Happy Birthday Bob Windle, 1990 Honor Swimmer from Australia
ROBERT WINDLE (AUS) 1990 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 gold (1500m freestyle), bronze (relay); 1968 silver (relay), bronze (relay); WORLD RECORDS: 5 (200m, 220yd freestyle; relays); COMMONWEALTH GAMES: 1962 gold (relay), silver (1500m freestyle), bronze (400m freestyle); 1966 gold (400m freestyle; relays); AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 11 (200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle; relays).
Bob Windle is one of those rare beings that made three Olympic teams. He won Tokyo in 1964, hit Rome on his way up in 1960 and retired for good after a Mexico City comeback in 1968. In addition to the gold for winning the 1500 at Tokyo where he beat, among others, the favored American superstar world record holder Roy Saari, Windle won a bronze in the 4×100 freestyle relay, followed with a bronze and a silver in Mexico, four years later. Oddly enough, Windle won more Olympic medals (2) swimming relay 100’s than in any other distance, yet the 100 was the only freestyle distance he failed to win (by a touch out) in the Australian Championships during his long career. Between Tokyo and Mexico, Windle went to Indiana to swim for Doc Counsilman. He helped his Indiana team win the NCAA Championship by anchoring the victorious 800 yard freestyle relay. Windle returned to his Aussie Coach, Don Talbot however, to assist the Commonwealth Games team in Jamaica set a world record at 440 yards.
He won a total of 4 gold medals, a silver and a bronze in his two Commonwealth Games at Perth and Kingston. Bob Windle retired in 1967 but agreed to swim the shorter distances at Mexico in 1968 when Don Talbot talked him into a comeback. He won 2 medals for Australia in the relays. The versatile Windle is the only Australian to swim Olympic races from the 100 meter to the 1500 meter.
Honor Swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso was born on this day in 1902….Today we celebrate his achievements
Teofilo Yldefonso (PHI) 2010 Honor Pioneer Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1928 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (200m breast-stroke); 1932 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (200m breaststroke); 1936 OLYMPIC GAMES: Competitor (200m breaststroke); 1923, 1927, 1930, 1934 FAR EASTERN GAMES: gold (200m breaststroke); 1929, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1937 PHILIPPINES VS FORMOSA DUAL MEETS: gold (200m breaststroke); ONLY PHILIPPINE ATHLETE TO WIN BACK-TO-BACK OLYMPIC MEDALS AT TWO OLYMPIC GAMES
Born 1902 in Piddig, Philippines, Teofilo learned to swim by teaching himself in the knee-deep Guisit River near his home. Orphaned at an early age, he and his brothers practically raised themselves. He swam every day in the river and would help the women cross the river and carry the clothes to wash.
Around 1920, he enlisted in the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts made up of native Filipinos assigned to the U.S. Army’s Philippine Department under the command of American officers. It was an honor and privilege to be in the Scouts and sports was an important element to instill exercise, loyalty and pride. As a young soldier, Teofilo gained prominence as a competitive swimmer and swam at various meets in the Region. At the Far Eastern Games of 1923, 1927, 1930, and 1934, he was a standout breaststroke swimmer beating Japan’s Hall of Famers Yoshi Tsuruta, Reizo Koike and others. He was invincible at five Philippines vs. Formosa Dual Meets between 1929 and 1937. He competed in the 1928 and 1932 Olympic Games winning the 200m breaststroke bronze medal at both Games. He is the first Philippine athlete to win an Olympic medal but also the only athlete to date to win back-to-back Olympic medals from his country.
Teofilo Yldefonso had transformed the breaststroke style of his time by bringing the stroke more to the surface of the water rather than under the water as was more common at that time. European textbooks called him “The Father of the Modern Breaststroke”. Still with no coach but training in the river as well as at military installation swimming pools, he competed in his third Olympics in 1936 Berlin placing 7th in the final of the 200m breaststroke. He was already a family man with four children.
When World War II broke out and Bataan fell to the Japanese in 1942, he was among thousands of Filipino and American soldiers who experienced the infamous Death March to Capas where, at age 39, he died at the Concentration Camp in the arms of his younger brother, Teodoro, a medical corps worker. Interestingly, Yldefonso rose to the rank of lieutenant as did his swimming rival and friend of many years, Yoshi Tsuruta, then an officer in the Japanese army. Upon hearing that Lt. Yldefonso was among the prisoners, Lt. Tsuruta called for his release, but unfortunately too late. It is believed that Yldefonso received word of the release but refused to leave his men.
His legacy as a championship swimmer and war hero will live on forever. A monument of Swimmer/Lieutenant Yldefonso was unveiled in 2006 in the Piddig Municipal Plaza of his hometown.
On this day in 1879, Austrian born, Otto Wahle was born…..
OTTO WAHLE (AUT-USA) 1996 Pioneer Swimmer/Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: 1900 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (200m obstacle course); 1904 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (400m freestyle); 1912 OLYMPIC GAMES: Head Coach; AAU Committeeman; International Record Compiler.
He was born in Vienna, Austria only five years after Matthew Webb made his famous first crossing of the English Channel in 1875. He was a very bright youngster and learned to speak the English language just as well as his native German tongue. He became an accomplished swimmer, and at the age of 20, represented his country in the second Olympiad of 1900 in Paris, competing in the 200m Obstacle Event where competitors had to climb over a pole, clamber over a row of boats and swim under a row of boats. This was the only time this event was contested in the Olympics and Otto won the silver medal behind Australia’s Hall of Famer Freddy Lane, the fastest freestyler in the world at that time. Perhaps it was conversing with the Americans competing at these Olympic Games, that inspired
Otto to sail across the ocean to America. After raising funds in London, he arrived in New York City in 1901. He was immediately taken in by the New York Athletic Club where he built friendships with the great swimmers of the time – Leo Goodwin, Charles Daniels, Joe Ruddy and L. de B. Handley. Returning to New York, Otto put his emphasis on working with the swimmers. As a competitor in the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the 400m breaststroke., an event which was discontinued after the 1920 Olympiad. He and C.M. Daniels were the only two individual medal winners for the New York Athletic Club, even though he swam under the colors of the Austrian flag. Being a little older than the other swimmers, New York Athletic Club coach, Gus Sundstrom, groomed Otto to help with the coaching duties.
His job as an accountant allowed him the freedom to be involved with the New York Athletic Club swimming program. In 1912 he was selected to take the United States team to Stockholm, Sweden for the sixth Olympiad. During this time, Otto refined the stroke and turns of the great Duke Kahanamoku preparing him to win the first of his four Olympic gold medals. He inspired Hall of Famer L. de B. Handley to continue in swimming; Handley becoming the great coach of New York’s Women’s Swimming Association. His work with Charles Daniels contributed to Daniels recognition as the first great American swimmer. Even a young West Point grad by the name of Lt. Patten was taught by Wahle to develop his swimming in order to complete in the Modern Pentathlon. The Lieutenant later became the great Army General George Patten of World War II fame.
For more than a fifteen year period, Otto Wahle compiled and maintained the records and times of countries from Europe, Australia and the Americas for the Spaulding Record Books, the official recordkeeping source of the era. As an AAU committeeman, he helped to formulate and to interpret the rules of swimming as they developed over the years.
He is also known for his keen interest and appreciation for classical music and, over the years, built an extensive collection of 78 RPM records. He never lost his love for swimming and even up to the time of his death in 1964, he could be seen far off Jones Beach swimming back and forth, his head bobbing up and down in the surf.
As a swimmer, he won many medals and honors. As a coach and administrator, he helped provide the means to succeed. As a pioneer in the sport, he was instrumental in establishing the origins of our sport in this century.
Passages: Author, Statistician And Swimming Coach Kelvin Juba Dies As LEN Pay Tribute
by LIZ BYRNES – EUROPE CORREPONDENT
03 November 2020, 07:46am
Swimming author and statistician Kelvin Juba has died, European governing body LEN has announced.
Juba was a driving force in developing the ‘learn to swim, prevent drowning’ programme that was launched at the end of 2017.
As a member of the steering group that undertook extensive research across Europe in order to establish standards for teaching and learning swimming, Juba said: “We hope to do something good for not only saving lives but to get people swimming properly.”
He had followed in his father’s footsteps as a swimming coach and went on to work across several sports before returning to the swimming world.
Juba wrote several books including collaborations with David Wilkie, the 1976 Olympic 200m breaststroke champion.
A statement from LEN read:
“The LEN Family has learnt with immense sadness that our long-time contributor and friend Kelvin Juba passed away.
“Kelvin was the heart and soul of LEN’s statistical database and producer of several editions of the Book of Champions, a genuine compilation of the historical results of the European Aquatic Championships, the European Water Polo Championships and the LEN Champions League.
“He and his company was a constant contributor for LEN’s other publications in the past decades and recently he played a major role in creating and implementing LEN’s new pan-European initiative, the Learn-to-Swim, Prevent Drowning programme. His tireless efforts helped LEN to successfully present this programme to the European Union and to gain unanimous support from its decision-makers.
“Kelvin got close to aquatics early since his father was a great swimming coach and he himself also became one. He was involved in sport marketing and communications quite early, even during the 70s and 80s, doing some ground-breaking jobs in several sports. Later he returned to the world of swimming, published highly-rated books like Swimming for Fitness (w/ David Wilkie) and joined the circles of LEN.
“His knowledge, experience and gentleness will be missed badly in the future. In these grieving moments, our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Honor Swimmer Frank McKinney, Jr. was born on this day in 1938
FRANK MCKINNEY (USA) 1975 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1956 bronze (100m backstroke); 1960 gold (400m medley relay), silver 100m backstroke); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1955, 1959 gold (100m backstroke; medley relay); NATIONAL AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 14; BIG-TEN Gold medals: 9; NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP Titles: 2.
The American swimmer who did the most to introduce modern backstroke techniques is Frank McKinney. Following Yoshi Oyakawa as premier U.S. backstroker, McKinney was the pioneer of the modern bent-arm backstrokers, even as Oyakawa had been the last of the straight-arm school. McKinney was the leader of a remarkable group of teenagers who won the U.S. Nationals for the Indianapolis Athletic Club while the boys were still in high school. If they had been a musical group, national champions McKinney, Mike Troy, Bill Barton, Bill Cass and Allan Sommers would have been known as “The Jim Clark 5”. Later when they all swam under another great coach, Doc Counsilman, McKinney was the captain of Indiana University’s first Big Ten Champions. Films shot by Counsilman of McKinney’s bent-arm had a profound influence on modern bent-arm backstroke.
Frank McKinney at 16, won the Pan American Games 100m backstroke in 1955 at Mexico City and was the youngest member of the American World Record Medley Relay Team. He repeated these two Pan American gold medals in Chicago in 1959 and both years he was elected to go to Japan for the Japanese-American dual meet.
McKinney won 14 National AAU Championships, 9 Big-Ten gold medals and 2 NCAA titles. Twice in 1956 he held the 200m backstroke world record and twice in 1960 he held down his 1/4 of the 400m medley relay world record. In the big ones, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and the 1960 Rome Olympics, Frank McKinney raced to the hat trick winning all 3 Olympic medals, bronze (1956 – 100m backstroke), silver (1960 – 100m backstroke) and gold (1960 – 400m medley relay).
Frank McKinney a member of the Helms Hall of Fame, was voted 1956 Outstanding U.S Male Athlete in Aquatics by both the Los Angeles Times and the Columbus Touchdown Club. Hanging up his suit in 1960, McKinney, began his transition from national and Olympic gold medals to the coin of the realm. After two years as an officer in U.S. Army Intelligence, he became a banker and quickly advanced from Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank of Chicago in 1966 to Vice President, then President and Chairman of the Board of the American Fletcher National Bank in Indianapolis. Jim Counsilman and the late Jim Clark were proud of Frank McKinney, not only for his Hall of Fame swimming achievement but for all he has done since.
On this day in 1914, Honor Contributor, R. Jackson Smith was born…
R. JACKSON SMITH (USA) 1983 Honor Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: USA representative to FINA, International Diving Committee, 1952-1972 and 1976-1984, Committee Chairman 1968-1972; Chairman Men’s National AAU diving committee 1948-1963; member U.S. Olympic Diving Committee 1960-1984; Founder and meet director ISHOF/USA International Diving Meet, Fort lauderdale, 1970-1980; Referee or judge of diving at Rome, Tokyo, Mexico, Munich Olympics and at 1978 and 1982 FINA World Aquatic Games; As diver, 3rd in AAU Nationals 1943; Consulting architect on ISHOF, Montreal Olympic diving pools, Columbia, Ohio State, Florida university pools, U.S. Naval Academy and Dartmouth pools.
R. Jackson Smith, known as either Jack or Jackson to his contemporaries, and “R.J.” to the younger generation, is literally the architectural prototype of everything a Hall of Fame diving Contributor should be.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, he grew up as a diver under the ultimate diving coach, Mike Peppe. He went to Dartmouth, and was captain of the 1936 swimming team. In WWII, he served on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, where duty would have made it impractical for him to try out for the war-cancelled ’44 Olympics.
As a Yale architectural graduate, he specialized in the planning school, college and sports facilities. Jackson served on U.S.A. and International Diving Committees doing everything from re-writing rules to modernizing facilities and simplifying judging and entry forms His roles at Olympic, World and International Games ranged from referee to judge, announcer, meet organizer and director. He designed the logo for U.S. Diving and U.S. National Championship diving medal, ironically one of the few awards he has not won.
R. Jackson Smith has been USA’s leading diplomat in all matters pertaining to International Diving, and is the first and only diver to receive the prestigious U.S. Aquatics (AAU) Award. He is also the recipient of the Mike Malone Diving Award and CNCA Award for outstanding contributions to aquatics.
Passages: Australia’s Don Talbot, a Giant in Coaching, Dies at 87
by JOHN LOHN – ASSOCIATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
03 November 2020, 07:39am
Passages: Australia’s Don Talbot, a Giant in Coaching, Dies at 87
The swimming world has lost a legend from its coaching ranks, as Australia’s Don Talbot died on Tuesday at the age of 87. Talbot, a 1979 inductee into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, is regarded as one of the greatest coaching minds in history, having guided his homeland to significant success while also molding some of the top names in the sport. Talbot was known as a taskmaster, but his success also warranted tremendous respect and appreciation for his coaching skills.
Talbot made his name known through the work he did with John and Ilsa Konrads, freestyle aces for Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. With Talbot guiding their careers, the Konrads siblings each set world records in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle, with John adding a global standard in the 200 freestyle and three medals at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. At the same time, he was developing Kevin Berry, who made his first Olympic squad as a 14-year-old in 1960 and would win gold in the 200 butterfly in 1964.
In 1989, Talbot was put in charge of the Australian National Team, and while his firm ways initially triggered a revolt among some athletes, Talbot withstood the storm and remained in his role for 12 years. At the time he took charge, Australia was coming off a poor showing at the 1988 Olympic Games, but Talbot turned the tide for the Aussies, who excelled on home soil at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, where Australia bettered the United States in the gold-medal count.
Don Talbot in 1996. Photo Courtesy: Darrin Braybrook, Sport the Library / Swimming World Archive
Talbot always believed Australia should rank among the premier nations in the world, and there was no excuse for anything less.
“We want to build the component of team support that the Americans have, which others criticize but secretly envy,” he said. “We’re an island nation of 18 million, 95 percent (who live) within 10 minutes of the sea. We should have the best swimmers.”
Thanks to the success he had with the Konrads and Berry, Talbot was named the head coach of the Australian men’s team at the 1964 Games and held that role at the next two Olympiads. During that stretch, Talbot led Ian O’Brien, Bob Windle, Beverley Whitfield and Gail Neall to Olympic gold medals. However, a lack of support from Australian Swimming led to Talbot taking more lucrative jobs elsewhere.
He first left his homeland for Canada, where he served a stint as that country’s National Team coach and followed by taking the head job at the Nashville Aquatic Club in the United States, where he coached future hall of famer Tracy Caulkins.
A role at the Australian Institute for Sport brought him home in 1980, but Talbot left again for Canada a few years later. During his second stop as Canada’s National Team Coach, he prepared the nation to produce some of its best Olympic performances in 1984 and 1988, although he was let go from his position just before the 1988 Games. Between 1984 and 1988, Canada collected 12 medals, including four gold.
Photo Courtesy: Darrin Braybrook Sport the Library / Swimming World Archive
Based on his track record and Australia’s need to escape its struggles, Talbot was given the chance to lead the Land of Oz back to elite status. Initially, his hard-nosed and demanding tactics were a rude awakening to members of the National Team. Even political figures got involved in the rift between Talbot and the Aussie athletes, and Talbot was referred to by one media outlet as a tyrant in the form of Ming the Merciless, a character from the science fiction television show, Flash Gordon.
Eventually, Talbot’s grip took hold and the clamor for his removal died down. Why? The answer is simple: Australia started to produce results reminiscent of its glory days, when the likes of Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose stood atop the sport. By the 1992 Olympics, Australia was up to nine medals, with that number moving to 12 at the 1996 Games. More, stars were starting to surface, such as Kieren Perkins, Susie O’Neill and Petria Thomas.
At the 2000 Olympics, Australia was up to 18 medals, second to the United States, and Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett had become superstars. At the 2001 World Championships, Talbot realized his greatest achievement when Australia won the most gold medals with 13, ahead of the United States’ nine. Instead of remaining at the helm, Talbot resigned in 2001.
Three years later, Swimming Canada came calling and Talbot once again led the national team after a disappointing showing at the 2004 Games. Although that position didn’t last long, as a year later he joined British Swimming as a consultant and would work with a select group of coaches to ensure their skills and experience exceeded those of their rivals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008
During his career, Talbot was an outspoken critic of performance-enhancing drug use and was among the most vocal opponents of the sudden rise of China in the 1990s.
Happy Birthday to the great Cesare Rubini !
Cesare Rubini (ITA) 2000 Honor Water Polo
FOR THE RECORD: 1948 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 1952 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze; 1956 OLYMPIC GAMES: 4th; 1947 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 1954 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze; 6 ITALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: player and coach; National Team Member: 84 matches; 1994 Elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Cesare Rubini holds the distinct and unparalleled honor of being inducted into two international Halls of Fame in two sports that could not be farther apart except for one common thread – the size of your hands. Water polo and basketball – two sports where the ability to palm and control the ball is an advantage to winning games. Whether in or out of the water, he was a winner of games and hearts. His involvement and influence went far beyond the depth of the water or the length of the court.
In the basketball arena, he made Italy an international contender. As both a player and a coach from 1941 to 1978, he won 15 Italian National Basketball Championships compiling a 322-28 record with the Simmenthal Club of Milan and is credited with developing basketball in Italy. As an administrator, he has served as a member of the Central Board of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and serves as president of the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) since 1979. In 1994, he was elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts to join Bill Bradley, a player he once coached, and fellow coach John Wooden of UCLA fame.
But especially during his youth, water polo was his first love. Born in 1923, Rubini aspired to emulate fellow countryman and one of the greatest players in his era, Hall of Famer Mario Majoni. By the time he was 24 years old, Rubini won the coveted gold medals at the 1947 European Championships and the next year’s 1948 London Olympic Games with Majoni as team captain. The gold medal was Italy’s first medal in Olympic Water Polo history and was the beginning of this country’s great position in international water polo. Majoni graduated to National Team Coach and Rubini to National Team Captain where he played 84 games for the national team. As captain, his team won the 1952 Olympic Games bronze medal behind the great Hungarian and Yugoslavian teams and repeated the bronze medal behind the same two teams at the 1954 European Championships. During his career, he won six Italian National Championships as a player and coach for Olona of Milan, Rari Nantes of Naples and Camogli of Genoa. He played 84 matches with the National Team, 42 of them as captain.
He knew the importance of both teaching water polo to the kids and stressing fair values and sportsmanship to the adults. He served as the inspiration for fellow countrymen and Hall of Famers Eraldo Pizzo and Gianni de Magistris and continued his career promoting the sports he loves so much.
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What could be more appropriate than the Father of ISHOF, Buck Dawson, being born of Halloween?
WILLIAM “BUCK” DAWSON (USA) 1986 Honor Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: Founding Executive Director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1964); Known as the “Walking Encyclopedia of the Sport”.
He claimed his family never allowed him to swim in public! (Only at night when no one could see!) But Buck Dawson did more for swimming than any non-swimmer in the world.
William Forrest Dawson — “Buck” is a historian, fundraiser, author, promoter, and of course, prankster.
Buck first got involved with swimming after his marriage to RoseMary Mann — daughter of the late Matt Mann. From then on, it went something like this: organizing the Ann Arbor Swim Club, co-directing Matt Mann swim camps in Canada each year (Camp Ak-O-Mak and Camp Chikopi), chairing Michigan women’s swim AAU for eight years, and serving three terms on the United States Olympic Swim Committee. He shared responsibility in starting the women’s national collegiates and reviving national women’s water polo.
Dawson liked to think of himself as a coach and kept his hand in training marathon swimmers and national long distance individual and team winners in US swimming. Besides his special gift with children, he has also made magic at the International Swimming Hall of Fame for the first twenty years of it’s existence. Dawson was chosen the Hall’s first executive director in 1963. He has made the Hall grow from an idea to a shoebox collection, and ultimately a million dollar operation as the showcase and archives of swimming.
One of his many great successes at the Hall of Fame was his introduction of Swim-A-Thon to the United States, which increased the endowment of ISHOF and raised funds for individual swim clubs and teams. This tireless, smiling, globetrotting ambassador of swimming can also be credited for the thousands of athletes, fans and press alike who have flocked to Fort Lauderdale for sun, fun and swimming.
It was Buck who gave the American Swimming Coaches Association some roots back in 1971 when he and the Hall of Fame staff assumed administrative duties for ASCA. Dawson was a powerhouse not only in ASCA but also in the organization of another association – the National Swim and Recreation Association.
He was also the founder and first president of the Association of Sports Museums and Halls of Fame — a group of some 80 Hall of Fame directors. Throughout the years, it was Buck who traveled from meet to meet armed with Hall of Fame brochures, books and bumper stickers always spreading the word, always willing to talk and teach swimming to anyone who would listen.
A day didn’t go by without “Good Morning, America,” “USA Today,” “NBC Nightly News” or one of the nation’s top swim coaches calling to speak to Buck. He is respected in this field not only for his knowledge but his zest for life. . . his search for new facts, memorabilia. . . new ways to teach those children to swim and keep the sport alive and growing. Dawson was the link between our age group swimmers and our swimming legends. He was the common denominator that ties the past to the present.
Dawson’s specialties? Swimming, diving, synchro, water polo, water safety, open water swimming, bathing suits, bathing beauties. . .
Dawson used to eat, live and breathe swimming. He wrote numerous books and has been the recipient of many prestigious awards. Buck WAS the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Who else would have his dog become an ISHOF mascot, and name him Mark the Spitz? Or snicker at the thought of a dog paddle derby?
Dawson was hype, show business — an idea and PR man. Throughout his life, he had always gotten his kicks out of promoting something or somebody else he believed in: during the war it was General Gavin and General Ridgeway- the 82nd Airborne; later his alma mater, the University of Michigan; his family, swim camps and ultimately ISHOF, swimming and swimmers….And let’s not forget Marlene Dietrich.
When asked, what did this walking encyclopedia say about himself? “I wouldn’t say I’m a workaholic, but I think swimming has been my hobby. . . I have been sort of a little bit of everything. I feel this (the Swimming Hall of Fame) has been the culmination of my life.”
Buck “retired” in 1986, and for the next 20 years, he served as executive director emeritus at ISHOF. As you can imagine, Buck still came into the office everyday and still put in the 18 hour days. He continued to make the endless journeys and speeches around the world that made him one of swimming’s most active and knowledgeable spokesmen in the world of swimming.
We lost Buck in 2008, but we hope to always keep his memory alive within the walls of ISHOF and beyond. Without Buck, there would never be an International Swimming Hall of Fame…..and so many memories that span his exciting eighty years.
Four Years Ago Tonight: ISHOF hosts 2016 Induction in California
Four years ago tonight, ISHOF hosted the 2016 ISHOF Induction ceremony at the Santa Clara Convention Center. It was a stellar class and we had a turn out of almost 500 people.
Elena Azarova
Honor Synchronized Swimmer (RUS)
Tibor Benedek
Honor Water Polo Player (HUN)
Péter Biros
Honor Water Polo Player (HUN)
Simeon Boychenko
Honor Pioneer Swimmer (RUS)
Horst Gorlitz
Honor Pioneer Coach (GDR/ITA/FRG)
Frank Gorman
Honor Pioneer Diver (USA)
Guo Jingjing
Honor Diver (CHN)
Sir Peter Heatly
Honor Contributor (GBR)
Hungarian Water Polo Team 2000-2008
Honor Water Polo Team, HUN
Larisa Ilchenko
Honor Swimmer (RUS)
Hilda James
Honor Pioneer Swimmer (GBR)
Tamas Kásás
Honor Water Polo Player (HUN)
Gergely Kiss
Honor Water Polo Player (HUN)
Leonid Meshkov
Honor Pioneer Swimmer (RUS)
Tamás Molnár
Honor Water Polo Player (HUN)
Camille Muffat
Honor Swimmer (FRA)
Aaron Peirsol
Honor Swimmer (USA)
Desmond Renford
Honor Open Water Swimmer (AUS)
Dmitry Sautin
Honor Diver (RUS)
Zoltán Szécsi
Honor Water Polo Player (HUN)
Dara Torres
Honor Swimmer (USA)
Monique Wildschut
Honor Open Water Swimmer (NED)
