Paris Olympics, Day 5 Finals: Leon Marchand Roars Past Kristof Milak To Take 200 Fly Title In Olympic Record
Leon Marchand: Photo courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia /Insidefoto
by Liz Byrnes – Europe Correspondent
31 July 2024, 11:52am
Paris Olympics, Day 5 Finals: Leon Marchand Roars Past Kristof Milak To Claim 200 Fly Title In Olympic Record
Since the 200 fly was introduced to the Olympic programme in 1956, only one Frenchman had made a trip to the podium.
Franck Esposito won bronze at Barcelona 1992, clocking 1:58.51 for third behind winner Mel Stewart of the USA and Danyon Loader of New Zealand.
While Esposito was claiming one of the three medals – all of them bronze – that France won that year, teammate Celine Bonnet was making her Olympic debut in the backstroke and individual medley.
Four years later at Atlanta 1996, Esposito finished one place outside the medals in fourth.
Also on the team was Xavier Marchand, an IM swimmer who was making his Olympic debut.
By the time Esposito retired, he’d won four European titles among nine overall medals as well as reaching the second step of the world podium in 1998.
Fast forward to 2022 and a young Frenchman called Leon Marchand stood on the second step of the podium in Budapest behind Kristóf Milák who’d just set a WR of 1:50.34 en-route to gold.
Leon Marchand: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
A year later Marchand had the gold medal around his neck at the Fukuoka worlds albeit in the absence of Milák, who’d withdrawn weeks earlier through mental and physical exhaustion.
Now the son of Marchand and Bonnet has added the Olympic title, after an astonishing final 50 to stop the clock at 1:51.21, a new Olympic record, ahead of reigning champion Kristóf Milák, who touched in 1:51.75 as Michael Phelps remains the only man to have won the 2 fly title on more than one occasion.
Ilya Kharun was third, taking 1.02 off his Canadian record in 1:52.80 as he claimed his first international long-course medal.
World Record: Kristof Milak, HUN – 1:50.34 (2022)
Olympic Record: Kristof Milak, HUN – 1:51.25 (2021)
Tokyo Olympic Champion Kristof Milak, HUN – 1:51.25
Coming into the race, no man bar Phelps had ever defended the title.
The 23-time Olympic champion triumphed at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 and would have been a four-time gold medallist were it not for Chad Le Clos accelerating into the finish with a perfect touch at London 2012.
Seven countries have been represented atop the rostrum by the likes of Mark Spitz, Michael Gross and Chad Le Clos on the 17 occasions the event has been contested since its introduction to the Olympic programme at Melbourne 1956.
None of them, however, had made a return journey to the top of the podium.
A superb dive saw Milak rise clearly ahead of the rest of the field and he reached the first turn in 24.32, 0.13 off his own WR and 0.64 ahead of Marchand in second.
Leon Marchand: Photo courtesy: Deepbluemedia
The Hungarian world record-holder was 0.60 ahead at halfway before extending his lead t0 0.72 at the final turn and appearing to be on the brink of joining Phelps in a two-man club of successful defences.
Marchand, however, had other ideas and superb underwaters off the final turn saw him eat into the Hungarian’s lead.
With around 25m to go, Marchand moved onto his adversary’s shoulder before going ahead to accelerate into the wall 0.04 inside Milak’s Olympic standard en-route to victory in Tokyo thanks to a 28.97 final 50.
Coach Bob Bowman and Phelps had both praised Milak’s second 100 en-route to the WR and this was a tactical masterclass from Marchand to come through at the end.
Speaking at the end of the session after Marchand had clinched a golden double by adding the 200 breast to his fly title, Bowman said: “The butterfly was a huge challenge because Milak is next level. So when that one came through, I was feeling pretty good about the second one because he was in such good spirits after that.”
Marchand said of his tactics, said: “I’ve been watching so many races from him (Milak). I know he has a lot of speed, way more than me. So I was trying to get as close as possible at the 150 and just push it all the way through until the end. I think that’s what I did. I wasn’t too far. He wasn’t as far as his world-record speed, so I was kind of right there. And I really used my underwater. That was a really fun race for me.”
Of the atmosphere, the 22-year-old added: “I wasn’t ignoring it. I was really trying to listen to what was happening. The 2-fly was crazy on the last 50, because I was coming back on Kristof Milak and I could hear the whole pool just going crazy. I think that’s why also I was able to win that race and really use that energy from the crowd.”
Bowman recruited Kharun to Arizona State University where he trained alongside Marchand, the pair good friends although kinship was left to one side in the water.
Bowman has now moved on to the University of Texas where Marchand will be based although now as a professional while Kharun will return to the Sun Devils where he’s trained by Herbie Behm.
“It means a lot,” said the 19-year-old. “I’m really happy that I got to this moment and I just can’t wait to keep showing people what I can do. I got even more, there’s more to work on, but I’m very happy that I got the bronze.”
He was aware of the atmosphere and the noise generated by the raucous crowd at La Defense Arena but remained unaffected, testament to notable composure in one so young.
“I just heard a lot of screaming, but I was just really busy catching up with those guys,” said Kharun. “I just didn’t really think of it as such a big moment, just tried to concentrate and keep my cool.”
Behind him came Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland (1:53.90), Noe Ponti in a Swiss record of 1:54.14, Austrian Martin Espernberger (1:54.17), Kregor Zirk of Estonia (1:54.55) with Italy’s Alberto Razzetti rounding out the field in 1:54.85.
Paris Olympics, Day 5 Finals: Swedish Legend Sarah Sjostrom Flies Home To Claim Golden Touch Thriller In 100 Free
Sarah Sjostrom: Photo courtesy: Deepbluemedia
by Ian Hanson – Oceania Correspondent
31 July 2024, 12:13pm
Paris Olympics, Day 5 Finals: Swedish Legend Sarah Sjostrom Flies Home To Claim Golden Touch Thriller In 100 Free
A last-minute decision to swim the 100 freestyle has turned into gold for Sweden’s superstar Sarah Sjostrom, who produced the finish of a lifetime from Lane Seven to win her maiden Olympic title in the event.
Fourth at the 50-meter turn, the 30-year-old world-record holder sizzled down the second lap in 26.90, clocking 52.16 to out-touch the USA’s Torri Huske (52.29) by 0.13, with Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey (52.33) taking bronze in a La Defense Arena thriller – 0.17 separating the three medalists.
Sarah Sjostrom: Photo courtesy: Deepbluemedia
Sjostrom had decided to come into these Games with all her eggs in the 50 freestyle basket, making a late call to put her hand up for one last shot at Olympic glory in the blue ribband 100 freestyle – after winning bronze in Rio in 2016. Eight years between drinks, what a celebration this will be, especially if she can add 50 freestyle gold to her Olympic medal haul.
“This is unbelievable,” Sjostrom said. “I didn’t think I would swim the 100 free, honestly. After the freestyle relay on the first day, I told my coach straightaway, ‘I don’t think the 100 free is for me. I want to rest until the 50.’
“He was like, no way. You need to go out there and see what you can do, no matter the outcome. I didn’t know what exactly I could do, and definitely didn’t know what everyone else could do. I’m super proud of myself that I tried this.”
Sarah Sjostrom: Photo courtesy: Deepbluemedia
The look of absolute shock on her face when she realized she was the 2024 Olympic champion will be published around the world – the princess of the pool in Sweden, again the queen of the lanes on the Olympic stage.
“My reaction said everything,” said Sjostrom. “I didn’t really know where I was exactly when I finished. It took a few seconds before I saw that I won. I just felt that I had a really good race and I was so in my zone, 100 percent focused on all the details I was working with.
“I talked with my coach about every five meters of the race – five meters here, what should I do? That’s always been my challenge when it comes to the 100 free because I need to focus on the breathing pattern.
“When I do the 50 free, there is no problem because I put my head down and I spin my arms and I go fast. I have to take those breaths and I managed to do that and followed my plan the whole way. “
Sjostrom is no stranger to thrilling finishes, placing just 0.29 behind joint Olympic champions Penny Oleksiak andSimone Manuel in another classic final in 2016.
Rio was her calling card, where she took gold in her then specialty, the 100 butterfly, and silver in the 200 freestyle. She is also one of the world’s greatest female swimmers with 14 long-course world championships.
Now Paris will be a crowning glory for one of the greats, the first Swedish swimmer to win the 100 freestyle gold, adding her name to some of world swimming greats. The event was first won by Australian Fanny Durack in Stockholm in 1912.
Huske, who already has gold in her pocket after her Night Two triumph in the 100 butterfly and silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, looked set to steal gold No. 2, leading until the final touch out in Lane One. The ever-present Haughey challenged in the center of the pool.
Sarah Sjostrom: Photo courtesy: Deepbluemedia
Paris has seen the 21-year-old Huske, from Arlington, Virginia and a loyal Stanford Cardinal, produce the meet of her life already after winning her first Olympic medal, silver on the U.S. 4x100m medley relay in Tokyo.
Huske revealed her adjustments from her seventh-place qualification from the semifinal to Olympic silver in the final.
“I think the thing that I really changed was my race plan. I just really had to commit to it and trust it, which I think is sometimes hard,” said Huske.
“In the semifinal, I went a little bit hard on my legs the first 25, so I knew I had to rein it back and just really trust that I could finish the race. And that’s what I did.
“And as proud as I am of my 100 fly, I think I’m equally as proud of my 100 free. After semis, I realized everyone was so close and it was anyone’s game. I love to race and I think the competition brought out the best in me, so I’m just excited to have represented my country well.”
And her thoughts on Sjostrom? Huske gushed.
“Sarah’s the greatest. I’m so happy for her. she’s been a really accomplished swimmer. She’s so sweet and so kind, and (the gold) couldn’t have gone to a nicer person.”
Australia’s 200 freestyle golden girl, Mollie O’Callaghan, was seventh at the 50-meter turn and gave the leaders too much headway, missing gold by 0.18 and bronze by the narrowest of margins – 0.01 – in an extraordinary blanket finish for the ages.
Sjostrom, Huske and Haughey spoiled the Aussies party, with Shayna Jack placing fifth in 52.72.
For the 26-year-old Haughey, the first Olympic swimming medalist for Hong Kong with her Tokyo silvers in the 100 and 200 freestyles, was again close to that elusive gold. Haughey said her strategy was to stay a bit more controlled the first 50 and really build her legs for the second 50.
“I think I did a good job and I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” she said. “I knew the last 10 meters would be very, very competitive, so you have to put your head down and touch the wall first. In the end, it’s not a gold but I’m still happy with it.”
And for the 20-year-old O’Callaghan, there was the agony of a fourth-place finish by an absolute fingernail, just 48 hours after the ecstasy of that gold medal moment to beat fellow Aussie Ariarne Titmus in the 200 freestyle. That was her second gold, after joining Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris on the opening night for victory in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
Passings: ISHOF loses 1997 Gold Medallion Recipient, Paul W. “Buddy” Bucha ~ longtime ISHOF friend
Early this morning, ISHOF lost a very special person. Paul W. “Buddy” Bucha, our 1997 Gold Medal Recipient passed away. He was just one day shy of his 81st birthday. Buddy came back into the ISHOF world in 1997 and we were all immediately “smitten”. Somehow with his history and the life he had lived, he seemed larger than life! He was a man’s man, a true gentlemen, and since we are all watching the Paris Games, I can say it: he had a certain “je ne sais quoi” in addition to everything he was blessed with! After his Gold Medallion award, we sort of lost track of Buddy, until his sister Sandra Bucha (Kerscher) was inducted in 2014 as an Honor Swimmer.
Buddy, Sandra and emcee Janet Evans at Sandra’s 2014 ISHOF Induction
After Sandra was inducted, she became involved with ISHOF as a member of the Board, so she kept us up to date on what Buddy was doing. We were always thrilled to hear about him and what he was doing. He will be missed by the many lives he touched, from the men who served under him and with him, to his family and friends. He leaves behind his wife, Cynthia, his four children, Jason, Heather, Lindsay and Becky and nine grandchildren along with his three sisters, Mary Anne, Judy, and Sandra.
Please read Buddy’s 1997 ISHOF Gold Medallion bio:
Perhaps it was his involvement in sport, particularly swimming, which gave Paul W. Bucha the “people skills” he possessed to become as successful as he was and is in in his careers in the military and private enterprise.
Born August 1, 1943, the son of Colonel Paul and Mary Bucha, Paul, commonly called Buddy, and his three sisters lived in Germany, Japan and numerous United States cities. In 1961, he graduated form Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, Missouri, entering West Point with the Class of 1965.
At the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Buddy was a two-time All-American swimmer during his three years of varsity competition. At that time, freshmen were not permitted to swim in varsity competition. But as a freshman, Buddy was a member of the West Point 400 yard freestyle relay team that set the NCAA freshman record of 3:20.6 in 1962. He served as captain of the swim team for two years.
He was the number two ranking cadet militarily and graduated in the top 3% of his class, number eighteen in a class of 596 students. In recognition of his all-around excellence, Paul Bucha received the Association of Graduates Award for Excellence in All Areas of Cadet Endeavor. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. Immediately upon graduation from West Point, he attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, receiving his Master of Business Administration in 1967. Having completed his Airborne and Ranger training during the summer break between years at Stanford, he reported to the 101st Airborne Division and became part of “Eagle Thrust” which transferred the Division to Vietnam. Paul Bucha’s unit, D Company, which had been assembled from the headquarters staff and available personnel from the stockades of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, distinguished itself under Paul’s leadership, receiving assignments as a special combat unit from the Delta to the Highlands. While in Vietnam, Paul Bucha received numerous decorations for valor, including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Nation’s highest award, The Congressional Medal of Honor.
Shortly after his return, Bucha was appointed Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. He also served as Officer Representative and Assistant Coach of the Cadet Swimming Team under coach Jack Ryan. In 1970, he was selected as one of the US Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men in America.
Upon resigning from the Army in 1972, Bucha joined the investment banking firm of DuPont, Glore Forgan as Director of Branch Administration and Assistant to the President. This began a seven year association with Texas entrepreneur and US presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. In order to assist with the merger of two of the nation’s largest brokerage firms owned by Perot, Paul joined Electronic Data Systems Corporation and shortly thereafter, assumed the newly created position of Director of International Operations.
In six years with EDS, he developed and managed all international business from his headquarters – first in Teheran, Iran and then in Paris, France. When Paul left EDS in 1979 to form is own international finance, real estate and marketing firm, he was responsible for business operations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, West Germany, France, Norway, Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan and Nigeria.
Since 1979, Paul has developed the Paul W. Bucha and Company, Incorporated (PWBCO) into a diverse privately owned company. PWBCO was one of the founders of Port Liberte, a $1.2 billion real estate development along the waterfront of New York Harbor, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Port Liberte demonstrated that development and the protection of the environment can be combined to provide charming and comfortable living within a secure and protected environment. PWBCO was also involved in such diverse real estate projects as Sugarloaf USA, a golf/ski resort in the western mountains of Maine, and Half Moon Bay, a residential community along the shores of the Hudson River in Croton, New York. In addition to the real estate projects, PWBCO was the founder of the MID Mutual Fund, an investment fund for non-resident, non-US citizens. PWBCO is currently involved in the international and domestic marketing of a variety of products and services in both the high technology and industrial markets.
Besides his own firm, Paul is a Director of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation, the parent of one of the nation’s largest integrated steel manufacturing concerns. He is Director of M Group Resorts, owner/operator of Jalousie Plantation, the highly acclaimed resort on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. He is a Trustee of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City; Director of Veteran’s Bedside Network; and a Director of the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Foundation. In addition, Paul Bucha is active in a variety of veteran organizations including the American Legion, the United States Army Ranger Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Paul Bucha is a recognized lecturer on ethics in business and government, having lectured at Harvard, Princeton, Haverford, United States Military Academy, United States Air Force Academy, the Merchant Marine Academy and the United States Coast Guard Academy.
His professional affiliations include: West Point Society of New York; Asian Institute of Jersey City State College; Ends of the Earth; and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Paul Bucha is the father of Jason, Heather, Lindsay and Rebecca Bucha of Waccabac, New York and was recently married to Cynthia.
Paul Bucha’s All-American swimming status rolled over to his All-American character status. His competitive spirit as a swimmer carried throughout his life in the military and in private business. His honesty and integrity are exceptional, and the International Swimming Hall of Fame is proud to welcome him as the 1997 Gold Medallion Recipient.
Commentary: Fittingly, Leon Marchand Attacking Double That is Stuff of Legends
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
30 July 2024, 02:38pm
Commentary: Fittingly, Leon Marchand Attacking Double That is Stuff of Legends
Around 8:45 on Tuesday night, an overwhelming roar echoed through La Defense Arena as the venue’s spectators rose out of their seats. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what was happening. The enhanced decibel level meant the home-nation hero of the Olympic Games was walking toward the starting blocks for the semifinals of the 200-meter butterfly.
About 75 minutes later, the scene repeated itself. Spectators hollered. Some whistled. Cameras and cell phones snapped photographs and captured video. This time, the Face of the Paris Games approached the starting blocks for the semifinals of the 200 breaststroke.
Leon Marchand is already a national treasure. He reached that status on Sunday night, when the 22-year-old delighted France by capturing the gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley. That victory arrived in style, as Marchand torched the field with the No. 2 performance in history, an effort that narrowly trailed only his world record.
A day off followed Marchand’s entry into French sporting lore and allowed him the opportunity to reset for the remainder of the nine-day competition. As much as his initial gold was a major achievement, Marchand is seeking much more at this home Olympiad. Look no further than the double-duty he pulled on Day Four of action.
It’s one thing to contest multiple events at a collegiate meet or Pro Series stop in San Antonio. Marchand has embraced many of those sessions, whether during his stellar collegiate career at Arizona State University or during long-course preparation that has taken him to USA Swimming competitions around the country.
But the Olympic Games is an entirely different entity. It’s every-fourth-year nature ratchets up the pressure on the athletes, who don’t know whether this first, second or third opportunity might be their last. It’s a stage on which the margin for error is minimal, when all athletes are seeking to peak and where one error can be the difference between a moment of glory and heartache.
In preparation for the Games, scheduling decisions are the norm for the world’s multi-event stars. What combinations work? Is there enough rest between events? What is the risk/reward of embracing a program with multiple entries? These are just a few of the questions that arise and are answered differently following athlete-coach conferences.
For Marchand, there were certain guarantees related to his schedule. At least three events was always part of the plan, with two of those disciplines the 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley. What to do beyond those events required discussion between Marchand and coach Bob Bowman – and some power brokers in the sport.
At the 2023 World Championships, Marchand earned gold in three events. His medley double, which was anticipated, was complemented by a title in the 200 butterfly. Yet, as Marchand and Bowman gazed ahead to Paris, they looked at the option of racing both the 200 fly and 200 breaststroke. One problem. The events occupied the same dates on the schedule, proving a conundrum.
Sure, Marchand is as adept as anyone on the planet at handling doubles. But the original Olympic schedule had the finals of the 200 fly and 200 breast back-to-back, making that double an impossibility. So, to give Marchand an opportunity, the French Federation lobbied World Aquatics for a change. Ultimately, the governing body shuffled the program, moving the final of the 200 breaststroke to the penultimate slot in the session – and nearly two hours after the final of the 200 butterfly.
Credit World Aquatics for its decision. No, not all parties were happy with the shift, but sports are built around the athletes. If one needs to be accommodated for a chance at history, and to attract greater attention, make the move.
As for Marchand, credit the young Frenchman for chasing this double. It’s not going to be easy. Never was. The 200 butterfly features Hungarian Kristof Milak, the world-record holder, and the 200 breaststroke includes reigning Olympic champ Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia. Nonetheless, Marchand wanted to test himself at the ultimate level – and it doesn’t get any better than the Olympic stage.
Marchand opened the night by winning his semifinal of the 200 butterfly, and earning the second seed for the final. There, Marchand will duel with Hungary’s Kristof Milak, the reigning Olympic champion and world-record holder. A little more than an hour later, Marchand sped to the fastest time in the semifinals of the 200 breaststroke.
If Marchand finds a path to double gold on Wednesday night, the evening will go down as one of the great performances in swimming history. Get Marchand’s suit. Get his cap. Prepare them for display at the International Swimming Hall of Fame. That’s the level of difficulty we’re talking about. If Marchand comes up short, such is sporting life. Not all pursuits come to fruition.
The beauty is that Marchand is taking on this challenge. He is seeking out greatness, similar to how a certain 28-time Olympic medalist asked: What can I do? He is not afraid to fail. He wants to test his limits.
That approach is what makes legends.
Paris Olympics, Day 4 Semifinals: Kristof Milak Tops 200 Fly In 1:52.72 As He Seeks To Defend Tokyo Crown
Kristof Milak: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by LIZ BYRNES – EUROPE CORRESPONDENT
30 July 2024, 12:06pm
Paris Olympics, Day 4 Semifinals: Kristof Milak Tops 200 Fly Semis In 1:52.72 As He Seeks To Defend Tokyo Crown
Michael Phelps is the only man to have won the Olympic 200 fly title on more than one occasion with the 23-time gold medallist visiting the top of the podium three times.
Seven countries have been represented atop the rostrum by the likes of Mark Spitz, Michael Gross and Chad Le Clos on the 17 occasions the event has been contested since its introduction to the Olympic programme at Melbourne 1956.
Phelps won at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 and would have been a four-time champion were it not for Le Clos accelerating into the finish with a perfect touch at London 2012.
Kristof Milak, however, is one step away from becoming a two-time champion after posting 1:52.72 in the semis although he faces a challenge from Leon Marchand who went 1:53.50.
World Record: Kristof Milak, HUN – 1:50.34 (2022)
Olympic Record: Kristof Milak, HUN – 1:51.25 (2021)
Tokyo Olympic Champion Kristof Milak, HUN – 1:51.25
It’s five years and six days since Milak first broke the 200 fly world record, crushing Phelps’ previous standard that had stood for 10 years.
Then 19, he cut 0.76 from the WR of 1:51.51 set at the 2009 worlds, a time he subsequently lowered to 1:50.34 in front of a home crowd at Budapest 2022.
Milak won 200 gold in Tokyo in 1:51.25, the fourth-fastest time of his career and one that he alone has eclipsed.
However, in 2023 he withdrew from the Fukuoka worlds to focus on his mental health with Leon Marchand winning the title in 1:52.43, a French record as he went third-fastest all-time.
Milak didn’t return to full-time training as planned and only made his competitive comeback at the Hungarian Championships in April this year.
The 24-year-old returned to Olympic waters on Tuesday morning and was the only man inside 1:54 in prelims as he posted a season’s best of 1:53.92, the second-fastest time in the world this year behind only Tomoru Honda who shockingly finished 22nd in 1:57.12.
Come the semis and Marchand – willed on by an exuberant crowd at La Defense Arena – posted the third-swiftest time of his career before heading off to warm down and prepare for the 200m breaststroke.
Milak then came to the blocks: out in 24.50, he split 28.84/29.29 before coming home in 30.09 for the 13th-fastest time of his career, underlining the quality of the Hungarian who holds the five fastest times in history.
Ilya Kharun of Canada was third in 1:54.01 followed by Noe Ponti in a Swiss record of 1:54.14, Kregor Zirk of Estonia (1:54.22), Krzysztof Chmielewski (1:54.28), Italian Alberto Razzetti (1:54.51) with Martin Espernberger of Austria claiming the eighth and final spot in 1:54.62.
U.S. Water Polo Star Maggie Steffens Coping with Death of Sister-In-Law at Olympics
Photo Courtesy: CG Sports Network
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
30 July 2024, 03:43am
U.S. Water Polo Star Maggie Steffens Coping with Death of Sister-In-Law at Olympics
U.S. women’s water polo star Maggie Steffens is playing with a heavy heart in Paris after the unexpected death of her sister-in-law.
Lulu Conner died last Tuesday after a medical emergency in Paris after traveling there to the Games. The sister of Steffens’ husband, Bobby Conner, was 26 years old.
“She was so excited for the Olympic Games,” Steffens told the Associated Press. “We’re really close. She’s the light of the world. She just brings so much joy to everyone. She always brings people together.”
Lulu Conner attended UC Davis and worked as an artist. She brought a clock that included Steffens’ picture as a gift for U.S. water polo booster Flavor Flav to wear during the Olympics.
Steffens, the all-time leading scorer among women in Olympic water polo competition, has played in both of the Americans’ matches in Paris, a win over Greece to open group play and a loss on Monday to Spain.
Steffens memorialized Conner by dropping a small bouquet of flowers into the River Seine from the U.S. boat during Friday’s Opening Ceremonies.
“It definitely helps to play,” Steffens said. “I’m like so out of body in a way right now. And I just keep trying to remind myself what Lulu would want and how she would be, you know, how can I embody her spirit the best. And Lulu was somebody that she gave 150% to everything she did.”
Steffens is vying to help the U.S. win gold for the fourth straight Games. She’s the only member of the team to have been part of the squad for each of the last three Olympics.
USA water polo has experience with tragedy before an Olympics, with coach Adam Krikorian losing his brother, Blake, just before the 2016 Olympics. It proved a galvanizing event for the group, which is immensely close. Many of Steffens’ closest friends are on the team, and it’s a group that has endured personal and professional heartache through their decade on top of the world.
“It’s going to be a really hard couple weeks for all of us,” Steffens said. “My team has been a really big support system for me. I’ve been obviously really struggling, and my husband as well, and his entire family. I mean, it’s a nightmare, and it’s completely shocking. But I think just feeling her spirit here is, like I said, it’s amazing. And I hope that we can make her proud every single day.”
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Paris Olympics, Day 4 Finals: Kaylee McKeown Tops Regan Smith to Repeat as 100 Backstroke Olympic Champion
Kaylee McKeown — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
30 July 2024, 12:13pm
Paris Olympics, Day 4 Finals: Kaylee McKeown Tops Regan Smith to Repeat as 100 Backstroke Olympic Champion
The first time Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith raced each other was at the 2017 World Championships, when Smith was 15 years old and McKeown had just turned 16. Neither won a medal that night (Smith actually fell to eighth), but that moment foreshadowed a long backstroking rivalry between the two.
Smith was the first to break a world record, taking down marks in both the 200 back and 100 back at the 2019 Worlds, but McKeown was victorious in both events on the Olympic stage. At last year’s World Championships, the last time the two met prior to the Paris Games, McKeown got the gold in all three backstroke races, all at Smith’s expense. But the U.S. Olympic Trials last month saw Smith fire back, taking down McKeown’s 100 back world record in fiery fashion.
In Paris, McKeown and Smith would surely meet in a pair of gold-medal finals, with the pair considered a virtual lock to occupy the top-two spots in some order. Round one come in the 100-meter race, and accordingly, Smith and McKeown would swim in the center lanes, the American in four and the Australian in five.
And once again, McKeown has come from behind to overtake Smith at a critical juncture, securing her second consecutive Olympic gold in the event.
The race was almost dead even through the halfway point, with Smith and Canada’s Kylie Masse each flipping at 28.02, just eight hundredths shy of world-record pace, but McKeown and the United States’ Katharine Berkoff were just hundredths behind. Off the turn, Smith’s underwater dolphin kicks propelled her ahead, but Berkoff was not done, and neither was McKeown.
In previous major finals matching up the duo, Smith has taken the early lead, only for McKeown to come charging back, but when Smith broke the world record at last month’s Trials, she went out under world-record pace and then fell a mere one hundredth shy of equaling McKeown’s second-length split. This time, McKeown stayed close enough to put herself in position to pull away.
In the final 15 meters, the medals sorted themselves out: Berkoff fell slightly behind, and then so did Smith as McKeown reached to the wall in 57.33. That tied her best time, which had stood as the world record until last month and remains the Australian, Commonwealth and Oceanic records.
Smith took second in 57.66, earning her fourth Olympic medal and third silver, while Berkoff reached the podium with a bronze-medal time of 57.98. Those medals are the 598th and 599th that the United States has ever collected in the pool. Masse, the winner of bronze in the event in 2016 and silver in 2021, came up just shy of reaching the podium for a third consecutive Olympics as she finished fourth in 58.21.
World Record: Regan Smith, USA – 57.13 (2024)
Olympic Record: Kaylee McKeown, Australia – 57.47 (2021)
Tokyo Olympic Champion: Kaylee McKeown, Australia – 57.47
McKeown became only the second woman to defend Olympic gold in the 100 back, following Natalie Coughlin in 2004 and 2008. McKeown was also trying to become only the second Australian woman to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in an individual swimming race. Ariarne Titmus joined those ranks earlier this week in the 400 freestyle, following Dawn Fraser’s three consecutive 100 free crowns in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
Over the past five years, Smith and McKeown have collectively lifted this event to new heights. The first decade following the ban on full-body polyurethane suits saw tiny drops in the world record, from 58.12 to 58.00, before Smith became the first woman under 58 with a dramatic relay leadoff at the 2019 Worlds. She actually did not swim the 100 back at that meet, but her world-record-setting effort and gold medal in the 200 back at that meet convinced the U.S. coaching staff to give her medley relay duties.
Two years later, McKeown would take that record down to 57.47, and then she went 57.33 last year before Smith achieved the latest global mark at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Three other woman have followed these two under 58 — with Masse and Berkoff in this final while Mollie O’Callaghan skipped the event to focus on her freestyle swims — but entering the Olympic final, McKeown and Smith combined to own the top-15 times in history, nine by McKeown and six from Smith.
Outside the pool, McKeown and Smith rarely see each other since they live on opposite sides of the world, but they maintain a cordial relationship, with Smith revealing prior to the Olympics how McKeown sent her an Instagram message kindly congratulating her on the record. But their year-after-year backstroking excellence has made this competition a staple of major international meets.
And they still have at least two more high-stakes matchups in Paris, in the 200 back and as leadoff swimmers on the women’s 400 medley relay, with the mixed 400 medley relay also a possibility. Here, McKeown got this gold medal, but Smith is not done in Paris yet.
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ISHOF 2001 Honor Swimmer, Janet Evans: Named Chief Athlete Officer for 2028 LA Olympic Games
Article by John Regardie, Los Angeles Magazine – July 2024 – The Sports Issue
Janet Evans has always been impressive. First s a swimmer, then in life, as she continues to up the ante as she is named Chief Athlete Officer for the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Janet, a Californian by birth, began working with the LA 2024 Organizing Committee and served as Vice Chairman and Athlete Director to promote Los Angeles as a Candidate City, which was ultimately awarded the 2028 Summer Olympic Games for the third time in history at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017.
to read Janet’s ISHOF bio, click here: https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-janet-evans/
Paris Olympics: Sarah Bacon, Kassidy Cook Claim Synchro Silver for First U.S. Medal
Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
27 July 2024, 03:38am
Paris Olympics: Sarah Bacon, Kassidy Cook Claim Synchro Silver for First U.S. Medal
The first American medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics belongs to Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook.
The U.S. 3-meter women’s synchro pair kicked off Paris with silver in the event at the Paris Aquatics Centre, the first medal for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics.
Bacon and Cook finished 23.04 points behind the winning Chinese pair of Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen. Great Britain was third.
It’s the first Olympic medal for both Cook, 29, and Bacon, 27. Bacon has a pair of silver medals from World Championships in 2019 and 2022 in the individual events. Cook finished 13th on women’s 3-meter individual at the 2016 Olympics.
“We were really consistent,” Cook said. “We were able to dive the way we train. It wasn’t our best performance but we didn’t miss anything, so we’re really happy with how we did. To be able to walk away with a silver medal is freaking awesome.”
The Chinese pair dominated, with the best score in each of the five rounds to tally 337.68 points. Bacon and Cook tied them with the best dive of the second round, scoring 51.00 on their 301B. The Americans then posted the third-best dive of the third, fourth and fifth rounds, each topping 70 points. It led to a score of 314.64.
That consistency saw them outduel the up-and-down British duo of Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen. Cook and Bacon gained six points in the third round, when the Brits had just the sixth-best dive to fall to sixth. Harper and Mew Jensen delivered the second-best dive of the final round to leap over Australia and into bronze. Britain tallied 302.28, with Italy fourth in 293.52. The Aussie pair of Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney, which won silver at the Doha World Championships this year, fell to fifth, scoring just 48.60 on their final dive.
“I’ve got no words. I can’t even speak,” Mew Jensen. “I was massively in shock. That’s a really easy dive for them, they are very talented. For that to happen, I don’t want to say it couldn’t have happened better, but for us, that was the ideal. To find joy out of someone else’s failure is really hard, but also, for us, it is really powerful.”
It’s the first Olympic medal for Chen, age 25. She has six golds at World Championships and seven total medals. That includes three straight synchro titles with Chang, 22, also a first-time medalist. She has five golds and seven total Worlds medals.
“We didn’t put too much pressure on our shoulders,” Chen said. “There is some stress but we identified the difficulties upstream. Most important is to keep working together and keep encouraging each other.”
For Cook and Bacon, it’s a culmination of a longstanding friendship even more than partnership. Bacon recalled watching the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics together in Texas. Before they became synchro partners, they were friends, and Saturday’s medal is a celebration of both dimensions of that bond.
“We just had a connection ever since we were young and it has just transferred into our synchro,” Bacon said. “We’re best friends and we enjoy doing it together.”
“We have a special connection in the pool and outside of the pool and that has been a major component of how successful we are as a synchro team,” Cook said.
Pakhalina enters ISHOF as the fifth diver from Russia
Yulia Pakhalina became a member of the Russian Junior National Team very early, winning her first Junior World Championship at the age of 12, eventually joining the Russian National Team in 1998.
She excelled as a springboard diver and at her first World Championships in 1998 she came away with two world titles.
At the Sydney Games, in 2000, Yulia and partner Vera Ilyina won gold in the 3-meter synchro event. In her next two Olympic appearances, 2004 and 2008, the duo won a silver and a bronze in the synchronized events and Yulia won bronze and silver in the 3-meter events.
Pakhalina was a three-time World Champion, a seven-time European Champion, four-times as a soloist, and a three-times with her partner in the3-meter synchronized event.
Come join Pakhalina and the rest of this year’s Class of 2024 in Fort Lauderdale.
If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://ishof.org/donate/
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees include:
Honor Swimmers:
Lars Frölander (SWE)
Daniel Gyurta (HUN)
Dana Vollmer (USA)
1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Gold Medal Relay Team (USA)
(Includes Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton*, Jill Sterkel)
Honor Divers:
Alexandre Despatie (CAN)
Yulia Pakhalina (RUS)
Wu Minxia (CHN) 2023
Honor Artistic Swimmer:
Virginie Dedieu (FRA)
Honor Water Polo Players:
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci (ITA)
Vladimir Akimov* (USSR)
Honor Coach:
Dennis Pursley (USA)
Honor Contributor:
Dale Neuburger (USA)
ISHOF 59th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
~ HOTEL INFORMATION ~
Host Hotel: Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50757008
321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 467-1111. Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $229 per night,
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $199 per night
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION