See Michael Phelps Depicted in Arizona Corn Maze With Gold Medals
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
05 October 2020, 10:47am
The Schnepf Farms in Arizona are known for their corn maze. This year, it has a different look: Michael Phelps.
The maze has been designed to look like Phelps with his gold medals around his neck, and above it, from the air, it says “Nothing is Impossible.”
The maze is 10 acres and known for being so large people have a difficult time, finding their way through, according to the Casa Grande Dispatch. Of course, like the maze says, “Nothing is Impossible.”
The pathways total three miles, and now, unlike a typical maze that is mostly right angles, the Michael Phelps theme adds even more twists and turns.
“When my kids were younger, I’d often send them in to rescue people who were lost inside,” Carrie Schnepf, who along with her husband Mark runs the 80-year-old farm, told the Dispatch.
The family decides the theme early in the spring before the field is planted. This year, they decided on Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, who has trained in Arizona with coach Bob Bowman.
Phelps has claimed 23 Olympic gold medals, 28 medals overall and inspired many out of the pool through his outspoken battles with mental health.
According to the report, Schnepf Farms corn mazes in the past have depicted various celebrities ranging from Ellen DeGeneres as part of an anti-bullying message, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Muhammad Ali, former Phoenix Suns MVP Steve Nash and Larry King.
This year’s smaller maze will be the American flag.
The farm’s annual Pumpkin and Chili Festival is a big attraction in October and November, but because of COVID-19 protocols will be a little different.
Let’s hear it for longtime ISHOF supporter Dr. Jane Katz !!!
by ANDY ROSS
05 October 2020, 07:48am
Dr. Jane Katz, the 1999 Paragon Award winner in recreational swimming, has joined the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One in a Thousand” campaign, which is aimed at supporting the hall of fame during the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I was in fourth grade, me and my three siblings would get into a car and we would drive to Fort Lauderdale during Christmas, and this went on for decades. It was great because it was the only place we were able to do that as a family and have warm weather. It was lots of fun and you would see the same people and we had lots of swim meets there too. It was so great to swim outdoors and it was so special,” Jane Katz said.
“It was so great to see all the stores and see the pictures of people playing beach volleyball or swimming in the water. It’s great to be some place else from where you grew up and meet people through swimming, and swimming is fantastic. We would look forward to coming to Fort Lauderdale every year and we would have a good time. I miss being there now. I used to go to the swimming hall of fame all the time because it was so fantastic!”
Join the One in a Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or one-time basis.
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For larger corporate sponsorships and estate-planning donations, please contact us at customerservice@ishof.org.
Dr. Jane Katz has been on the aquatic stage for most of her life. She has taught thousands of students about the benefits of water fitness at the City University of New York since 1964. She is a professor at John Jay College in the Department of Physical Education and Athletics, teaching fitness and swimming to New York City’s police and firefighters.
Jane Katz and her dad, Leon
Dr. Katz has been recognized for her work as an educator, aquatics innovator and author. Among the many prestigious honors for her work is the Townsend Harris Academic Medal from her Alma Mater, CCNY, an award bestowed to fellow alumnus, former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Katz earned her Bachelor’s degree in physical education at the City College of New York, a Master’s in Education Administration from New York University and both a Master’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation for Aging and her Doctor of Education degree in Gerontology from Columbia University.
Dr. Jane Katz was awarded the FINA Certificate of Merit for her “dedication and contribution to the development” of the sport of swimming, awarded in Sydney, Australia, during the Olympic Games in 2000.
In 2007, Katz helped create the KARE (Kids Aquatic Re-Entry), in cooperation with the Department of Juvenile Justice to help troubled youth learn life’s lessons poolside. Jane has been helping kids from troubled backgrounds since the mid 1980’s learn how to swim, and in the process, learn to trust someone new and have a little fun as well. Katz volunteers her time and usually pays the lifeguards out of her own pocket. The kids usually come from a group home or a correctional facility and time in the pool is a real freedom for them. They may be reluctant at first, but by the time Jane gets done with them, they have experienced a little piece of heaven.
Jane’s life was shaped by swimming in the city’s public pool’s, she has said and she wound up dedicating her life to teaching swimming, for which she has been honored many, many times.
In 2014, she was awarded from the Presidents’ Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in aquatics.
In 2015, Dr. Jane Katz launched W.E.T. 4 VETS, a service for rehabilitating the mind, body and spirit of military veterans re-entering civilian life using holistic exercise techniques.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to know if you are one in a thousand? We think you are! Show how special you are and become a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club. Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of support to show how special you are and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to water sports. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
Honorees and Olympians Launch The “One In a Thousand” Challenge
by ANDY ROSS
01 October 2020
Honorees and Olympians launch the “One In a Thousand” Challenge for the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). Many ISHOF Honorees such as Mark Spitz, Janet Evans, Dara Torres, Vladimir Salnikov, Jason Lezak and Rowdy Gaines, water polo player Brenda Villa, diver Greg Louganis, synchro swimmer Elvira Khasyanova and potential future hall of fame swimmer Anthony Ervin are supporting ISHOF’s “One In A Thousand” campaign. We urge you to do the same. Listen to these all-time great athletes in the video below. You too can be “One In A Thousand” by making a donation to the International Swimming Hall of Fame for as little as $10.
How Can You Take the One In a Thousand Challenge?
Support ISHOF with a monthly commitment or one-time donation.
Post a video of you stating, “I’m One In a Thousand” on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Tag or mention the International Swimming Hall of Fame in your post and #ISHOFOneInAThousand and we will share it to thousands!
Our goal is to get one thousand supporters. Be “One In A Thousand”!!
Join these legends in aquatic sports and many other supporters in the One In a Thousand Club. Your support helps ISHOF fulfill its vision for the future of building a new museum and expanding its reach by offering its collection of aquatics artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
For larger corporate sponsorships and estate-planning donations, please contact us at customerservice@ishof.org.
Happy Birthday Kristen Babb Sprague
KRISTEN BABB-SPRAGUE (USA) 1999 Honor Synchronized Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (solo); 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (team): 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team), silver (solo): 1991 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (solo, team); 1987 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (team); II FINA WORLD CUP: silver (team); III FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team); V FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team), silver (solo); U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4 (solo), 1 (duet), 8 (team); 1982 Japan International Age Group: gold (solo, 13-14 category).
Kristen Babb-Sprague is the original “Comeback Kid”. Following a career threatening back injury in 1989, she returned from a year-long layoff from the sport to win three consecutive national solo titles and two national team titles. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics she came from behind to win the gold medal in the solo event after having placed second to Canada’s Sylvie Frechette at almost every meet since her 1989 injury. She was the first athlete ever to earn perfect scores in artistic impression at the Olympics for her modern innovative routines. Kristen was featured in print advertising campaigns by Speedo and Max Factor in such magazines as Rolling Stone, New Women and McCalls.
It all started at age three when her older sister Lisa and mom were part of the Walnut Creek Aquanuts (CA) Team. She performed in water shows and by age six joined the team. She became a product of U.S. synchro’s development program rising through the ranks of age group and Junior Olympic programs first under club founder Sue Ahlet and then Gail Emery, who guided her to the Olympic gold.
On the way to the Olympics, Kristen became the only athlete in USSS history to have competed for eight team national championship squads. She was four time solo national champion, eight time team champion and 1 time duet champion. She won two golds and two silvers in FINA World Cup competition and was the first USSS athlete to qualify for four World Cup squads. She competed in 14 World Regional Championships or Invitationals winning 16 gold and seven silver medals.
At the 1992 Olympic Games, Kristen Babb, which the year before had married 1988 Olympic baseball player and Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ed Sprague, had deviated from the traditional, operatic approach to the sport. She introduced a more up-beat style of performance, popularizing the sport worldwide. The “western” performance at the Olympics included the music of Leonard Bernstein’s “Rodeo”, John Williams’ “Cowboy” and a moving interlude from “Amazing Grace”. The overwhelming response to her new routine style earned Babb-Sprague perfect 10’s in artistic impression and three 10’s for technical merit. She performed 33 – 360 degree vertical spins including her patented drag spin. When the scores were added together, Kristen had a combined figures and routine score of 191.848 to Sylvie Frechettes’ 191.717.
Kristen has been a national spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. She is a 1992 AAU Sullivan Award finalist and USSS Athlete of the Year, a 1997 USSS Hall of Fame Inductee and three-time “Womens Sports and Fitness” Magazine Up-and-Coming Athlete of the Year.
Happy Birthday Lenny Krayzelburg !!!
Lenny Krayzelburg (USA) 2011 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m medley, preliminaries); 4 WORLD RECORDS: 1 (50m backstroke), 1 (100m backstroke), 1 (200m backstroke), 1 (4x100m medley); 3 WORLD RECORDS (25m):1 (100m backstroke, 2 (200m backstroke); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke), silver (4x100m medley); 2000 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (25m): gold (4x100m medley), silver (50m backstroke); 1997 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley); 1999 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley).
Leonid “Lenny” Krayzelburg was born in Odessa, the Soviet Union. After spending his boyhood years in what is now the Ukraine, his family immigrated to the United States to escape Soviet Jewish anti Semitism and the call of the Soviet army, settling in a Soviet Jewish enclave in Los Angeles. This soft spoken Russian, a product of the Soviet sports system, wanted to continue his swimming in America, training first at the Jewish Community Center and eventually at the University of Southern California and Trojan Swim Club with coaches Bruce Becker at the Westside JCC, Stu Blumkin at Santa Monica College and Mark Schubert at USC.
His first big international meet was the 1997 Fukuoka Pan Pacific Games, where he won three backstroke gold medals. Now at 6 feet 2 inches, 190 pounds, he was destined to become the world’s best backstroke swimmer. At the 1998 Perth World Championship, he won gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke. At the 1999 Sydney Pan Pacific Games he won all gold medals again. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Lenny became the first Olympic swimmer, since Rick Carey in 1984, to win both the 100 meter and 200 meter backstroke events at the same Olympics. He also led off the 4x100m medley relay gold-medal swim setting the 100m backstroke world record in the process.
Repeated surgeries to his left shoulder did not prevent him from being elected captain of the 2004 US Olympic Team and winning a fourth Olympic gold medal on the 4×100 medley relay team swimming in the prelims.
All totaled, Lenny set five world records, one each in the 50 meter, 100 meter and 200 meter backstroke and two short course records. He was the USA Swimmer of the Year in 1999 and 2000. Lenny’s story is the ultimate success story: the immigrant who came to a new land, worked hard, overcame obstacles and found exactly what he hoped to find, the American Dream. He has opened the LK Swim Academy to teach children to swim and his Foundation helps underprivileged kids to learn to swim.
Happy Birthday Maria Kisseleva !!!
Maria Kiseleva (RUS) 2010 Honor Synchronized Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (duet, team); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (team); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (duet, team), 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team); SIX EURO-PEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold 1993, 2000, 2004 (team), 1995, 1997, 1999 (duet, team); 1995 FINA WORLD CUP: bronze (duet, team), 1997, 1999 WORLD CUP: gold (duet, team); 1996 EUROPEAN CUP: silver (team), 1998 EUROPEAN CUP: gold (duet, team), 2003 EUROPEAN CUP: gold (team), silver (duet); 1998 GOODWILL GAMES: gold (duet, team); MUL-TIPLE RUSSIAN NATIONAL CHAMPION
Maria Kiseleva At her first Olympic Games in 1996, she and her teammates finishedin fourth place in the Team event, the only synchronized swimming event in Atlanta. Soon after Atlanta she joined with Hall of Famer Olga Brusnikina and the pair dominated Duet com-petitions for the next eight years. From Atlanta to Athens, Maria lost only one competition in Duet and Team and won the 1998 World Championships and World Cup.
At the 2000 Sydney Games, Maria and Olga won Russia’s first Olympic gold in synchronized swimming while scoring nine 10’s out of a possible ten judges in the final round. They used a karate routine performed to the beat of Japanese drums to defeat a team from Japan. After Sydney, Maria took a two-year break from training and competition, but in 2003 she made a comeback, and again with Olga, won the World Championship Team competition and her third Olympic gold medal in the team event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Maria Kiseleva Since 2004 Maria has organized the annual Moscow International Synchronized Swimming Show.
Happy Birthday Debbie Watson !!!
Debbie Watson (AUS) 2008 Honor Water Polo Player
For The Record: 2000 Olympic Games: gold; 1986 World Championships: gold; 1983 World Cup: bronze; 1984 World Cup: gold; 1991 World Cup: silver; 1995 World Cup: gold;
Australia has produced one of the greatest female water polo players to ever play the game. If not for injuries incurred while playing her beloved netball, the world may have never known what a talent she was in the pool!
In 1983, after doctors advised her to give up land sports, she joined her school’s water polo team. She immediately fell in love with the game and within a year, Debbie Watson was selected to represent Australia at the World Cup in Canada. For the next 11 years, eight as captain, she was a member of the New South Wales State Team that won 13 National Championships.
After winning virtually every international competition available to women, including World Championships and World Cups, she retired in 1995. But when the IOC added women’s water polo to the Olympic program in 2000, Debbie jumped back into the pool. The Olympic Games was the only competition in which Debbie never had the chance to compete. She not only gained her spot back on the national team, she was instrumental in helping Australia win the first ever women’s water polo gold medal in front of a hometown Sydney crowd. Debbie’s career spanned 17 years, all at the elite level.
She is history’s only women’s water polo player to win Olympic, World Championship and World Cup gold medals. She has 315 competitions and was named the International Women’s Player of the Year in 1993.
Today, Debbie is an accomplished motivational speaker, water polo coach and grammar school teacher of health and physical education.
Happy Birthday to ISHOF Honor Swimmer Dick Roth!
DICK ROTH (USA) 1987 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 gold (400m individual medley); WORLD RECORDS: 2 (400m individual medley); AAU NATIONALS: 11 (200m, 400m individual medley; 1 relay); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3 (200yd, 400yd individual medley; 1 relay); AMERICAN RECORDS: 12 (200yd, 400yd, 200m, 400m individual medley; 5 relays).
The 1964 Tokyo Olympics final in the 400 meter individual medley looked like an Army sick call with almost as many doctors as coaches hovering around the swimmers. Dick Roth, the world record holder, certainly had a good excuse for not swimming. On the night before the race, Dick had his appendix in ice packs and was told he must have an emergency operation. “No!” said Roth. “I’m not missing the Olympic final no matter what happens.” Former world record holder Gerhard Hetz of Germany had pneumonia, and Roy Saari (USA) had a very heavy cold that was causing him to have a sub par Olympics. They all swam. “I forgot my hot appendix during the race,” said Roth. He won the 400 IM setting a new Olympic and world record with Saari second and Hetz third. The five healthy finalists finishing behind.
Dick Roth’s world record lasted four years. He set seven American records between 1963 and 1967 during a period when the 200 meter individual medley was not recognized as a world record. This Santa Clara and Stanford swimmer won 12 nationals in his all stroke specialty as well as making the finals in backstroke and swimming on seven national relay winners for coaches George Haines and Jim Gaughran. His size 13 feet were too big for Japanese shoes and lots of swimmers could beat him at one of the individual strokes, but put the four in the pool together and versatile Dick Roth was King Richard of the I.M. for five years.
Dick Roth at ISHOF Grand Opening with
Esther Williams and Doc Counsilman
Happy Birthday GARY HALL JR. !!!!
Gary Hall, Jr. (USA) 2013 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: FOR THE RECORD: 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley), silver (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle, 4x100m medley), silver (4x100m freestyle), bronze (100m freestyle); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle), bronze (4x100m freestyle); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley), silver (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle), silver (4x100m medley); 1995 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle); 2003 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: bronze (50m freestyle); 1995 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 1999 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (50m freestyle); FIVE U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1-50y freestyle, 1-100y freestyle, 2-50m freestyle, 100m freestyle.
As a two year old, his dad carried him on to the pool deck of the Montreal Olympic swim stadium. Five years later, he was in Fort Lauderdale to see his dad’s induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Gary Hall, Jr. learned to swim at age three, but didn’t start competitively until he was 16. He grew to be six feet six inches tall, weighing 218 pounds and became known not only for his pre-race antics but for being one of the world’s fastest swimmers.
His Olympic career began in 1996 with two gold medals in the 4×100 meter freestyle and medley relays and two individual silver medals in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle, only .13 seconds behind Russia’s Alexander Popov in the 50 and .07 seconds in the 100.
Then, in March of 1999, he was diagnosed with type one diabetes. Doctors initially told him that his Olympic career was over. However, after consulting with Dr. Anne Peters Harmel, he resumed training for the Sydney Games in a new way. In addition to checking his insulin levels up to ten times a day, Gary and his Dad started the Race Club, a club concept for elite athletes in 2002. Training under coach Mike Bottom during this time in Islamorada, Florida, Gary went on to tie for the individual gold medal in the 50 meter freestyle with fellow American Anthony Ervin. He also won a bronze in the 100 meter freestyle along with gold and silver medals in the relays.
Four years later at the age of 29, the oldest American Olympic swimmer since Duke Kahanamoku in 1924, he capped off his Olympic career in Athens by standing on top of the 50 meter freestyle podium alone as Olympic champion.
Gary has ten Olympic medals to his name and joins his father as the only father and son duo to each win Olympic medals in three Olympic Games.
Gary’s relaxed ability to accept challenges head-on and conquer them is what won him countless awards and fans. His fans were always on the edge of their seats to see how he would emerge and perform in his next race. By achieving his dreams despite health challenges, he has been a great inspiration to the millions of people living with diabetes and would personally return calls, no matter the hour.
New York Breakers Donate to ISHOF & Join “One in a Thousand Club”
by ANDY ROSS
September 2020, 01:30pm
The New York Breakers recently sent a money donation to the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) to join the One in a Thousand Club, which helps keep the Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision and museum.
The One in a Thousand campaign is designed to help the Hall of Fame during the COVID-19 pandemic, by calling on all members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment.
The New York Breakers last year partnered with ISHOF to donate a portion of all merchandise sales to the museum. Breaker fans can purchase gear for men, women, kids, and home living.
Regarding the announcement, New York Breakers General Manager, Tina Andrew, announced:
“For me, as I learned more about the Hall of Fame, our vision aligned. We are both very passionate about the sport of swimming. I love what they stand for and are all about – preserving history.
“I believe we are truly investing in the future of the sport and I know ISHOF’s biggest goal is to get more people involved in the sport and educate and celebrate the aquatic athletes that have made it so spectacular. I love everything they stand for so it is a very easy organization to align myself with because our visions, our mission and our goals align.”
The New York Breakers will be participating in the second season of the International Swimming League (ISL) in Budapest, Hungary beginning on October 16. The team’s captain is USA’s Michael Andrew, who was the youngest ever swimmer to turn professional at age 14, and also the only swimmer to reach the final of all four 50’s at a single World Championships.
The team is also led by 2019 World Champ Boglarka Kapas of Hungary, who won the 200 butterfly at last year’s championships, and 2019 Worlds silver medalist James Wilby of Great Britain, who won the silver in the 100 breaststroke behind fellow Brit Adam Peaty.
“It feels like we have gone from being idle to being in high gear just in the last week,” Andrew said. “We didn’t quite know if things were going to come together and if they would happen because of COVID but now all of a sudden it is on top of us. It dawned on me yesterday, ‘we’ve got three weeks before we will all be together!’ The excitement that I have and feel from the athletes is indescribable. Most of them have not seen each other or raced and just want life to be back to normal.
“As for the New York Breakers, we had an incredible team last year. With coach Martin, we have put together a spectacular team in my opinion, and even with the changeover we have had recently, I still believe we have not lost any strength so we are super excited to see what we can do.
New York Breakers Notable International Swimmers:
Felix Auböck, Austria
Boglarka Kapas, Hungary
Marco Koch, Germany
Jeanette Ottesen, Denmark
Pieter Timmers, Belgium
Daria Ustinova, Russia
Kasia Wasick, Poland
James Wilby, Great Britain
Join the New York Breakers by donating to the One in a Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or one-time basis.
For larger corporate sponsorships and estate-planning donations, please contact us at customerservice@ishof.org.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF