heard about this story on October 21st, 1942, when U.S. Navy Ensign Robert Adrian was in the Hollywood studios of the NBC Broadcasting Company. He was there for a weekly radio program called, It Happened in the Service. “For the past week,” the solemn sounding host began, “the prayers of the nation have been turned toward the Solomon islands, a small group of strategic islands in the South Pacific. Right now, one of the greatest battles of history is raging there and in the waters of the surrounding islands, and here in our studio tonight is a gallant naval officer who has already tasted the fury of that Solomon battle and who has had his ship blasted out from under him. But before we meet Ensign Robert Adrian, let’s listen to his story.”
That was the cue for dramatic organ music and the sound of sirens and explosions. Amidst those cacophonous sounds came a voice calmly announcing: “Abandon ship, all hands, abandon ship.” Adrian was the junior officer on the bridge when it took a direct hit from a Japanese ship. He was knocked unconscious for a moment and when he came to, he felt the ship turning on its side and sinking. Although wounded in his legs and with blast fragments in his eyes that clouded his vision, he managed to float over into the water with his life jacket as the ship sank below him. As he drifted, he saw the Japanese ships turn their searchlights and machine guns on the survivors. Then he heard voices and found a life raft filled with badly wounded shipmates. Upon questioning the men, he found only one shipmate who had not been wounded. It was Charles Jackson French, a negro mess attendant known only by his last name. When Adrian told French that the current was carrying them toward the Japanese occupied island, French volunteered to swim the raft away from shore. Adrian told him it was impossible – that he would only be giving himself up to the sharks that surrounded them. But French responded that he was a powerful swimmer and was less afraid of the sharks than he was of the Japanese. He stripped off his clothes, asked for help to tie a rope around his waist and slipped into the water. “Just keep telling me if I’m goin’ the right way,” he said. French swam and swam all night, 6 to 8 hours and pulled the raft well out to sea. At sunrise, they where spotted by scout aircraft who dispatched a marine landing craft to pick them up and returned them safely behind American lines.
When the dramatization ended, the host returned to the microphone: “And now standing here beside me is Ensign Bob Adrian of Ontario, Oregon. Ensign, yours was certainly an unusual rescue.”
“Yes, it was,” agreed Adrian. “And I can assure you that all the men on that raft are grateful to mess attendant French for his brave action off Guadacanal that night.”
“Well, he is certainly a credit to the finest traditions of the Navy.”
Adrian was then prompted to give a patriotic enlistment appeal and for everyone at home to unite behind the war effort.
Photo Courtesy:
The next day, the Associated Press picked up the story of the “powerful Negro mess attendant who swam six hours through shark-infested waters, towing to safety a raft load of wounded seamen.” The story reached Philadelphia and the War Gum Trading Card Company, which as the name suggests, sold bubble gum with commemorative baseball-like cards depicting the war’s heroes and events. The card, captioned as: “Negro Swimmer Tows Survivors,” was #129 in the 1942 set. It has a beautiful color rendition of French towing the raft of wounded seamen in wavy blue water with two shark fins near the raft. The flip side told the story, without knowing the identity of the hero beyond being a “Negro mess attendant, known only as ‘French.’” It went on to say that because Ensign Adrian was immediately hospitalized, he “never learned the full name of the heroic swimmer.”
Then, on October 30th, NBC revealed it had learned about French through the Navy Personnel Bureau in Washington. He was 23-year-old Charles Jackson French, of Foreman, Arkansas. The revelation brought a passionate editorial reaction from the Pittsburgh Courier, one the nation’s leading Black newspapers.
“All those who thrill to high HEROISM are paying tribute to a black boy from Arkansas, who risked his life that his white comrades might live. We did NOT learn about this act of heroism… from the Navy Department. We learned about it almost incidentally, from Ensign Robert Adrian, white officer of the destroyer Gregory…when he broadcast over an NBC national hookup from Hollywood. He and other white Americans owe their LIVES to a black man whom he identified as a ‘mess attendant named French.’ Mess attendants are none too highly regarded in the United States Navy. They are either Negroes or Filipinos and they are BARRED from service in any other branch of the Navy unless serving in a segregated unit. There is not much OPPORTUNITY for heroism in a ship’s galley or an officers’ ward room. But all the men on a ship are in DANGER in time of battle, no matter where they are serving or what their skin pigment may be…Although Mess Attendant Charles Jackson French of Arkansas was not in a heroic job, he MADE a heroic job out of it. He who had been looked down upon as a caste man, frozen in status, suddenly was looked up to as a SAVIOUR.”
It also described what happened prior to Adrian finding the raft. That French had found the raft floating and had swum around with it, piling “wounded white comrades upon it until it had almost sank.”
“All men honor bravery and LOYALTY, and today all America hails ‘A Mess Attendant named French” who risked death that others might live. Americans like Mess Attendant French and Ensign Adrian, mutually undergoing danger to preserve American freedom for all alike, will make democracy a glowing reality in this country for future generations to enjoy.”
In time it was learned that Charles Jackson French stood 5’8” tall and weighed 195 pounds. He had been born on Sept. 25, 1919, in Foreman, Arkansas. But after his parents died, he moved to Omaha, Nebraska to live with his sister. On December 4, 1937, French enlisted in the Steward/Messman branch of the United States Navy – the only positions open to African Americans at the time. He was assigned to the USS Houston, the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. As a Mess Attendant 3rd class, his job was to serve meals to white officers and sailors, clear their tables and keep the mess, not a mess. While French was onboard, the Houston was stationed in Hawaii and cruised the Pacific Ocean with stops in the Philippines and Shanghai, to name a few. After his four year commitment ended in 1941, French returned to 2703 North 25th St. in Omaha, Nebraska. But four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, French re-enlisted as a Steward’s Mate 1st class. He joined the crew of the USS Gregory in March of 1942. Although Stewards were a step up from mess mates, they were derisively labeled “seagoing bellhops” by the black press. Their job was to man the white officers’ mess and clean their quarters.
Back in the USA after the sinking of the Gregory, the “human tugboat” visited relatives in Foreman and received a royal welcome from citizens of all races in Omaha. He appeared before enthusiastic crowds at the halftime of a Creighton football game, at war bond rallies, on a calendar and in newspaper comic strips. There was even talk of a Hollywood film.
In early 1943, Twentieth Century Fox released the film adaptation of the Broadway musical,“Stormy Weather”with an all-black cast of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham and Fats Waller. In June, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer brought to the big screen “Cabin in the Sky,” another musical with an all-black cast that included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters and Lena Horne. Both were hits. “However,” reported the Pittsburgh Courier, “Warner Brothers has it in mind to go all of the companies one better and screen-Immortalize Messman French, the lad who swam through shark-infested waters, towing a raft of wounded sailors to safety after a Japanese sub had sunk their ship in the South Pacific.”
Photo Courtesy:
Based on his incident report, Ensign Adrian had been informed that Mess Attendant French was being recommended for the Navy Cross. It was the second highest honor, just below the Congressional Medal of Honor, and it was the medal that had been awarded to Doris Miller. Then in December of 1943, French’s heroism was immortalized in a poem written entitled “The Strong Swimmer,” by the 1942 Pulitzer Prize recipient, William Rose Benet.
THE STRONG SWIMMERby William Rose Benet*
I have a story fit to tell,In head and heart a song;A burning blue Pacific swell;A raft that was towed along.
Out in the bloody Solomon IslesDestroyer Gregory gone;Ocean that kills for all her smiles,And darkness coming on.
The Gregory’s raft bobbed on the tideLoaded with wounded men.Ensign and seaman clung her side.Seaward she drifted then.
A mess-attendant, a Negro man,Mighty of chest and limb,Spoke up: “Til tow you all I canAs long as I can swim.”
Naked, he wound his waist with a line;Slipped smoothly overside,Where the red bubble tells the brineThat sharks have sheared the tide.
‘I’m going to tow this old craft inSince we ain’t got not one oar’He breathed, as the water lapped his chin;And he inched that raft ashore.
Strongly he stroked, and long he hauledNo breath for any song.His wounded mates clung close, appalled.He towed that raft along.
Clear to the eye the darkening swellWhere glimmering dangers glide;The raft of sailors grimed from HellAfloat on a smoky tide
And a dark shoulder and muscled armLunging, steady and strong.The messman, their brother, who bears a charm,Is towing their raft along.
He gasped, “Just say if I’m go’in right!”Yes, brother, right you are!Danger of ocean or dark of night,You steer by one clear star.
Six hours crawled by. … A barge in sightWith the raft just off the shore. . . .The messman coughed, “Sure, I’m all right’He was just as he was before.
And all that they knew was they called him “French*Not quite a name to sing.Green jungle hell or desert trench,No man did a braver thing.
He’s burned a story in my brain,Set in my heart a song.He and his like, by wave and main,World without end and not in vainAre towing this world along!
From “Day of Deliverance,” copyright, 1944, by William Rose Benet.
A significant award for heroism seemed assured, but it wasn’t to be. All he would receive was a letter of commendation from Adm. William F. Halsey, Jr., then commander, of the Southern Pacific Fleet. It read: “For meritorious conduct in action while serving on board a destroyer transport which was badly damaged during the engagement with Japanese forces in the British Solomon Islands on September 5, 1942. After the engagement, a group of about fifteen men were adrift on a raft, which was being deliberately shelled by Japanese naval forces. French tied a line to himself and swam for more than two hours without rest, thus attempting to tow the raft. His conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval Service.” They were eight hours in the water, but Admiral Halsey reduced it to two.
Ensign Adrian was outraged, but the Gregory episode was complicated by the issuance of a posthumous Silver Star to Lt. Cdr. H. F. Bauer, the ship’s CO. Wounded and dying, the skipper had ordered Adrian and the signalman on the bridge to leave him and go to the aid of another crewman who was yelling for help. He was never seen again. By Navy standards, it would be nearly unprecedented for a subordinate to receive a higher decoration for an act of heroism comparable to that of a superior. In addition to the Silver Star, a Destroyer-minelayer was named the USS Harry F. Bauer in 1944.
Charles Jackson French was probably manning his mop or carrying food trays on the USS Endicott when he heard the news. At the time, his destroyer was escorting convoys in the Atlantic theater, along the African coast and in the Caribbean. With the Endicott needing repairs in May of 1944, French was assigned to the USS Frankford, a destroyer that provided support from its five guns for the successful landings on D-Day, along with rescuing survivors of mined ships and downed pilots, and driving off enemy E-boat attacks. In August, the Frankford arrived in Naples, Italy for the invasion of southern France.
Photo Courtesy:
Little was known of French after the war ended and he was soon forgotten. But sometime after the Korean War, he was at a friend’s home in San Diego and told his side of the story. One of those listening was Chester Wright, who repeated what French said in his book, Black Men and Blue Water. French told it pretty much as Adrian had done years earlier, but with a few twists. He laughed when he told how he almost peed himself when he felt the sharks brush against his feet, but guessed they weren’t hungry for a scared black man. As he told of raft being rescued, his mood changed from jovial to anger and tears. After the badly wounded men were taken to the hospital, French and the others were taken to a rest camp where authorities wanted to separate French because he was “colored.” The white boys from the raft and some of the other survivors from the Gregory refused to have him separated. He was a member of the Gregory’s crew, they said, and they were going to stay together. Anyone who thought different had better been better been ready to fight. There was a standoff that lasted some time, with the crew of the Gregory, all covered with oil and grime and looking like madmen, facing off against the masters at arms in their clean and pressed whites. Eventually, they realized the Gregory’s crew meant what they said and backed down. As French told this part of the story, his shoulders shook and tears coursed down his cheeks as he told how the white boys had stood up for him.
According to Wright, French had returned from the war “stressed out,” from seeing too much death and destruction. He was probably discharged with mental problems and left to fend for himself. He died on November 7, 1956 and was buried in the Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery, in San Diego, an almost forgotten hero.
The name of Charles Jackson French resurfaced in 2009, when his story was part of an exhibit on Black Swimming History at the International Swimming Hall of Fame, in Fort Lauderdale. The irony of French’s heroics was that it came at a time when African Americans were prevented from swimming in virtually every swimming pool and public beach in America. When he was being celebrated in Omaha in 1943, there was no pool in the city where he could have taken a dip. So one of the questions that remain is where and how did he become such a powerful swimmer? Unfortunately his surviving relatives don’t have the answer. The best guess is in the Red River and stone quarries near Forman, Ark.
About ten years later, the exhibit came to the attention of a retired Navy couple, who began some research of their own. They found the family of Robert Adrian, who had passed away in 2011, but his family had their own story to tell of Charles Jackson French. Their father rarely spoke of his war experiences, except for French, for if not for a black man named Charles Jackson French, he would tell them, neither he nor any of them would be alive. For his 75th Birthday, Adrian’s children had found an old record amongst their father’s treasures. It had been given to him by NBC back in 1943. It was the recording of It Happened In the Service. Hearing it after all those years brought him to tears.
Adrian had tried to locate French after the war with no success, but he also had suffered another trauma. It was almost exactly a year after the sinking of the Gregory and he was the gunnery officer on the the destroyer USS Boyd, when it came under attack. As the crew was helping to rescue a downed pilot, two enemy shells crashed into the ship, destroying the forward guns and exploded in the engine room, bursting the steam pipes. One officer and eleven men were killed and another eight seriously wounded. It was Adrian who led the rescue team and he had recurring nightmares the rest of his life seeing the bodies of those men burned alive by 800 degree heat. He was at sea for much of his carrier followed by a successful career as a banker.
After his second retirement, he began writing and one of the stories was published in Tin Can Alley, a newsletter that appealed to men who served on destroyers. It was called, Our Night of Hell off Guadalcanal and it told the story of the Gregory and French and his recommendation for the Navy Cross. He spoke about French to Navy Brass, but social justice was not the issue it is today. He had hoped that before he died, French would receive the commendation he deserved, but since it wasn’t he told his children to carry on with his dying wish.
Then in April of 2021, an online post about French from the International Swimming Hall of Fame caught the attention of Rear Admiral Charles Brown, the Navy public affairs officer who said the Navy will see if “it can do more to recognize Petty Officer French.”
In Washington, Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon said that he believed French deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor.
In January of 2024, the United States Navy announced that it will name a ship after Charles Jackson French. The announcement was made by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro during a keynote address at the Surface Navy’s 36th National Symposium in Arlington, Virginia. The U.S.S. Charles J. French will be an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer.
In fairness and with impartiality a destroyer should be named after French if not the medal of honor set the record straight !!! America home of the free and the brave. Show that the content of a person’s character and not the color of their skin. That is why the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is the greatest nation in the world *****
Black History Month: During General Slocum Disaster, Harry George Was a Hero
Story by ISHOF Curator, Bruce Wigo
Black History Month: During General Slocum Disaster, Harry George Was a Hero
The General Slocum steamship disaster was the greatest single catastrophe in New York City’s history until Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. On June 15, 1904, the Gen. Slocum was taking a group of almost 1,400 passengers, mostly women and children, on a trip of New York City’s East River to a picnic on Long Island.
Photo Courtesy: Pittsburgh Courier
The ship caught fire shortly after leaving the dock. Most of the passengers tried to escape the fire by jumping into the water, and because they didn’t know how to swim, they drowned. Bodies of mothers, grandmothers, and girls washed up on the shorelines for days. One of the forgotten heroes, saving some of the passengers, was Harry N. George, an African American.
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George was credited with saving 23 lives through his courage and resolve and was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was also awarded the Life-Saving Gold Medal of New York.
The lesson from the Slocum disaster wasn’t lost on the nation: “Learn to swim!” commanded an editorial in the New York Herald that was repeated throughout the country. “That should be the resolve of every intelligent woman who does not already know how, upon reading the pitiful story of how woman after woman drowned within just a few feet of shore.”
As a consequence of the Slocum disaster, the American Red Cross was moved to begin its water safety and lifesaving programs and swimming became an essential part of public education. Unfortunately, most African Americans were denied the same opportunities to learn to swim, as virtually all pools and beaches were closed to non-whites during the first half of the 20th Century, in spite of the heroics of Harry N. George. It would not be until the 1930s when the first African Americans were certified as Red Cross Water Safety instructors and Lifeguards.
Happy Birthday Greg Louganis!!
Greg Louganis (USA)
Honor Diver (1993)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 silver (platform), 1980 (boycott), 1984 gold (springboard & platform), 1988 gold (springboard & platform); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1978 gold (platform), 1982 gold (springboard & platform), 1986 gold (springboard & platform); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1979 gold (springboard & platform), 1983 gold (springboard & platform), 1987 gold (springboard & platform); FINA CUP: 1979 gold (platform), 1981 silver (springboard), 1983 gold (springboard & platform), 1987 gold (springboard); U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 47.
Known as the king of diving, Louganis reigned over his sport for more than a decade with grace, power, and unequaled precision.
Winner of the coveted James E. Sullivan award for outstanding achievements in athletics in 1984, Greg established himself as the USA’s best athlete. Not only is Louganis the only male diver in history to win both springboard and platform gold medals for diving in consecutive Olympic Games, 1984 and 1988, a third set of double wins would have probably been his, too, if it were not for the USA’s boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games.
One man who came close to matching Louganis’ Olympic record was his first coach, Dr. Sammy Lee, who won consecutive platform titles at the 1948 Olympic Games in London and the 1952 Games in Helsinki. It was Sammy Lee who spotted the talents of Louganis in 1971 when Louganis scored a perfect ten at the age of eleven at the AAU Junior Olympics. Louganis was soon training with Sammy Lee and went on to win a silver medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. It was evident that Greg was on his way to becoming one of the best divers the world has ever seen.
In 1978 Ron O’Brien, also a world-class diver like Lee, joined the staff at Mission Viejo. That year Greg won both World championships titles and defeated the long-time platform champion Klaus Dibiasi of Italy. For the next decade, Greg Louganis was the man to beat on the boards, dominating every national and international competition he entered.
Like many athletes, Greg anticipated the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Unfortunately, the United States government boycotted the Games in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Disappointed, but not discouraged, Louganis decided to continue to pursue his dream.
In 1984 Louganis became the first man in 56 years to win two Olympic gold medals in diving. Hall of Famer Pete Desjardins of Miami had done it at the 1928 Games in Paris. In 1988, competing against divers half his age, Louganis became the first man to win double gold medals for diving in two consecutive Olympic Games, a feat duplicated only once in Olympic history by women’s champion Pat McCormick in 1952-1956.
Nearly 10 Years After Retirement, Michael Phelps Still Highly Ranked in Variety of Events
by John Lohn – Editor-in-Chief
27 January 2026
10 Years After Retirement, Michael Phelps Still Highly Ranked in Variety of Events
Nearly a decade has passed since Michael Phelps bid farewell to the sport. His exclamation point was the 28th medal of his Olympic career at the Rio de Janeiro Games, gold claimed by the United States in the 400-meter medley relay. In the days since, Phelps has played a prominent role in the mental-health space, and has occasionally contributed insights as a member of NBC’s broadcast booth during major championships.
The last of his world records was erased in 2023 when Leon Marchand, also coached by Bob Bowman, took down Phelps’ global standard in the 400 individual medley at the World Champs in Fukuoka. Yet, Phelps’ name continues to dot the all-time world and American rankings. While Phelps was celebrated during his spectacular career, time has allowed for even greater appreciation of the G.O.A.T.
Despite the passing of time, Phelps remains a historical top-five performer in five events and a top-seven all-time American racer in seven disciplines. Those are impressive numbers, particularly with continued evolutions in training and new talent consistently emerging.
From a global perspective, Phelps is still ranked No. 2 in a pair events. His title-winning times from the 200 freestyle (1:42.96) and 400 IM (4:03.84) at the 2008 Olympics Games have endured, while he still sits third in the 200 butterfly (1:51.51) and 200 IM (1:54.16). Phelps can be found at No. 4 in the 100 butterfly (49.82) and he is 18th in the 200 backstroke, thanks to a 1:54.65 outing at the 2007 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
Shifting to his American-ranking status, Phelps can add three events in which he still sits in the top-25. The best of those events is the 100 freestyle, where Phelps briefly held the American record. At the Beijing Games, Phelps led off the victorious 400 freestyle relay with an effort of 47.51. That race, of course, was punctuated by Jason Lezak’s legendary anchor that enabled the United States to clip France at the finish.
World Rankings
200 Freestyle (1:42.96) – Second200 Backstroke (1:54.65) – 18th100 Butterfly (49.82) – Fourth200 Butterfly (1:51.51) – Third200 Medley (1:54.16) – Third400 Medley (4:03.84) – Second
American Rankings
100 Freestyle (47.51) – Seventh200 Freestyle (1:42.96) – First400 Freestyle (3:46.73) – 25th100 Backstroke (53.01) – 16th200 Backstroke (1:54.65) – Seventh200 Breaststroke (2:11.30) – 32nd100 Butterfly (49.82) – Second200 Butterfly (1:51.51) – First200 Medley (1:54.16) – Second400 Medley (4:03.84) – First
Announcing the 2026 ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s annual ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal (formerly the Paragon Awards 1996-2022). The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal are presented annually to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to aquatics. This year’s recipients include David Szanto (HUN) for Competitive Swimming, Drew Johansen (USA) for Diving, Mary Black (SCO) for Artistic/Synchronized Swimming; Leanne Barnes (AUS) for Water Polo and The New Jersey Swim Safety Alliance (USA) for Water Safety. This year’s awards will be held Friday evening on May 15, 2026, during the 61st Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Make your plans now to attend the weekend of activities, Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, 2026!
The annual awards are a spectacular event that celebrates the unsung heroes who make competitive and recreational aquatics possible. These are the people who save lives, promote water safety and further aquatic education around the world. We are proud to recognize these important individuals at the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
About this year’s award recipients:
David Szanto (HUN) – Competitive Swimming
David Szanto has been involved with swimming dating back from the time he was an athlete. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Hungarian Swimming Federation (Magyar Uszo Szovetseg). He also holds the role of COO for various major organizing committees, including those of the 2022 FINA World Championships and the upcoming Budapest 2027 World Aquatics Championships, to be held next Summer.
He has been a central figure in bringing major international swimming events to Hungary, serving as head of the local organizing committee, bringing multiple World Aquatic World Cups (2021, 2023) and the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m).
Drew Johansen (USA) – Competitive Diving
Drew Johansen is only the third Coach to lead one of the most storied programs in the country: Diving at Indiana University. Johansen took over the IU program in 2013. He has been Head Coach for the U.S. Diving Team for the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. Prior to the appointments, Johansen spent ten years as a U.S. National Team Coach. Under Johansen’s direction, the United States took home one gold, five silver and four bronze medals, putting the U.S. team as the number two medal producer in the world.
Mary Black (SCO) – Artistic Swimming
96 year old Mary Black has spent a lifetime involved in synchronized swimming. She began by attending courses at the Crystal Palace in London and soon after, synchro was born in Scotland. Mary represented Scotland, performing overseas, including a demonstration at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.
By 1974 Mary was Chair of the International Synchronized Swimming Coaching Panel. Next, she became an international judge, where she served at numerous national and international synchro events, including the Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, as well as many regional and national synchro championships. The pinnacle was when Mary was selected as event referee at four Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996).
Mary was a member of the FINA Technical Synchronized Swimming Committee almost continuously from 1984 to 1996. She was also the first woman to become President of the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association and the first person, male or female, to serve two terms.
Mary, along with husband Bill, developed the Judges’ Evaluation criteria document which evolved into the Synchronized Swimming Operating Manual used at all international competitions.
Leanne Barnes (AUS) – Water Polo
Leeann Barnes is all things Water Polo. She played on the Victorian State Team from 1975, leading to selection on the Australian National Team from 1978 to 1982. Next, she Barnes stepped into the vacated national coach role at the 1982 World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, followed by the manager role with the Australian National team from 1983 to 1992. Barnes then joined the international committee pursuing the inclusion of women’s water polo onto the Olympic program, working tirelessly from 1982 until the success of that campaign in 1997. Leanne then stepped into leadership roles with the Australian women’s program from 1986 until 2008.
Barnes has been recognized in the Australian Honours system with the Order of Australia Medal OAM, in 2019, for services to water polo and women’s sport; and in 2021, with the Public Service Medal PSM, for services to local government and community, particularly in emergency management and resilience.
The New Jersey Swim Safety Alliance –Aquatic Safety
The New Jersey Swim Safety Alliance is a collaborative coalition dedicated to advancing water safety and preventing drowning across communities throughout New Jersey. Through strong partnerships with swim schools, public agencies, healthcare leaders, and community organizations, the Alliance works to expand access to swim education and promote evidence-based safety practices. Their efforts focus on innovative programs, public awareness, and policy solutions that help keep children and families safe around water. United by a shared mission, the Alliance believes collaboration is the most powerful tool in creating lasting, community-wide impact.
Together, they are building safer environments and saving lives through prevention, education, and action.
AquaCal® has been the leading swimming pool heat pump manufacturer since 1981, offering a full range of units to meet any heating need. AquaCal® can maintain anything from small above ground pools up to very large commercial facilities. (Currently heating and chilling the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Aquatic Center pools) The chillers, as well as the heat and cool units, can be used to create cold plunge pools for therapy too. Whatever your pool heating/cooling needs, AquaCal® can help!
For more information call Meg Keller-Marvin at 570.594.4367
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Today We Remember Bob Duenkel, Long-Time ISHOF Employee and Honoree, on His Birthday!!
Bob Duenkel (USA)
Honor Contributor (2021)
FOR THE RECORD: 40+ YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO ISHOF AND THE HISTORY OF THE AQUATIC WORLD AS ISHOF’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CURATOR; AWARDS: 1997 GLENN HUMMER AWARD BY USA SWIMMING, 1997 NAMED IN AQUATIC’S INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE AS “WHO’S WHO IN AQUATICS”, 1999 WEST ORANGE (NJ) HALL OF FAME, 2004 ISHOF PRESIDENTIAL AWARD, 2018 HONOR CONTRIBUTOR INTERNATIONAL MARATHON SWIMMING HALL OF FAME
As a young boy he had a love of swimming from almost the day he was born. He began competitive swimming for the YMCA of New Jersey and was a state record holder before being a star swimmer and water polo player at Kansas State University. After graduating from KSU with both an undergraduate and master’s degree in physical education, Bob Duenkel moved to Fort Lauderdale. He taught physical education and coached swimming at Northeast High School, worked as a water safety instructor and worked for the Fort Lauderdale Beach Patrol – all before “Buck” Dawson convinced him to work as his assistant at the Hall of Fame in 1976.
The ISHOF position afforded Bob the opportunity to work exclusively in the field of his passion – swimming. He had time to train as a Masters swimmer at the Hall of Fame Pool and coach swimming at Broward Community College. In 1978 he was named National Junior College Swimming Coach of the Year. In the summer of 1976, he also took over the running of Dawson’s Camp Chikopi, a boys sports and wilderness camp in Ontario, Canada. Chikopi was also the world’s first summer swimming camp, founded in 1920 by US Olympic swimming coach, Matt Mann, Dawson’s father-in-law. When Dawson passed away, he left the camp to Bob and his wife Colette.
Bob’s greatest contribution to swimming, however, was his 40+ years of dedication and service to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Bob not only absorbed the rich history of swimming like a sponge from Dawson, but through the lips of Johnny Weissmuller, Eleanor Holm, Buster Crabbe, Esther Williams, and many, many more. His knowledge of swimming history was encyclopedic. He studied and knew all the minutiae of swimming and swimmers, from the ancient Greek swimmer Leander to the most recent inductee, every Olympiad, every event, every time and every stroke. He was museum curator and presided over 40 years of ISHOF Induction Ceremonies.
From 2004-2005 he served as interim CEO and Executive Director, and then resumed his previous duties until his retirement in 2016. For any visitor to ISHOF, Bob was an invaluable resource, always there to tell a story, clarify any facts or just to toss off a quip or two. He made a wonderful ambassador for the sport and was willing to spend as many hours as necessary to aid a visitor’s knowledge of aquatics.
There will never be another person more knowledgeable about every aspect of aquatics than Bob Duenkel. Bob sadly passed away in February of 2019. During his lifetime of service to swimming he was as much part of the International Swimming Hall of Fame as any Honoree – and now he joins those whom he both served and loved, including his little sister Ginny, a 1964 Olympic Champion and world record holder as an honored member of ISHOF.
ISHOF Honoree Eddie Reese Receives CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by Matthew De George – Senior Writer
20 January 2026
The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) proudly announced on Tuesday that Eddie Reese has been selected as the recipient of the CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by the association.
Reese, who retired from coaching in 2024, was chosen by the CSCAA Executive Board from an exceptional group of nominees in recognition of a career that reshaped collegiate swimming and diving and left an enduring legacy on the sport.
A Florida native and former standout swimmer at the University of Florida, Reese dedicated his life to swimming — first as a student-athlete and ultimately as one of the most influential coaches in the history of collegiate athletics. Over the course of more than 45 seasons at the University of Texas, Reese built one of the most dominant and respected programs the sport has ever known.
Under his leadership, the Longhorns captured 15 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving National Championships and more than 40 conference titles, establishing Texas as a perennial standard-bearer in collegiate swimming. Remarkably, Reese became the only coach in NCAA swimming history to win a national championship in five different decades, a distinction that underscores both the longevity and sustained excellence of his career.
Farewell to a Legend: For One Final Time, Eddie Reese Leads Texas Into NCAA Champs
Throughout his tenure, Reese coached hundreds of All-Americans and guided more than 40 Olympians who went on to win over 50 Olympic medals, including numerous gold medals. His influence extended far beyond championship results, as he mentored generations of swimmers who competed on the world’s biggest stages and developed countless coaches who now lead programs across the collegiate and international landscape.
Beyond the accolades, Reese’s legacy is defined by his leadership, mentorship, and humanity. Revered by athletes and colleagues alike, he cultivated environments rooted in trust, accountability, and care — developing not only elite competitors, but leaders whose impact continues well beyond the pool deck.
“There are simply not enough words to capture the impact Eddie Reese has had on our sport,” said Samantha Barany, Executive Director of the CSCAA. “His accomplishments speak for themselves, but it is his approach, his demeanor, loyalty, and kindness that have left a lasting mark on collegiate swimming and diving. Our sport is better because of the time Eddie dedicated to it. On behalf of the CSCAA membership, we are honored and proud to celebrate a legacy that makes him the clear and deserving choice for this recognition.”
The CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals whose careers reflect sustained excellence, leadership, and a profound commitment to advancing collegiate swimming and diving. Reese’s body of work — as a coach, mentor, and steward of the sport, embodies those values in every respect.
Reese will be formally recognized on May 4 in Chicago as part of the CSCAA Awards Celebration, where the association will honor a distinguished class of individuals whose contributions have shaped the past, present, and future of collegiate swimming and diving.
CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
2025 – Anne Goodman James, Colorado College
2024 – Dennis Dale, University of Minnesota
2023 – Jack Bauerle – University of Georgia
2022 – Terry Ganley, University of Minnesota
2020 – Rick Walker, Southern Illinois
2019 – Nancy Bigelow, Tufts University
2018 – John Patnott, Hope College & Jon Lederhouse, Wheaton College
2017 – Bev Ball, McMurray University
2016 – George Kennedy, Johns Hopkins
2014 – Jon Urbanchek, Michigan
2013 – Skip Kenney, Stanford
2012 – Jim Steen, Kenyon College
2011 – Susan Teeter, Princeton
2010 – Nort Thornton, California & Peter Daland, Southern California
2009 – Richard Quick, Auburn
Happy Birthday John Naber !!
JOHN NABER (USA) 1982 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 gold (100m, 200m backstroke; 2 relays), silver (200m freestyle); WORLD RECORDS: 6 (100m, 200m backstroke; 2 relays); AAU NATIONALS: 25 (100yd, 200yd backstroke, 1650yd freestyle; 7 relays); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1977 gold (500m freestyle; 100m, 200m backstroke); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 15 (100yd, 200yd backstroke; 500yd freestyle; 5 relays); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 bronze 9200m backstroke); 1976 Southern California Athlete of the Year; 1976 World Male Swimmer of the Year; 1977 AAU Sullivan Award; 1977 Trophy of the International Committee for Fair Play (Warsaw, Poland).
Six foot-six inch John Naber (USA) was high man at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, winning four gold medals all in World Record time and taking a silver in the 200 meter freestyle behind his USC teammate Bruce Furniss, who set a world record to beat Naber. John’s honors were highlighted but not limited to the Olympics.
He entered competitive swimming at age 13, won 25 AAU titles and holds the record of ten individual and 15 NCAA relay titles in his four years of college (1974-77). In milestone achievements, Naber was the first man under two minutes for the 200 meter milestone achievements. Naber was the first man under two minutes for the 200 meter back, the first under 1:50 for 200 yd. back, the first under 50 seconds for the 100 yard back, and the first under 56 seconds for the 100 meter back.
He won the Sullivan Award as the USA’s No. 1 athlete in 1977, was 1976 Southern California Athlete of the year, 1976 World Male Swimmer of the year, and was even named USA Sportsman of the year by the USSR’s Tass News Agency.
As an indication of things to come after competition, as an inspiration to to other swimmers, he was the first American swimmer awarded the Trophy of the International Committee for Fair Play in Paris, France for the year 1977. He pays his debts to swimming every day with his inspirational speaking tours, sportscasting, and as a consultant to MacDonald’s in the sponsorship of age group swimming, and a traveling ambassador for Speedo. He was also a member of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games Organizing Committee. He lived it and tells it like it was and has a message for everyone. John Naber makes us all feel like we could be winners!
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Gertrude Ederle and Her English Channel Crossing
by Ned Denison
15 January 2026
Now that 2026 has arrived, we can embark on a year-long celebration of Gertrude Ederle, who became the first woman to cross the English Channel a century ago.
One hundred years ago, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman and sixth individual to swim the English Channel. Her 1926 time of 14 hours and 39 minutes crushed the previous speed record of 16 hours and 33 minutes. When Ederle returned to New York City, she enjoyed a ticker-tape parade, celebrated by an estimated two million supporters on August 27, 1926. She was a media darling with nicknames of “Queen of the Waves” and “America’s best girl.”
Ederle broke several barriers with her swim. Prior to her achievement, women were generally not accepted in sport and certainly not in endurance sports. She became a media star for many years. Ederle was deaf from childhood measles – and perhaps one of the first famous sporting heroes with a physical disability. On the technical side, she wore a revolutionary two-piece bathing suit and personally designed wrap-around goggles, which were kept watertight with molten candle wax. Finally, she was born in the USA to a German immigrant butcher and her fame, so soon after World War I, served as a healing moment for both the country and the world.
Ederle’s swimming journey, in the New York City area, benefited from several key initiatives in the sport. The Women’s Swimming Association was fairly new and sanctioned events allowed her succeed at an early age. Swimming had progressed from breaststroke to trudgen to the new freestyle. Her success started in 1917 at age 12, with the 880-yard freestyle. She became the youngest world-record holder in swimming, and in the ensuing years, she set eight more world records and held 29 U.S. national and world records from 100 meters to 500 meters.
Photo Courtesy:
Females were allowed to swim in the Olympics starting in 1912 in Stockholm. Ederle qualified for the 1924 Paris Olympics and won three medals: gold and a world record as the leadoff swimmer on the 400-meter freestyle relay; bronze in the 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle races. Johnny Weismuiller was the only swimmers to top her three medals with four – including one in water polo. The United States Olympic team enjoyed its own ticker-tape parade in New York City, two years before Ederle had her own.
Ederle decided to turn professional in 1925 before her Channel swims, a common decision in the era of commercial sporting promotions. An early event was her 22-mile (35 km) swim from Battery Park (New York) to Sandy Hook in 7 hours and 11 minutes. This record time held for 81 years. That year, the Women’s Swimming Association sponsored two women, Ederle and Helen Wainwright, for English Channel attempts. Ederle joined a select group of swimmers and coaches at the Channel who were planning and training. Her coach was Jabez Wolffe (Great Britain) and her support crew was Ishak Helmy (Egypt) – both later inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. Jabez made at least 22 unsuccessful English Channel attempts between 1906 and 1913 and was the leading expert on the “waters” while Ishak, after several unsuccessful attempts, finally crossed in 1928.
Ederle’s first crossing attempt was on August 18, 1925. In the interest of safety, Wolffe was worried about her condition and ordered Helmy to pull her out of the water during the swim. Perhaps the coach was right to end the swim or possibly her hearing was an issue. There was also an accusation that she had been poisoned. In any event, Ederle vehemently disagreed with the decision to pull her out of the Channel.
She returned the next year, in 1926, with different sponsors and coach/crew. This time, she completed the 21-mile (33 km) swim from France to England. Already famous, the media attention exploded.
Her fame led to a starring role in a movie, “Swim Girl, Swim.” She competed, among a field of 53 females, in the 10-mile (16.1 km) 1928 Canadian National Exhibition. It was the biggest race of the era in cold, eel-infested waters. Ederle placed sixth. In the longer 15-mile (24 km) men’s race, not a single swimmer completed the tough course. As a professional, Ederle exhibited her skills in theatres, vaudeville circuits, and aquacades. Her last known event was a cameo appearance at Billy Rose’s Aquacade at the New York World’s Fair in 1939.
Ederle, who never married, taught deaf children during her post-swimming career. Her influence on the sport was recognized through induction into the inaugural classes of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (1963) and International Swimming Hall of Fame (1965). They continue to immortalize her achievements. She passed away in 2004 at the age of 98 and there are several other reminders of her greatness:
The annual Ederle Swim in New York.
The Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center in New York City.
A park and amphitheatre in Highlands, New Jersey, where the Aquacade was held.
A New York City sidewalk marker on Broadway just north of Beaver Street, on the left when traveling south.
Kingsdown, England plaque in the pub, “Rising Sun.”
Two annual English Channel Awards: The Channel Swimming Association World Record Two-Way Swim; and the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation – For the most meritorious swim of the year by a woman.
Gertrude Ederle also was the first female to set an overall speed record in a major marathon. This paved the way for more women to accomplish a similar feat:
Florence Chadwick and Tina Bischoff – English Channel.
Arianna Bridi – Capri to Naples.
Tamara Bruce – Rottnest Channel.
Karen Burton Reeder – Catalina Channel.
Grace “Gracie” van der Byl and Suzanne Heim-Bowen – several speed records.
Marcia Cleveland – Triple Crown.
Penny Lee Dean, EdD – English and Catalina Channels.
Ida Elionsky – Manhattan Island.
Brenda Fisher, BEM – Morecambe Bay
Irene van der Laan – Two-Way English Channel
Michelle Macy – Oceans Seven
Judith de Nijs – Lac St. Jean
Shelley Taylor-Smith – Manhattan Island and Sydney to Wollongong
The sport of marathon swimming has exploded in the past 20 years. Thousands of women who have completed marathon swims will take special notice of 2026, the centennial anniversary of Gertrude Ederle’s record setting English Channel swim.
When ISHOF Honoree Tamas Darnyi Took the 200 IM Under 2:00; Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of a Special Achievement (Race Video)
by John Lohn – Editor-in-Chief
13 January 2026
The rich tradition of Hungarian swimming stretches back more than a century, to the days of early Olympians Alfred Hajos and Zoltan Halmay. Most recently, the men’s banner has been carried by Hubert Kos, the reigning Olympic titlist in the 200-meter backstroke. Plenty of stars have filled the years in between, including Laszlo Cseh, the multi-event talent who was recently elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
The greatest Hungarian of them all, however, is widely considered to be Tamas Darnyi. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Darnyi established himself as the premier individual medley performer in the world. After doubling in the IM events at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Darnyi replicated that feat at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He also earned multiple world titles in the medley disciplines, set several world records and was a European champion in the 200 butterfly.
This week, we celebrate the 35th anniversary of his barrier-breaking performance in the 200-meter individual medley.
On January 13, 1991, while racing at the World Championships in Perth, Darnyi took the 200 medley under the two-minute threshold for the first time. Clocking a time of 1:59.36, Darnyi earned a comfortable triumph over American Eric Namesnik, who secured the silver medal in 2:01.87. More, Darnyi took down the world record of 2:00.11, set by the United States’ David Wharton at the 1989 Pan Pacific Championships.
Barrier-breaking performances hold a special place in the sport. Jim Montgomery will forever be remembered as the first athlete to crack 50 seconds in the 100 freestyle. Natalie Coughlin will always be the first female to go sub-minute in the 100 backstroke. John Naber was the first athlete to touch in 1:59 in the 200 backstroke.
Before Wharton broke the world record, Darnyi set a pair of global standards in the 200 IM. At the 1987 European Championships, Darnyi registered an effort of 2:00.56, and he took the mark lower at the 1988 Olympic Games, where a 2:00.17 outing landed him the gold medal. At the time, it seemed like a 1:59-something performance was right around the corner. Yet, it would be two-plus years until the barrier was broken.
Darnyi sat in second place after the opening butterfly leg, but was in the lead as the swimmers surfaced on backstroke. From there, Darnyi extended his lead, eventually stopping the clock at a point that previously was unattainable. The Hungarian also set a world record in the 400 medley at that edition of the World Champs, going 4:12.36.
The swim stood as the world record for more than three years, until Finland’s Jani Sievinen blasted a 1:58.16 performance on the way to the gold medal at the 1994 World Champs. Sievinen’s world record endured for almost nine years, until Michael Phelps went 1:57.94 at the 2003 Santa Clara Invitational. Within two months, Phelps had gotten down to 1:55.94, and the event was no longer the same.
Darnyi’s sub-2:00 skill in the 200 IM played a major role in his being named Swimming World’s Male World Swimmer of the Year for 1991, and it was a highlight of a career that eventually was recognized with Hall of Fame induction.