Happy Birthday Gary Hall Sr.!!!
DR. GARY HALL, SR. (USA)
1981 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1968 silver (400m individual medley); 1972 silver (200m butterfly); 1976 bronze (100m butterfly); WORLD RECORDS: 10; NATIONAL AAU Swimming titles: 23; NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS titles: 7; AMERICAN RECORDS: 23.
In the 1976 Olympic Opening Ceremonies Gary Hall, like Harry Hebner (1912) and Johnny Weissmuller (1928), was elected the American flag bearer for the United States Olympic Team. It was at Montreal and the third Olympic Games in which Dr. Hall was to medal. This Indiana University graduate held 10 World Records, won 30 U.S. National titles and was the first swimmer under four minutes for the 400 individual medley. He won championships in 3 of 4 strokes and was the dominate world figure in the I.M. for a decade. He was the World Swimmer of the Year in 1969 and 1970. Gary was a claim to fame for the 5 great coaches who trained him at some time during his 14 years of competition. Gary’s Olympic medals were in 3 different events and 3 successive Olympics.
Happy Birthday YANA KLOCHKOVA !!!
Yana Klochkova (UKR)
2013 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m individual medley, 400m individual medley), silver (800m freestyle); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m individual medley, 400m individual medley); TWO WORLD RECORDS: (50m); 400m individual medley, (25m) 400m individual medley; 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (400m individual medley); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m individual medley, 400m freestyle), silver (200m individual medley); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m individual medley, 400m individual medley); 1999 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (400m individual medley), silver (200m individual medley); 2000 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (200m individual medley, 400m individual medley) silver (400m freestyle); 2002 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (400m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 400 individual medley); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (50m): 10 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze; (25m): 8 gold, 1 silver; WORLD AND EUROPEAN SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: 2004.
She was born into an athletic minded family in 1982, in Simferopol, Ukraine, when it was the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within the old Soviet Union. Because of the Soviet Union’s emphasis on physical education, the Ukraine was left with hundreds of stadiums and swimming pools. This little girl picked the swimming pool to excel. She first started in gymnastics, but once she started swimming at age seven, she never looked back.
By age eight, she was training four hours daily with an hour a day of dry-land. Her hard work paid off as Yana Klochkova became the greatest individual medley swimmer in the first decade of the 21st century and maybe of all-time.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she won gold medals in the 200 meter and the 400 meter individual medley, the latter in world record time, lasting seven years. She also won the silver medal in the 800 meter freestyle behind Hall of Fame swimmer Brooke Bennett of the United States.
Between 2000 and 2004, she lost only one individual medley race at the short course European Championships in Antwerp, 2001.
At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Klochkova became the first swimmer to win consecutive pairs of Olympic gold medals in the 200 meter and the 400 meter individual medley and was dubbed the “Medley Queen”.
She was both the “European Swimmer of the Year” and the “World Swimmer of the Year” in 2004.
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, she was the flag bearer for her country. With her successive Olympic wins, she will always be remembered as the greatest individual medley swimmer in the history of the Olympic Games.
Happy Birthday PAUL ASMUTH !!!
PAUL ASMUTH (USA)
2010 Honor Open Water Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: SEVEN WORLD PROFESSIONAL MARATHON SWIMMING FEDERATION TITLES: 1980-1985, 1988; MOST WINS LA TRA-VERSEE DU LAC MEMPHREMAGOG: SIX CROSSINGS; FIRST AROUND MANHATTAN ISLAND UNDER SEVEN HOURS; ATLANTIC CITY PRESS NAMES ASMUTH ATHLETE OF THE DECADE (1990); COMPETED IN 59 INTERNATIONAL MARATHON SWIMMING RACES.
Move over Abou Heif, Herman Williamsee and John Kinsella, the greatest mara-thon swimming racers the world had seen. That’s until Paul Asmuth ascended on the world scene in the 1980’s becoming the most dominant racer on the professional circuit and one of the world’s greatest professional marathon swimmers.
Growing up in the sunshine state of Florida, he swam his way through school as an age-group swimmer with the Fort Myers Swimming Association and continuing in college at Auburn and Arizona State with career stops at Mission Viejo, Bolles Sharks and Santa Barbara Swim Club. Along the way, he had some of the world’s greatest coaches: Ginny Duenkel, Gregg Troy, Eddie Reese, Ron Johnson, Mark Schubert, Larry Leibowitz and Charles “Red” Silvia. With his own mental toughness, he grew to become one of the world’s greatest professional marathon swimmers.
One of the first to utilize speed techniques from the pool into open water, Asmuth became the marathon swimmer to beat on the professional circuit during the 1980’s. He won the 23 mile Around the Island Swim in Atlantic City an unprecedented eight times in water temperatures ranging from the low 60’s F to the 80’s F. He has a record six wins in the 27 mile Traversee Memphremagog, in Canada, holding the record from 1980 to 1994. He won the granddaddy of marathon swims, the Lac St. Jean crossing in Roberval, Quebec two times at 21 miles and once at 40 miles setting a record of 17h 6m in 50 degree water. He won the 20 mile Capri-Napoli Swim three times and holds the record at 6h 35m. He won four times and set the course record for the 50 degree F 14 mile Les Quatorze Mille de Paspe-biac Swim at 5h 35m. All totaled he has seven World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation Titles.
His solo swims include three English Channel crossings including the men’s record (8h 12m), the only swimmer to complete the 31 mile Nantucket to Cape Cod Massachusetts and the first person under seven hours around 28 mile Manhattan Island.
Happy Birthday Soichi Sakamoto
SOICHI SAKAMOTO (USA)
1966 Honor Coach
FOR THE RECORD: Great Hawaiian coach who developed many of the world champions between 1948-1956. All of his swimmers became National Champions during this period.
Soichi Sakamoto is the great coach responsible for modern Hawaiian swimming success. Hawaiian swimmers dominated the sport from 1912, but Buster Crabbe, in the 1932 Olympics, was their last champion of that long illustrious era.
Then came a drought and Japanese-Hawaiian Sakamoto, starting with children in an irrigation ditch, was developing new ideas of pace and rhythm with a metronome. His young swimmers were not the greats of Punaho School, then and still going on to Yale, but a new breed of public school swimmers going on to Ohio State and Indiana–Hirose, Nakama, Smith, Konno, Oyakawa, Onekea, Cleveland, Woolsey, Tenabe, Miki and the girls Kalama Kleinschmidt, Kawamoto and Hoe. All became national champions, most made the Olympic teams of 1948, 1952 and 1956.
During this period, Sakamoto was sought out by swimmers all over the world, journeying to Hawaii in search of the magic touch. They found technique, method dedication and conditioning, which produced champions at all strokes and distances, but as the coach told all in his somewhat difficult-to-understand English, “Magic, No!”
“The swimming stroke is a ‘working tool’,” says this master coach, “and therefore it must be one which must be sound in its practical use–to get the most out of a given effort. It must be simple and efficient, and one which can be controlled at will by the individual. . . Swimming with and not against the water.”
“Patience, above all, is tantamount and a rule,” Sakamoto continues, “as improvement, growth, speed and success come only at a snail’s pace. First, it is learning to swim, training and conditioning, competing and going through the bitter experiences of defeat and chagrin. The light of success comes only when everything seems hopeless and wasted.”
Happy Birthday TAMAS FARAGO – Mr. Water Polo!!!
TAMAS FARAGO (HUN)
1993 HONOR WATER POLO PLAYER
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1972 silver, 1976 gold, 1980 bronze; WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1975 gold, 1978 silver; EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1970 silver, 1977 gold; FINA CUP: 1979 gold; JADRAN CUP: 1971 silver; TUNGSRAM CUP: 1972 gold, 1980 silver.
In the opinion of many international judges and players, Tamas Farago is one of the best athletes to ever play the game of water polo. Known for his amazing attacking and shooting skills Farago was the single most reason for Hungary’s Olympic medal performances of 1972, 1976, and 1980.
Water polo is Hungary’s national sport, and games are played with the same intensity as football games are played throughout Europe. Because of its strong teams of the 1970s, Hungary was always considered a contender for a medal in any tournament, and Tamas Farago was the main reason why.
After Hungary’s close gold medal loss to the Soviet Union at the 1972 Olympics, Farago and company returned in 1973 to the first World Championships in Belgrade to defeat the same Soviet team for the gold medal. Again in Montreal, at the 1976 Olympics, Farago returned to lead his team to a 6-to-5 gold medal victory in the first game of the final round against Italy. Farago, who led all scorers with a total of 22 goals, added the winning goal in the final seconds of the game to secure the gold medal. Four of the six goals for Hungary were scored by Farago in the championship game. Farago also played on the silver medal-winning teams of the 1985 and 1978 World Championships and the gold medal-winning teams of the 1974 and 1977 European Championships.
It is because of players like Tamas Farago that Hungary was able to win a medal at every Olympic Games from 1928 through 1980.
Happy Birthday SHELLEY TAYLOR-SMITH !!!
Shelley Taylor-Smith (AUS)
2008 Honor Open Water Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (25K); Women’s Number 1 World Ranking in Marathon Swimming: 1988- 1995; Honorary Secretary FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee (2000-present); Author of Book Detailing Training and Mental Preparation for Swimming a Marathon;
Born in Perth, Australia in 1961, she was so passionate about swimming, she would sneak off to bed each night in her bathers. Not overly talented and diagnosed with crippling scoliosis, her determination over ruled what her doctors predicted and her swimming took off to heights which no one but she anticipated.
Her introduction to Marathon swimming began at the University of Arkansas in 1983. Her first professional race was in 1985 and by 1998, she retired as a seven-time World Marathon Swimming Champion. In 1991, she was the only woman of any sport, world wide, to hold the world’s number one ranking for both men and women. For seven consecutive years, 1988-1995, she was ranked as the number one World Marathon Swimming Champion in races ranging from 30 to 90 kilometers, set 15 world race records, scored 51 first places in international marathon swims, set the record for the around Manhattan Island Swim and swam the English Channel.
Shelley Taylor-Smith had become one of the world’s most coveted female marathon swimmers. From athlete to contributor, she has served since 2000 as Honorary Secretary for the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and was instrumental in the IOC’s decision to include the 10 kilometer swim in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She was a FINA Athlete Representative for 12 years. As Director and founder of Champion Mindset Consulting, she is a motivational teacher, mental toughness coach and international best selling author.
Honor Diver Vicki Draves makes Google Doodle
On August 3rd, 2020, Google Doodle is launching a Doodle celebrating ISHOF Honr Diver and friend, Filipino American diver and coach Victoria
“Vicki” Draves, the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal. On this day in 1948, Draves
won the gold medal in the women’s 3-meter springboard event at the London Summer Olympics.
VICTORIA “VICKI” MANALO DRAVES (USA)
1969 Honor Diver
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1948 gold (springboard; platform); NATIONAL DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1946, 1947, 1948 gold (platform); 1948 gold (springboard); First woman in Olympic to win both springboard and platform diving crowns in same games.
Victoria Manalo Draves was the first woman in Olympic history to win both springboard and platform diving crowns in the same games. She was the only swimmer or diver to gold medal in two individual events at the 1948 London Olympiad. Her rise to No. 1 in the world was meteoric but far from easy. Vickie was a twin born in San Francisco to an English mother and Filipino father. When Vickie was 16, she and her sisters would take the trolley car to Fleishhacker Pool to swim and admire the divers. Admiration was mutual as one of the boy divers introduced her to Phil Patterson, coach of then national champion Helen Crlenkovich. Vickie learned rapidly under Phil, but her biggest hurdle was not on the diving board. Her diving club on Nob Hill required that she drop her father’s Filipino name and take her mother’s maiden name, Taylor. Finances were another problem and a year later, she joined Charlie Sava’s famed Crystal Plunge team where she worked with Jimmy McHugh. McHugh left coaching and on Sava’s advice, Vickie crossed the bay to dive with Lyle Draves and his star pupil Zoe Ann Olsen at the Athens Club in Oakland.
With a third diver, Gloria Wooden, Draves took his girls to the 1945 Indoor Nationals in Chicago and they placed 1, 2, 3 in the 3 meter springboard.
Wartime duties, another Nob Hill meet argument over Vickie’s Filipino parentage, and Draves returning to Southern California left Vickie once more without a coach. There followed some commuting to Los Angeles, a second and a third at the Outdoor Nationals, and then, on the death of her father, Vicki retired and returned to San Francisco and to her old job as a secretary in the Army Port Surgeon’s office.
When the war ended, Vickie finally moved to Southern California for good. She married her coach and her winning ways began immediately with the national Tower Diving Championship (10 meter platform), in 1946, 1947 and 1948. In 1948, she won her first springboard national title. She made the team but was not first at the Olympic Trials in either springboard or platform. She was the first woman of oriental ancestry to win an Olympic gold medal in diving. The first man was Korean-American Sammy Lee, who, like Vickie, stands 5’1″ when he stretches. The incredible performances of these two Asian-Americans helped heal the scars of an Olympic-canceling World War, and personified the Olympic revival of individual competition regardless of race, creed or national origin.
@google #GoogleDoodle
: http://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-vicki-draves
: goo.gle/388OQ3U
Abouheif: Crocodile of the Nile
Abdellatief Abouheif (EGY)
Honor Open Water Swimmer
Considered one of the greatest open water swimmers of all time, Abouheif was a superstar in his home country of Egypt. Read his fascinating story here:
In a country where marathon swimming is the premier sport, Abdellatief Abouheif is Egypt’s national hero. Revered and respected, his fellow countrymen bow down to him, streets and buildings are named after him and when the great Abouheif speaks, people listen. To the rest of the world, he is an extraordinary phenomenon.
Very few other marathon swimmers can match the achievements of this amazing long distance swimmer. His death defying distance swims and open water races have been held in most of the major bodies of water in the world and under extreme conditions. For example, in a swim hosted by ISHOF Gold Medallion recipient Jim Moran, Abouheif accomplished the 60 mile Lake Michigan Crossing of 1963, spending 34 hours 45 minutes in the chilly 52 degree F. water. In 1962, he spent over 9 hours in the 84 degree F. water, completing the 23 mile Mar Del Plata swim in Argentina. But like all of his swims, he endures, takes himself to the limit and recovers.
Between 1953 and 1972, he competed in over 68 international races of lengths from 30k to 80 kilometers. In 1964, 1965 and 1968, he was the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation Champion of a circuit of races held in Canada, United States, Italy and South America. Of these 68 races he most often finished first and in only 12 races did he finish below third place. International competitions were hosted by France, Argentina, Lebanon, England, Yugoslavia, Mexico and Holland.
Abouheif was born in 1929, the eighth of fifteen children and the son of a school teacher and Parliamentary member. He received his secondary education at Eaton and Sandhurst Military Academy in England. He returned to Egypt to serve in the army rising to the rank of colonel. Along the way he learned to play the piano, speak six languages, marry a beautiful Greek opera singer and become the world’s professional swimming champion.
Abouheif’s five foot ten inch frame that weighs between 200 and 240 pounds, is well covered with fat to endure the exposure to cold water. His eating had no rules and he would eat anything that smelled good at the time, which, before a race, could include two whole roast chickens and a quart of orange juice and milk.
He was held in awe by every swimmer on the circuit. If there was ever any doubt as to whether or not a race could be completed, due to weather conditions, Abouheif would erase that doubt and battle the elements to the finish line. No body of water was too difficult a challenge for him, either fresh or salt water. He has crossed or traversed the English Channel, Lac St. John, Capri-Naples, Canadian National Exposition, La Tugue, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, the Nile River, the Seine River and many more. His trademark was a flurry of strokes and a finish sprint that carries him to the finish line to strive with unyielding competitiveness and to endure in the battle with mother nature.
If an emblem were made that represents Abouheif and his feats, it would have a big set of beautiful white teeth amidst a friendly grin and a picture of a huge stomach. He became the greatest marathon swimmer in the history of the sport and set the standards for today’s open water swimmers.
FOR THE RECORD: Abdellatief Abouheif, Honor Open Water Swimmer
World’s Great Marathon Swimmer from 1953-1972;
Longest Distance Swim – 60 miles of Lake Michigan in 34 hours, 45 minutes;
Competed in over 68 International Races between 30km and 80km in length.
1964, ’65 & ’68 World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation Champion.
Famous swims, with first place finishes, include:
1953 – Seine River (Paris) France, 18 miles, 5:46.40;
1954 – St. Nazaire LaBaule, France, 26 miles, 7:41.15;
1955 – English Channel (France to England), 21 miles, 11:44.00;
1955 – St. Nazaire – La Baule, France, 26 miles, 9:32.00;
1956 – Nile River, U.A.R., 42 miles, 17:01.01;
1956 – Ouvers, Oise, France, 11 miles, 4:24-00;
1956 – Seine River (Paris) France, 18 miles, 6:37.50;
1957 – Saida, Beirut, Lebanon, 25 miles, 13:05.00;
1961 – Saida, Beirut, Lebanon, 23 miles, 10:47.00;
1962 – Lake Ohrid, Yugoslavia, 21 miles, 9:27.07;
1963 – Capri, Naples, Italy, 23 miles, (tie) 8:49.35;
1963 – Lake Michigan USA, 60 miles, 34:45.00;
1963 – Toronto (CNE) Ontario, Canada, 15 miles, 7:37.26; 1964 – Capri, Naples, Italy, 23 miles, (tie) 10:43.57;
1964 – Rio Corond, Argentina, 38 miles, 10:38.50; 1964 – Toronto (CNE) Ontario, Canada, 30 miles, 19:00.00;
1965 – Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 10 miles, 5:18.54.2; 1965 – Lac St. Jean, Quebec, Canada, 25 miles, 8:34.35;
1965 – Rio Parana, Argentina, 55 miles, 10:31.41; 1966 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada (30 hr. team race), 251 laps;
1968 – Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada, 28 miles, 9:10.00; 1968 – Molson Sprint, 10:44.08;
1968 – Narragansett, Rhode Island, 15 miles, (tie) 8:11.00; 1969 – Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada, 28 miles, 10 hr.;
1969 – LaTuque, Quebec, Canada, 24 hr. team swim, 62.5 laps.
Felix Grossman, MISHOF Honoree is special. He is One in a Thousand!
When asked why he wanted to join the International Swimming Hall
of Fame’s One in A Thousand Club, Grossman had a story he wanted to share: “My journey to
ISHOF began in 1987. Bob Muir was my diving coach at Williams College,
Williamstown, MA, from 1952 to 1956. He was also to be named as the head coach
of the USA Olympic Swim Team for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the only small
college coach ever to be so honored. In 1956 I placed 15th in the 1-meter and
17th in the 3-meter diving at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships (no
divisions back then; it was just after fire was invented) and took 29th out of
approximately 70 springboard divers at the Olympic Trials in Detroit that
Summer. Obviously, I was not an elite diver, except in the minds of my folks.
In about 1987 I began
working with Carl Samuelson, the Williams swim coach who succeeded Bob, to get
Bob inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was the only US
Olympic swim coach who was not in the Hall. We worked with Buck Dawson and put
together material establishing that Bob deserved to be there. In 1989 Bob was
inducted and I attended that lovely event. It was my first visit to the Hall
and I was much impressed. The Hall represented the finest in the history of our
sport and those honored to be in it were incredibly deserving. One thing was
clear. Under no circumstances would there ever be a place for a ho-hum,
mediocre but enthusiastic diver such as I in that prestigious environment. I
had been active in Masters Diving for about 12 years at that time and my diving
dreams did not realistically include being in the Hall.
Masters Diving, in
fact Masters sports in general, offers athletes the opportunity to compete
meaningfully and at a high level from in their 20’s into their 90’s and beyond.
To keep at diving for 20, 30, 40 or more
years is a tribute to my love of the sport. It requires a dedication that can
legitimately be described as transcending even that of many Olympic athletes.
Olympic athletes are the best in their sport at the time they are training and
competing. Their ability, talent and training ethic are incredible and awe
inspiring. But in most cases when their Olympic years are over, so is their
active participation in their sport. For Masters athletes the only definable
end of the road is either physical inability or their last breath.
Competing in
Masters Diving has not only provided an outlet for our athletic desires it has
become a medium for athletic excellence, success and national and international
recognition and camaraderie that was, frankly, not available to us when we were
much younger. Many of us have become national champions and even world
champions in our sport; not realistically achievable goals when we were
younger. We love our sport and we are willing and desirous of pursuing it and working
at it for many, many years, well into our 50’s, 60’s, and for some into our
80’s and 90’s. It gives energy to our lives. Frankly, it amazes me that so many
of our great Olympic athletes can walk away from diving as a competitive
recreational sport. Do they love our sport any less than we do? Probably not,
but they sure seem content to leave it behind while we want to love and enjoy
it for year after year, decade after decade.
I am reminded of
what the beautiful Carol McAlister told me when her husband, the great Masters
Diver Bill McAlister was about 84 years old. She said, “You know, Felix, just
about the only thing Bill has to live for these days is our national
championships. His entire life revolves around getting ready for the next
Masters meet.” Bill died in 2000 at 89 years of age – he was a consummate
Masters Diver. He was inducted into ISHOF in 2005.
Which brings me to
the question at hand – why I want to be part of the One-In-A-Thousand campaign
of ISHOF. It is a great honor for me to
be a MISHOF Inductee and I am proud to play whatever small role I can in
securing its future. Do I want to be One-In-A-Thousand? Actually, I hope I will
be One-in-Ten-Thousand.
Those of us who
love the sports of swimming and diving wish good luck to ISHOF and those who
are running it during this critical time in its history. We are delighted to be
able to be a part of the magnificent rebuilding work you are doing.
Join Felix and the One in a
Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or one-time basis.
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$10 Monthly Commitment
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$25 Monthly Commitment
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$50 Monthly Commitment
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Make a One-Time Commitment
More about……FELIX GROSSMAN
Felix Grossman, pushing 80, has
been athletically inclined all his adult life. Mountaineering, mountain
biking, backpacking, windsurfing, cross-country and downhill skiing, water
skiing, competitive tennis, and of course, springboard diving.
Grossman, a former diver at
Williams (Mass.) College Class of 1956, has kept his body in peak shape to
compete in top championships all over the world. He was even able to increase
the degree of difficulty of his dives, attempting maneuvers he hadn’t been
capable of in college.
Felix is now in his fifth decade and has competed in 52 U.S.
National Masters Championships. He has won 33 USA Masters Diving titles (gold)
in eight age groups: 40-44 to 75-79 through 2013. He set a world record when he
scored 213.8 points diving in the 70-74 age group, a record which he continues
to hold now in its eighth year.
Grossman has competed in seven FINA Masters World Championships,
winning two gold, six silver, one bronze medal and a 5th and a 7th place. He
has competed in five World Masters Games, winning three gold, three silver,
three bronze, and a fourth place.
In 1987, Felix had both of his severely arthritic hips replaced
and still beat the field of divers in his age group. This was the first time a
diver with two prosthetic hips had won a national championship. In 1992, he won
the FINA Masters World Championships with his two replacement hips. In 1998, he
had both of his arthritic knees replaced. In 2001, he again won the USA Diving
Masters Nationals followed by World Masters Championships in Melbourne winning
with four prosthetic joints, two hips and two knees. In 2002, he was featured
in Sports Illustrated for his prosthetic joint success. Over the years, his prosthetic
advice and recommendations has led to the successful extension of many divers’
careers. They learned success on the board does not have to end with bad
joints.
In 2004, Grossman was presented with the Bicentennial Medal, bestowed
by his alma mater Williams College. “You are an inspiration to the college
divers you train with and to the countless inner-city Los Angeles teenagers you
have encouraged to set high standards for themselves. Your non-profit
organization, Felix Ventures, now works with students at L.A.’s Workman High
School to stretch them physically and academically and to challenge them to
develop work habits that will help them reach their full potential. It has
developed into the school’s largest co-curricular activity, involving each year
more than 150 students, almost all of whom will go on to college.”
Beginning in 1975 and for over 30 years, Felix has conducted
Masters diving meets in his home state of California as well as serving as a
sort of Chaplain, spiritual and motivational spokesperson for the sport.
Felix Grossman was inducted into MISHOF in 2013. He IS “One in a Thousand.
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.
About ISHOF Take a Virtual Tour
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF)
museum opened its doors to the public in December of 1968 in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. That same year, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) – the
governing body for Olympic aquatic sports – designated the ISHOF museum as the
“Official Repository for Aquatic History”. In 2018, Sports
Publications Inc, publisher of Swimming World Magazine and its
multi-media platforms, merged with ISHOF to expand the museum’s reach and
impact. Today, ISHOF’s vision is to be 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. Show your support for the sport of swimming by becoming
a member of ISHOF.
ISHOF Vision Statement
To be 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 Mission Statement
To collaborate with aquatic organizations worldwide to preserve, educate and
celebrate history, showcase events, share cultures, and increase participation
in aquatic sports.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc. is
registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, incorporated in the State of
Florida. Contributions to ISHOF are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the
law. ISHOF’s tax identification number is 59-1087179. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL
REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF
CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR FROM
THE WEBSITE, www.800helpfla.com. REGISTRATION
DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. You can
find out more about us on guidestar.org under International
Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc.
Thank YOU for Celebrating FSPA’s 50th!
Thank YOU for Celebrating FSPA’s 50th!
This week we asked our Members and pool industry professionals to help the FSPA celebrate our 50th Anniversary by providing Florida’s children with a valuable life-skill with a donation to the Florida Swims Foundation.
In the last week we’ve raised:
$12,380
The Bill Kent Family Foundation generously matched ALL donations through this campaign which means we have raised a total of:
$24,760
Together, we have all made a difference in the lives of so many Florida children by providing them with swim lessons!
We are grateful to our Members for 50 years of furthering the Florida pool industry and look forward to the next 50!
There is Still Time to Donate!
All donations made in the month of July will be counted for the campaign!
Click here to make your pledge and send a check
