ROCKY, YODA, GRETZKY…MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES THAT INSPIRE THE NY BREAKERS; PERSONALIZED APPAREL NOW AVAILABLE
by BRANDI WEST
10 October 2019, 04:22am
Even the most talented and successful athletes need a boost of motivation once in a while to help push through the tough days of training that leave one depleted mentally and physically. The athletes on the New York Breakers reveal the motivational quotes that give them that inspiration to push forward, reach for the next level, and leave everything they have in the pool. (And then wake up and do it all over again the next day!)
Michael Andrew: Do or do not, there is no try. -Yoda
Haley Black: Always keep believing.
Pernille Blume: I don’t like to gamble, but if there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.
Marcelo Chierighini: What we do in life echoes in eternity.
Mack Darragh: Train insane or remain the same.
Joao De Lucca: I can and I will.
Ali DeLoof: Good things come to those who wait.
Catie DeLoof: Fate whispers to the warrior “You cannot withstand the storm.” The warrior whispers back “I am the storm.”
Gabby DeLoof: Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. -Earl Nightingale
Emily Escobido: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky
Reva Foos: Hard work beats talent.
Jonathan Gomez: The difficult takes a little bit of time, the impossible just a little bit longer. -Jeff Olson
Marco Koch: Don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you’re finished.
Marius Kusch: We did not just come here to take part, we came here to take over. -Conor McGregor
Breeja Larson: This pain is not your curse, this pain is your privilege. -Arnold Schwarzenegger
Clyde Lewis: Overthinking, over analyzing, separates the body from the mind; Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must feed my will to feel my moment. -Maynard James Keenan
Justin Lynch: Be the best version of yourself in anything you do.You don’t have to live anybody else’s story.
Jack McLoughlin: If something is worth doing its worth overdoing.
Lia Neal: Everything happens for a reason.
Emily Overholt: The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream.
Jacob Pebley: There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: The fear of failure. -The Alchemist
Tomas Peribonio: There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true. -Neymar
Christopher Reid: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift… that’s why they call it present. -Master Oogway
Pedro Spajari: Fight always, win sometimes and never give up.
Brad Tandy: Be great, have fun.
Grigory Tarasevich: Ain’t no rest for the wicked. -Quote popularized by Cage the Elephant song with the same title.
Alys Thomas: Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up. -Rocky
Markus Thormeyer: Don’t sit and wait for the storm to pass, but instead learn how to dance in the rain.
Madi Wilson: A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall. -Serena Williams
Abbie Wood: If it was easy everyone would do it.
Personalized Gear Now Available For Each NY Breakers Athlete
Get inspired by your favorite New York Breakers swimmers through their personalized apparel collections available on www.NYBreakers.com. The apparel and home items in the collections include unique features that were hand selected by each athlete to reflect his/her personal style and inspiration.
And for a limited time, the New York Breakers will donate a portion of all merchandise sales to the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) and Museum. ISHOF serves as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around the world. After the limited time fundraiser with ISHOF, 50% of all proceeds for personalized gear will go directly to the athletes.
Select t-shirts, hats, towels, sweatshirts, shorts, coffee mugs, and more are available with any NY Breaker athlete’s name.
Personalized shirts available for every NY Breaker athlete
Personalized towels available for every NY Breaker athlete
Personalized sweatshirts; shown is women’s hoodie.
Men’s t-shirt is available with any male athlete’s name on the back
NY Breakers women’s t-shirt can be personalized with an athlete’s name
New York Breakers General Manager, Tina Andrew, announced:
“We are thrilled to partner with Swimming World in this effort to raise funds. Our goal is to contribute $1k per athlete to ISHOF before the end of the season. It is only natural to support an organization that records historical moments in the sport.
“The launch of the International Swimming League (ISL) is a historical feat, and we are very proud to be a part of it. As an organization, we are huge fans of the swim community and we, personally, want to invite everyone to become a New York Breaker fan.”
Since announcing its roster of decorated swimmers that will compete in the new International Swimming League (ISL) when it gets underway in Indianapolis in October with the first of six matches leading to a grand finale in Las Vegas on the cusp of Christmas, The New York Breakers now launch their athletes’ stores to add value to their fans and give back to the swimming community.
ISHOF President, Brent Rutemiller, expressed his appreciation:
“In this exciting time for the sport of swimming, we are honored to work with this talented organization and group of athletes to support the International Swimming Hall of Fame. We are grateful for this partnership with the New York Breakers and the opportunity the ISL has given to athletes to continue to pursue their dreams and compete on a professional level.”
The New York Breakers full roster of swimmers:
Men: Michael Andrew (USA), Marcelo Chierighini (Brazil), Mack Darragh (Canada), Jonathan Gomez (Colombia), Marco Koch (Germany), Marius Kusch (Germany), Clyde Lewis (Australia), Joao De Lucca (Brazil), Justin Lynch* (USA), Jack McLoughlin (Australia), Jacob Pebley (USA), Tomas Peribonio (Ecuador), Chris Reid (South Africa), Pedro Spajari (Brazil), Brad Tandy (South Africa), Grigory Tarasevich (Russia) and Markus Thormeyer (Canada)
Women: Haley Black (Canada), Ali DeLoof (USA), Catie DeLoof (USA), Gaby DeLoof (USA), Emily Escobedo (USA), Reva Foos (Germany), Lara Grangeon (France), Breeja Larson (USA), Lia Neal (USA), Emily Overholt (Canada), Alys Thomas (UK), Madi Wilson (Australia) and Abbie Wood (England).
*not on travel team
The Breakers will compete at the following three meets, with the opportunity for a spot at the season-ending championship in Las Vegas (December 20 – 21 up) for grabs:
Lewisville, Dallas, Texas, USA (October 18 – 19)
Budapest, Hungary (October 26 – 27)
Washington D.C. (November 15 – 17)
The NY Breakers commitment to swimming and the home of its history could hardly have come at a better moment as the the new Hall of Fame starts to take shape:
ABOUT THE NEW YORK BREAKERS in their own words: Founded in April 2019, the New York Breakers is New York’s newest Professional Sports Club. With a gender equal 27-swimmer roster, the Breakers aims is to establish a winning culture by rewriting the playbook for pro swimmers.
The team’s mission is to provide a highly competitive and team-oriented professional swim team where character and personhood are valued on the same scale as performance; one where athletes and coaches alike are motivated by a higher purpose than self; and one where the words ‘team’ and ‘family’ are used interchangeably.
The Breakers believe in providing financial security and building wealth for every member of the team so that we are all free to perform at our best, making it a reality to make a living in the sport we love. We believe that our values will offer future investors exciting opportunities & reasons to invest in our sport and enter into win/win partnerships.
The Breakers will compete in the new International Swimming League (ISL) which gets underway in October 2019.
DR. JANE KATZ RECEIVES MARQUIS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Marquis Who’s Who is proud to honor it’s most distinguished listees based on their career longevity, philanthropic endeavors and lasting contributions to society. Out of 1.5 million biographees, only a small percentage are selected for the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. Among that prestigious group, a handful are chosen to represent Marquis in the Wall Street Journal. Congratulations to one of those prestigious few, Dr. Jane Katz!
Dr. Jane Katz attributes her success to her parents, Dorothy and Leon Katz. As a teenager, her father nearly drowned. Shortly thereafter, a newfound friend taught him how to swim. From the time of this life-changing event, Leon was passionate about sharing his knowledge about swimming with everyone he met poolside. In this spirit, Dr. Katz assumed her father’s mantle very early on. At the tender age of seven, she witnessed a parent trying to teach his child how to swim. A young Dr. Katz offered unsolicited advice with predictable results. She now operates by the following motto: “Water is democratic; it works for everybody and is a great equalizer”.
The Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award is an honor reserved for biographees who have demonstrated leadership, excellence and longevity within their respective industries and professions. One of the highest distinctions available through Marquis Who’s Who, the award entitles biographees to a listing on the Lifetime Achievers website alongside fellow honorees, as well as a professional announcement detailing induction.
Dr. Jane Katz was awarded the Federation Internationale de Natacion Amateur Certificate of Merit to honor her “dedication and contributions to the development of swimming ” in Sydney during the XXVII Olympiad in 2000, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition in 2006. She was celebrated by the Legends of the Maccabiah of the NYAC in 2018 and has been selected for inclusion in several notable Who’s Who publications.
Over the course of four decades, Dr. Katz has authored 16 books and numerous articles in the field of aquatics, highlighting “water exercise techniques” (W.E.T.s)”, water therapy and aquatic safety.
Dr. Katz has been involved with ISHOF for many years and received the Every Child Swimmer Award from ISHOF in 2016.
Congratulations Jane!
ISHOF COLUMBUS DAY SALE
ISHOF ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2020
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is proud to
announce its prestigious Class of 2020. This year ISHOF will
induct thirteen honorees from seven countries; five swimmers, two coaches, one
diver, one water polo player, one synchronized swimmer, one open water swimmer,
and two contributors. The event will be held Saturday, April 25, 2020
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame
honorees include:
HONOR SWIMMERS:
Brendan Hansen (USA), Michael Klim (AUS), Jon Sieben (AUS), Rebecca Soni
(USA) and Daichi Suzuki (JPN); HONOR DIVER: Matthew Mitcham (AUS); HONOR SYNCHRONIZED
(ARTISTIC) SWIMMER: Elvira Khasyanova (RUS); HONOR WATER POLO: Mirko Vicevic (YUG);
HONOR OPEN WATER
SWIMMER: Marilyn Bell (CAN); HONOR COACH: David Marsh (USA) and Ursula Carlile (AUS); HONOR CONTRIBUTORS: Bob Duenkel (USA) and
Peter Hurzeler (SUI).
Honor Swimmers
Brendan Hansen is an American swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke
events. He is a six-time Olympic
medalist and is a former world record-holder in both the 100m and 200m
breaststroke events (long course). Hansen competed in three Olympic Games, 2004,
2008 and 2012, where he brought home three gold, one silver and two
bronze.
Michael Klim is a Polish born Australian swimmer that
competed in three Olympic Games, beginning in 1996, 2000, and 2004. Klim specialized in the butterfly and sprint
freestyle events. In Olympic
competition, he won two gold, three silver and one bronze. Klim has broken nine world records in long course
and four world records in short course events.
Jon Sieben set a world record with a blistering 1:57.04
in the 200m butterfly, winning the event in a major upset of the 1984 Olympic
Games. Swimming as a NCAA swimmer, he
competed for the University of Alabama under ISHOF Honor Coach, Don Gambril but
ISHOF Honor Coach, Laurie Lawrence was his coach at the Olympic Games. He
competed in three Olympic Games, 1984, 1988 and 1992; the first time an
Australian swimmer had competed in three games, since Dawn Fraser had done it
in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
Rebecca Soni is an American swimmer and breaststroke
specialist who is a six-time Olympic medalist. She is a former world record
holder in the 100m breaststroke (short and long course) and the 200m
breaststroke (short and long course) and was the first woman to swim the 200m
breaststroke in under 2 minutes 20 seconds. Soni has won a total of 22 medals in major
international competition, 14 gold, seven silver, and one bronze spanning the
Olympics, the World Championships, the Universiade Games, and the Pan Pacific
Championships.
As a 17-year-old backstroker, Daichi Suzuki became the first person
to swim 25 meters under water at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. At about
the same time, ISHOF Honor Swimmer, David Berkoff started experimenting with
what became known as “the Berkoff Blastoff” in the USA. Fast forward to the
preliminaries of the 1988 Olympic Games, Berkoff and Suzuki went head-to-head,
with Berkoff staying five more meters underwater on the first lap than his opponent
and winning by over a body length in WR time. The finals were a different
story. Both surfaced at about 40 meters, with Berkoff having a half-body lead.
On the final lap, Suzuki caught up and out-touched Berkoff for the gold medal,
in what was considered a major upset of the ’88 Games. Suzuki retired
immediately after the Seoul Olympics and has continued to be active at nearly
all levels of the sport.
Honor Diver
Matthew Mitcham is an Australian diver. He is the 2008 Olympic
champion on the 10m platform, and notably received the highest single-dive
score in Olympic history. He was the first Australian male to win an Olympic
gold medal in diving since Dick Eve at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Honor Water Polo Player
Mirko Vicevic is a Yugoslavian/Montenegrin water polo player
who, during his era, won gold at every major event on the world stage: the
Olympics, World Championships and FINA World Cup. He won Olympic gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympic
Games, gold at the 1986 and 1991 World Championships, and gold at the 1990 and
1991 FINA World Cup. He won the LEN
Trophy for the years 2002, 2003 and 2006 with his club Brixia, Best Sportsman
of Municipality of Kotor in 1986, 88 & 89 and Best Sportsman in Montenegro
in 1988.
Honor Synchronized Swimmer (Artistic Swimming)
Elvira Khasyanova is a synchronized swimmer from Russia. As a member of the Russian Senior national
team from 1999 to 2011, Elvira participated in three Olympics, winning gold
medals in the team competition in 2004, 2008 and 2012. She won World
Championships in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011 in team and free combination
along with European Championships in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010 in the same
events.
Honor Open Water Swimmer
As a 16-year old Canadian, Marilyn Bell’s 20-hour 59 minutes swim across Lake Ontario was
covered by radio station broadcasts and special newspaper “extras” covering the
swim. As a result of the publicity, her
landing was witnessed by a crowd of 300,000 people in Toronto. This young
woman’s courage and achievement resulted in the Canadian Press naming her the
Canadian Newsmaker of the Year in 1954. She went on to become the youngest person
to swim the English Channel and later the Strait of Juan de Fuca off the
Pacific coast where her women’s speed record held for more than 60 years!
Marilyn Bell became a Canadian Hero, and the awards and recognition include induction
into several Halls of Fame.
Honor Coach
For more than half a century, Ursula Carlile, teamed up with her husband,
ISHOF Honor Coach, Forbes Carlile, to form swimming’s first
internationally-prominent husband and wife coaching team. Beginning in 1962-64, she and Forbes coached
the Dutch National team where she was named the Dutch Olympic Co-Coach. In 1972, Ursula became Australia’s first
female Olympic swimming coach when she was selected as an assistant coach to ISHOF
Honor Coach, Don Talbot, for the Munich Olympic Games. She served as an
assistant to ISHOF Honoree, Terry Gathercole the next year at the World
Championships, held in Cali, Colombia.
In 1974, she was selected as Australia’s first
female Head Coach for the Commonwealth Games. In yet another sterling accomplishment,
during the 1970’s and ’80’s, she and Forbes coached five Olympians – all of
them world record-holders: Karen Moras, ISHOF Honor Swimmer, Shane Gould, Jenny
Turrall, ISHOF Honor Swimmer, Gail Neal and John Bennett. A Life Member of the Australian Swimming
Coaches and Teachers Association, Ursula Carlile lectures frequently around the
world.
David Marsh was the 2016 Head U.S. Olympic Women’s Swim
Coach in Rio, leading Team USA to the most medals in USA Swimming’s already
storied modern history. Team USA dominated the Rio Olympics, with a
final medal haul of eight gold, four silver and four bronze. Marsh placed more
U.S. Olympians than any program in the country, six, all earning gold medals. Prior to founding Team Elite, Marsh was the men’s and women’s swimming coach
at Auburn University, where he led the
men’s team to seven NCAA national championships (1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, and 2007) and the women’s team to five national championships (2002,
2003, 2004, 2006, 2007). Marsh is
the most successful coach at Auburn, regardless of sport. Marsh has coached 49 Olympians
from 19 different countries.
Honor Contributor
Bob Duenkel’s greatest contribution to swimming was his
40+ years of dedication and service to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
As Buck Dawson’s assistant for many years, he absorbed the history of swimming
like a sponge, not just from Dawson, but through the stories of ISHOF Honorees,
Johnny Weissmuller, Eleanor Holm, Buster Crabbe, Esther Williams and many, many
others. His knowledge of swimming history was encyclopedic. He studied and knew all the small details of
swimming and swimmers, from the ancient Greek swimmer Leander to the most
recent inductee, every Olympiad, every event, every time and every stroke. Bob
was ISHOF’s museum curator and presided over 40 years of its induction
ceremonies. He was a wonderful ambassador to swimming. There will never be another person more
knowledgeable about every aspect of aquatics than Bob Duenkel. Bob passed away in February 2019.
Peter Hurzeler is the master of Swiss’ timekeeping technology
Omega. Since 1969, his organizational and creative skills have successfully
delivered innovation, technology and Omega timekeeping to the Olympics. Throughout the decades, Hurzeler and his team
have invented and created virtually every timing system for every sport in both
the summer and winter Olympic Games. What he has done in sports and technology
in the Olympic movement no one else has ever achieved.
Look for more information coming soon and visit
www.ishof.org and www.swimmingworld.com regularly to keep up with all the news.
Hotel
and ticket Information coming soon….
contact Meg Keller-Marvin meg@ishof.org / 570-594-4367 for more information.
INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE OFF TO FLYING START IN INDIANAPOLIS
DC Trident posing at International Swimming League
Photo Courtesy: Peter Bick
by ANDY ROSS
06 October 2019, 03:11pm
The inaugural International Swimming League finished its first ever meet on Sunday October 6 in Indianapolis, Indiana as Energy Standard won the first meet, ahead of the Cali Condors, DC Trident and Aqua Centurions. These four teams will be flying to Naples, Italy tonight as they will compete in the second ISL match next weekend in Italy.
Sarah Sjostrom and Chad Le Clos (both Energy Standard) were named most valuable players of the first ISL match as the two Energy Standard team captains were a part of the driving force to get the ISL off the ground.
Katie Ledecky also nearly broke a world record in the 400 freestyle, as this was the first time she swam short course meters since the 2013 Duel in the Pool.
Swimming World’s Dan D’Addona was in the arena interviewing athletes and writing commentary as well as shooting photos with chief photographer Peter H. Bick. Splash through Bick’s photo gallery below.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Final Scores
Energy Standard – 539
Cali Condors – 457
D.C. Trident – 330.5
Aqua Centurions – 300.5
Complete Results and Individual Scorers
Women’s Individual Scoring
Sarah Sjostrom – 55.5 points
Olivia Smoliga – 44 points
Lilly King – 31.5 points
Men’s Individual Scoring
Chad Le Clos – 43 points
Florent Manaudou – 41 points
Mitch Larkin – 30.5 points
Day 2 Winners:
Women’s 100 Freestyle – Sarah Sjöström, Energy Standard – 51.76
Men’s 100 Freestyle – Chad Le Clos, Energy Standard – 46.96
Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Lilly King, Cali Condors – 1:04.43
Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Ilya Shymanovich, Energy Standard – 56.71
Women’s 400 Freestyle – Katie Ledecky, DC Trident – 3:54.06
Men’s 400 Freestyle – Zane Grothe, DC Trident – 3:41.64
Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay – Cali Condors (Smoliga, King, Dahlia, Comerford) – 3:49.06
Men’s 200 Individual Medley – Mitch Larkin, Cali Condors – 1:52.93
Women’s 200 Individual Medley – Melanie Margalis, Cali Condors – 2:04.18
Men’s 50 Butterfly – Florent Manaudou, Energy Standard – 22.66
Women’s 50 Butterfly – Sarah Sjöström, Energy Standard – 25.16
Men’s 100 Backstroke – Kliment Kolesnikov, Energy Standard – 50.16
Women’s 100 Backstroke – Olivia Smoliga, Cali Condors – 56.38
Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Energy Standard (Rylov, Bilis, Sanchez, Oleksiak) – 3:18.45
Women’s 200 Butterfly – Hali Flickinger, Cali Condors – 2:05.42
Men’s 200 Butterfly – Chad Le Clos, Energy Standard – 1:52.66
Women’s 50 Freestyle Skins – Sarah Sjöström, Energy Standard (23.89, 24.32, 25.22)
Men’s 50 Freestyle Skins – Florent Manaudou, Energy Standard (21.24, 22.00, 22.97)
RENOVATION OF ISHOF COMPLEX AS OCTOBER 1, 2019
The latest renovation photos (thanks Leo). It looks like it is moving right along on schedule,,,,,,,The main competition pool that was built in 1965 has been demolished. (Sad for those who love history-wonderful for those who love progress!) Over half of the grandstands have been demolished. The gutter system on the eastern (newest) 50-meter pool has been removed to be replaced with a newer, better, more up to date system. And finally, all the pool deck around the original 50-meter pool has also been demolished. Stay tuned for more updates.
Main Competition pool and Grandstands Demolition
Pool Deck of Main/Original Competition Pool
New/East Pool with Gutter System Removal
View of East Pool
Removal of Original 50-meter Pool
Pool Deck Removal
TERRY BASSETT NAMED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF USA DIVING
BY USA DIVING | SEPT. 26, 2019, 2:33 P.M. (ET)
INDIANAPOLIS – USA Diving announced Thursday that Terry Bassett has been named the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Bassett, who will begin his new role on October 1, will bring more than 20 years of management experience encompassing finance, marketing, operations and revenue generation.
“I am honored to have this opportunity with USA Diving. This is an exciting time for the organization, and I am committed to supporting our athletes in every way possible as we look forward to Tokyo and beyond,” Bassett said. “I am excited to work with the diving community to grow the sport and promote a safe environment for our members.”
His career experience also includes stops at several other privately owned, non-profit and publicly traded entertainment/sports properties, including the NFL Miami Dolphins, NASCAR/International Speedway Corp., Roger Penske’s Motorsports Division, Professional Bull Riders, and most recently with Nitro Circus.
He has a solid record of success in client relationship cultivation, membership growth/retention, interpersonal communication at all levels, and coordination of teams, with a proven record in staff management, development and leadership of up to 90-plus people.
“We are delighted to have selected Terry from the list of dozens of qualified candidates. He has a proven track record of success in several positions which require similar skills, knowledge, and abilities,” said Dave Gascon, Chair of USA Diving’s Board of Directors. “We have been very impressed by his diligence in working with our outgoing acting CEO Jack Perkins and staff as he gets up to speed. We look forward to Terry hitting the ground running on October 1.”
Bassett is originally from Bowling Green, Ohio, and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., with his wife, Michelle, and their three children, 18-year-old Nicholas, a college basketball student-athlete, and 15-year-old twins Isabella and Logan. He enjoys sports, fishing, sports cars, coaching youth sports and most importantly spending time with his family.
A nationwide search to fill the CEO position was conducted and led by Chip Novick of Boyden Executive Search.
SWIMMING FINDING ITS MOJO IN FLO MO & CO: THE SEA-CHANGE IN A SWIM LEAGUE
by CRAIG LORD
22 September 2019
Sunday Essay – Swimming Finding Its Mojo
Two weeks to the start of a new era. Expects bumps, turbulence, settling in, fun, thrills, spills and something new. Don’t expect an overnight leap for swimming in the pecking order of sports, professional or otherwise, at the heart of a trillion-dollar-a-year sports industry.
For swimmers and swimming this first season of the International Swimming League progress can already be measured before racing begins: swimmers, not just Olympic champions but swimmers deep down the ranks of the best in the world, will have access to a regular season of wage-earning racing.
The format matters: it’s about team, the emphasis not on the individual and not on a winner-takes-all culture of one or two big peak moments a year, the Olympic final the only moment that draws the wider audience in to a sport that has been sliding down the ‘who cares’ ranks more than it has cared to admit in between the only event that has ever mattered to the bigger crowd: the Olympic Games.
Olympic culture comes with a demand to be at the peak of peaks once every four years; to have the world record in your sights and know that the world expects that because that is how swimming has long sold itself; and a format that means the very best in the world often go unseen, unheard of beyond their backyard pool.
Two swimmers per nation has, for many generations, meant that all but the top two in any country got a shot at the big stage, a shot at any real recognition for their skills and speed at all in many cases.
World rankings history confirms that the world top 10, top 20, in any passing season has long been flooded with Americans, Australians and others who were 3rd, 6th, 7th, 9th, etc., in the world. However, they never got to race in global waters. Calls for FINA to recognise that and make the World Championships a place where the best 20 (for example), from wherever they came, had a right to a place at the global showcase, fell one deaf ears.
Why? The reality is that two Americans or 10 Americans in the water makes no difference to the votes at Congress and the top table: the USA still gets the two governance votes in common with all those other well-known swim nations such as Anguilla, Andorra, Burundi, Benin, Congo, Curaçao … run the letters … Kuwait … and on through the alphabet to Tonga, Togo, Togo, Vanuatu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Uruguay, Yemen and Zambia.
There are 209 FINA member nations. Outside the top 40, 50 at a stretch, you’re looking at teams with more officials than world-class swimmers, and often more officials than athletes full-stop, period.
So, for the votes, no need to consider the third best swimmer in the world if he or she happens to come from a powerhouse of swimming. “World” does not mean world-class in FINA world: it means “universal”, not “excellent”.
Galling, that, for those swimmers who attend college in the USA from home programs and nations such as Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany and beyond and know that much slower college teammates from other countries are off to the Olympics one summer, the Worlds the next. And that in the midst of international careers two or more Olympic cycles deep that bring recognition as “an Olympian” for never getting past a heats swim while their American college teammates, world top 5 and 10 swimmers back home, stay home.
The World Cup is Dead
The World Cup had a chance to be a terrific vehicle for change and promoting the sport in between Games. Ultimately, under the dead hand of FINA control, it failed to fulfil its potential as a showcase and shop window for world-class swimming, complete with a guarantee of a wage and the chance for swimmers to capitalise on their careers in the pool.
Neither FINA nor domestic federations properly backed the cup, invested in the cup, debated through what the cup should be to provide a different format, a different take on swimming, one that would benefit athletes, in that between-Olympics zone.
Debbie Meyer – Photo Courtesy: International Swimming Hall of Fame ISHOF)
Shane Gould – Photo Courtesy: Kevin Berry/Swimming World Archive
A World Cup in name only, the participation event is dead as far as promoting swimming through excellence goes (read more in the October edition of Swimming World Magazine).
At recent rounds of the event, the world record that Shane Gould set for women over 1500m freestyle in 1973 would have been good for fifth place in the men’s race at something called a World Cup. The class of ’64, with Donna de Varona and Don Schollander, the class of ’68, with Debbie Meyer and Mike Wenden, and on through Mark Spitz, past Mary T and Janet E, Tamas Darnyi, Krisztina Egerszegi and down the stream of superstars of their era: all of those greats would have made finals in the FINA 2019 World Cup.
Little wonder that we arrive at a moment in just under two weeks from today when the ISL will stage its first show of eight international, branded, teams stocked and stacked with more of the very best swimmers in the world than the World Cup has managed to attract in more than 20 years under FINA control.
Bottom line: the athletes want it; a very wealthy man called Konstantin Grigorishin harnessed ideas long out there in the swim world but ignored by FINA and added his own twist to that vision, putting his money where his mouth has been. The ISL challenges the notion that swimming will only even be a sport for Olympic heights once every four years; the time was right and ripe.
The Trick Is Team, A Different Mindset, Expectation and … A Pay Packet
The trick is team, with some other essential ingredients in the mix. The ISL has created a new home for world-class swimming by:
getting rid of flags, creating new banners under which swimmers from many nations can compete;
placing emphasis on teams not individuals;
promising a 50:50 share of all revenues with athletes and teams;
creating a season that fits training schedules aimed at the big championship moments;
pointing out to swimmers that they have rights and should have a say in the way their sport is shaped;
And through legal challenge that has shown FINA it can no longer bully athletes and others into submission.
That new home includes a new direction, new opportunities for swimmers, new stages, showcases and a shop window, complete with the potential for branded merchandise and dedicated shops and a market for … not FINA but SWIMMING. Broadcasters and other media – as well as swimmers an d coaches and all concerned, audience, too, can look forward to a show that means a few hours of entertainment, not endless hours of endless racing, all day and all weekend long in formats that make the eyes gaze over just reading the start list.
At last: relief from all that, all the things that the late Nick Thierry, father of world rankings and creator of SwimNews, called “athlete abuse”. Extend that to whole-family and audience abuse, too. The Olympic program is great at the Olympics,. It needed not ruin lives and prospects between Games.
Wealthy private investors have been a part of changes in sport such as that unfolding in the pool in various sports down the decades. Tennis (in which the weakest player on Grand Slam Tour earns more money in an average year than the vast majority of swimmers see from their sport in a lifetime) is a case in point. Swimbledon ahoy.
Keeping The Young In; Bringing Old Stars Back To Shine Once More
L’Equipe pointed to many of these issues in a piece this weekend, James Gibson, head coach to one of the eight ISL pro-teams, Energy (backed for several years as an international club by Grigorishin, head of the Energy Standard utility/power concern), telling the premier French sports paper:
“Olympic sports suffer stiff competition with the emergence of X-Games or e-sports. To survive and continue to attract young people, we had to change things.”
To attract big stars back into the water, too. Gibson’s charge, Florent Manaudou, 2012 Olympic 50m freestyle champion and a multiple World champion since then, retired after silver at Rio 2016. Silver. Who cares? Well, many in swimming do but even Flo-Mo got it: Olympic silver after vast hours and weeks and months and years of dedication to the black line won’t keep you in Ferraris, nor even Renaults, for the rest of your life.
Unless, of course, you are one of those rare cases that leap-frog universality, make it to excellent and become a hero forever-more in nations that look at the tally of Michael Phelps and know they won’t get there in 1,000 years of swimming.
Manaudou tells L’Equipe:
“Our sport needed top be dusted down. It was no longer viable to be a swimmer. The best are surviving with their sponsors but it is not normal to train like crazy for hours and hours and earning 1,500 euros when you are between the 8th and 16th in the world, for example.”
Ryan Murphy – Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
Precisely the point Grigorishin made after watching USA double Olympic backstroke champion Ryan Murphy at a social event of many stars from many sports. He noticed that fans asking for autographs of Pro-Sports athletes simply ignored the swimmer. They just didn’t know who he was.
Grigorishin turned to Murphy and asked “are you stupid?” – before explaining that Murphy could live by a different law and have his skills and speed recognised, celebrated more often in formats that did not demand world records of him for a decent return and turned into income. He told Murphy:
“You should be earning a wage, raising your market value, capitalising on being the very best in the world in a great sport.”
L’Equipe made other points, noting that the ISL will have no heats and other aspects of the traditional championship program. Here is how the French paper put it:
“So ends [with the ISL] the endless and boring series of small morning moments followed in the afternoon by semi-finals or finals for those at the top level”.
Again: boring series of small morning moments. Recognise it? I do. How many four-hour prelims sessions have swimmers and swimming families and coaches sat through down the decades? Far too many. While some say that’s part of what swimming’s about, others point out that even if that is the case, such things, like a set of 10x1000m swims in training, are best held in the privacy of your own company not shared with the world as an example of what swimming is about.
And all of that has gone on alongside an obsession with the clock. How about the … pure racing?
The ISL will use a team points system. In each race, first home (regardless of what the clock reads) gets the big points. It’ll be not far from the format that makes the NCAAs in the USA such a thrilling event. The fact that then rest of the world doesn’t care too much about any of that comes down to amateur rules and the yards pools not conducive to climbing over the ‘who cares’ threshold to a world beyond established audience.
“The vocabulary is important,” Gibson tells L’Equipe. “There’ll be many team matches against teams [knockout style]. The mood is completely different with that emphasis on the individual.”
Adam Peaty has noted that in this first season of the ISL alone, “a swimmer could earn $120 000”. For racing at four weekends (there rounds and a final as max demand) and helping their team to lift the top prize of almost $500,000, which in turn will be used to develop teams, their brands, their marketing, the net work and market value of swimmers and pay decent wages to swimmers down the ranks of the world’s best 5, 10, 15 and even 20. A structure to sustain an industry, to sustain professionals within that industry at the heart of that annual trillion-dollar marketplace.
Katie Ledecky – Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
Federica Pellegrini. Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer
Little wonder we find Manaudou, Peaty, Federica Pellegrini, Katinka Hosszu, Caeleb Dressel, Nathan Adrian, Sarah Sjostrom and one of the all-time greats of swimming history, Katie Ledecky, among those signed up as ambassadors and racers on the first global pro-teams in swim history. Then there’s the likes of Michael Andrew, Tom Shields, Vladimir Morozov and others who have proven themselves as tough-as-it-comes on multiple race day in the short-course pool.
Their presence shows not only their desire to earn a living for themselves but create an environment in which many more of their teammates also start to earn a living from the sport in which they excel.
Of course, all of those swimmers named above are far enough out in the outer-orbit of super-excellence to capitalise from their swimming through old models that are still available to them, still part of the Olympic model.
Schooling In Lessons Old
Rohit Brijnath, at The Straits Times, points to the other way swimmers, only those who achieve what has been the ultimate prize in the pool, Olympic gold, have earned their money (and will continue to do so).
In his piece headed “The Professionals: Eking out a career in sports: Joseph Schooling; A model champion keeps a fine balance”, Brijnath highlights the commitment required by the Olympic 100m butterfly champion and other athletes beyond their day jobs if they want to capitalise on the many hours and weeks and months and years of largely hidden effort in the pool – not to mention the vast commitment of parents, coaches and local programs scarcely mentioned come the gun and gold.
Here’s an extract from Brijnath:
What does it mean to be a professional athlete in Singapore? The Straits Times takes a hard look at the lives of some of the country’s sportsmen and women who earn a living doing what they love in this weekly series that ends today. He needs total focus in training and races but must manage multiple roles out of the water
Joe Schooling – Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Joseph Schooling is being lightly coated with the paint of stardom. A little bit of foundation, a little spray on his hair. He yawns in his chair and laughs: “You never get used to make-up.” His life is usually a stripped-down existence, just swimming briefs and goggles, a lonely lane and a clock. But this morning is another world and his second life.
For four hours he’s like a human mannequin, changing clothes and holding poses, a man of sweat in a room of designer cool as he models Hugo Boss’ autumn/winter collection. Is this fun? Perhaps. Mostly it’s a champion earning a living.
In a darkened room, music throbs and Tim White, a photographer flown down from Los Angeles, takes fashionable aim.
Click. Click. Click.
It’s the sound of professionalism.
Ten shots, 100, 500. Photographers are as demanding as coaches, just politer. “Lose yourself,” White tells Schooling who, as an athlete, is a creature of control. Still, he tries.
It’s a relentless morning but his easy charm doesn’t extinguish. During one quick break, he posts a shot of himself drinking Milo on Instagram where he has 168,000 followers. Every minute he’s either swimmer, role model, son or star.
He has eight sponsors and if he roughly earns over a million dollars a year then he deserves it because he’s shown us that Singaporeans can be scholars of the pool. He’s entitled to it because he committed himself to a life of unthinkable odds where on a given day, which comes only every four years, he crossed a pool – using a butterfly stroke – faster than anyone on this planet.
When Joseph and his parents, May and Colin, began their quest, it was only for gold, not money. “It (money) was the furthest thing from my mind,” says Colin now. “We never, ever thought of it.” Then he laughs and adds, aware of a swimmer’s limited earning potential: “If I have grandchildren I would tell them to take up golf or tennis.”
Schooling’s challenge is to perfectly compartmentalise his life. Be ready to stride a catwalk, yet find enough hours to sleep. He knows, if he’s not fast enough for long enough no one will pay him enough. And so even on a modelling day he’s disciplined about what he eats – chicken rice, no skin or bones; extra chicken or spaghetti Bolognese; blueberries and coconut water.
The feature is behind subscription at The Straits Times but here’s where to go if you want to read the full, excellent insight into Schooling’s world.
Balance underpins it all, says Schooling, who managed to navigate the U.S. college system and its amateur laws while making sure he had access to the riches Olympic gold can bring. Balance is harder to achieve, he suggests, telling the Straits Times:
“It’s the key in an athlete’s life. Balance is also one of the hardest things to attain.”
That’s what ISL managers and agents and coaches are therefore: their roles includes knowing how to navigate the need to be seen, the need to race for team, the need to fit that into training and preparation for the big championship season and the moment of “expectation” in any Olympic season. None of that is not about to wither on the vine. Says Schooling:
” … those expectations come from what you see on TV. But on TV you only see pro athletes when they’re playing their game, doing what they do best. You don’t see the other side of things, what they are doing 99 per cent of the time. The only time you realise this is when you’re going through it yourself.”
As Brijnath puts it with a nod to the difference in being from Singapore or the United States, say, as a swimmer:
“He’s had to learn to be a master juggler, adroitly managing body, fame, sleep, technique, pressure, pals, cameras, fans, exhaustion, dreams. His life cannot only be water and yet water has to always be first. Greatness asks for a hard price, it’s why very few get there. Schooling exerts a sort of irresistible force, we’re drawn to him because there’s only one of him. Strangers, media, politicians, sponsors, everyone wants a word with him. It’s a lovely affection but it’s also tiring, stealing away his time of which he has only so much.”
Schooling says that “saying ‘no’ is hard. You don’t want to be rude, but you’ve got to do what’s best for you. If they really support you, they will understand.” His manager, Ronda Ng, who says ‘no’ for him.
What If You Got Paid Just Because You’re Among The Fastest Swimmers Ever …
Meanwhile, swimmers will soon be earning money not as side-show, role model and promoter and bringer of feel-good factor after Olympic gold, but as … swimmers.
Posters for the ISL season ahead Photo Courtesy: ISL
Make no mistake: there will be challenges ahead, lessons for all concerned, the ISL’s organisers and visionaries included. Season 1 has already shown where steep improvements can and should be made even before the switch is flicked on the super-troupers and the stars of the show march out to their blocks to team chants and cheers in the bold new brands and colours of their international, multi-nation teams.
What will count in Indianapolis the week and weekend after next is that the show unfolds without visible hitch (there were hitches behind the scenes at every major meet I’ve ever been to), that the new shop window for swimmers and swimming is an eye-catcher, that team characters and profiles of swimmers, coaches and managers start to emerge.
And, most significantly, that swimmers (and coaches and managers) leave for the next round buoyed by a thought that many generations before them have barely been able to dream about: that was terrific fun, lessons learned on tactics and racing – and I’m actually getting a share of the dividend accruing from my efforts, I’m actually earning a living from the thing I’m world-class at, hard work honouring gift, talent and the support o all those who contribute to the process of unlocking the very best in the very best.
More Reading And Listening On Swimmers Heading For ISL Action:
ISL Managers Set Out Their Stall For Mentors At Dawn Of New Era In Swimming
In the lead-up to the first International Swimming League pro-team season, Swimming World is taking a look at some of the pioneers of a new chapter unfolding in the sport.
Pioneers Of Pro-Team Swimming
Olivia Smoliga
Katie McLaughlin
Ian Finnerty
Amy Bilquist
Ella Eastin
Ali DeLoof
Hali Flickinger
Breeja Larson
Siobhan Haughey
NOTES FROM A MEMORABLE START TO THE 2019 NCAA MEN’S WATER POLO SEASON
Leo Yuno and all the Gauchos have enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2019 NCAA season –
Photo Courtesy: Jeff Liang
23 September 2019,
BROOKLYN, NY. After a string of eye-opening developments—UC Santa Barbara beating #1 teams twice in one week and Cal losing three times in the season’s first two weekends, including to UC Davis for the first time in four decades—it seems right to delve into what’s going on with men’s water polo. And correct a wrong impressions about the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA).
Big Four No More?
Two weekends ago, USC (4-1) lost decisively to UCSB. Not only was it the mighty Trojans’ first loss to the Gauchos since 1990—a streak of 55 straight—they also dropped a match on their opening weekend for the first time since 1994. Last Thursday, the Gauchos beat Stanford, which had assumed top ranking from USC.
[#2 UC Santa Barbara Storms into Avery, Shocks #1 Stanford in Men’s Water Polo]
Adding to the Pac-12’s angst: Cal (7-3) has already lost three games to non-Pac-12 opponents—meaning five losses by MPSF team that constitute the “Big Four”—Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC—in the first two weeks of the season.
To put this in context, in the three years since five teams bolted the MPSF for the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) prior to the 2016 season, members of the Big Four had lost five times to non-Pac-12 opponents. Three of those losses came in 2016, when Stanford was beaten three times; twice to Pacific and once by UCSB.
Stanford’s Ben Hallock; a hat trick against UCSB is not enough. Photo Courtesy: Bryan Williams
It’s perhaps convenient to point to the mercurial rise of of the Gauchos—with six wins over CWPA Top Ten opponents in a blistering 13-0 start to its season—but the overall gap between the Big Four and their non-MPSF opponents does appear to be narrowing. This weekend, Cal had to go to overtime to beat San Jose State 13-11. UCLA—which perhaps has an unblemished record (6-0) because they have yet to face the Gauchos—went down 5-1 to #6 Pepperdine on Saturday at home before rallying for a 14-12 win.
It’s still early in the season, but the losses that Pac-12 teams have suffered in 2019 are at least noteworthy—and the losing may continue in the 2019 MPSF Invitational, this weekend at UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center.
Slaying the Trojans and the Cardinal
The news out of Claremont for USC’s opening weekend was stunning. The mighty Trojans were derailed by a determined (and obviously talented) Gaucho group. Two months from now, it may not mean anything—especially for USC, which so far this season has missed Marko Vavic and Sawyer Rhodes, mainstays of last year’s national champion. Also missing: uber freshman Stefan Vavic. Reports suggest that Rhodes may struggle to return this season; if their issues are tied to an NCAA investigation of the program—which at the moment can only be speculated about—the Vavic brothers may not play at all.
Even if the program gets Marko back and his brother in the water, their father’s absence has to impact USC recruiting. If there’s one thing that Jovan was known for, it was his ability to entice foreign prospects to Troy. Last year there were four foreign freshmen on the USC men’s roster, including Australia’s Nic Porter, who emerged as the Trojan’s top goalie. This doesn’t include Jacob Mercep, the Serbian lefty who was enticed to USC by the prospect of a national championship—and became the Trojans leading scorer and 2018 NCAA final MVP.
For 2019? No foreign-born freshmen. Some may cheer this development; most would subscribe to the reality in NCAA polo that foreign athletes are difference makers.
Marko and Jovan Vavic after the 2018 NCAA final—a long time ago… Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne
One needs look no further then UCSB, which was led last fall by Serbian Boris Jovanovic (77goals) and is now getting major contributions from senior Ivan Gvozdanovic, also of Serbia, as well as Sam Nangle of Australia and Tiago Bonchristiano of Brazil. Gvozdanovic and Nangle have been key factors in two Gaucho wins over #1 teams in a week—a remarkable accomplishment by any stretch.
Wolf Wigo’s team may have surprised the Trojans, but there’s no way they should have caught the Cardinal (6-1) by surprise last week—or, maybe they did because the Gauchos (13-0) broke out to a 6-1 lead on their way to a convincing 15-10 victory at Avery Aquatic Center. Leading the way was Leo Yuno, a (perhaps) unheralded attacker who scored three of those first six goals and assisted on two of them on his way to a seven-point afternoon (four goals, three assists).
Stanford rebounded against UC Davis on Saturday, taking a 16-8 win over the Aggies; The Cardinal may get another shot at the Gauchos at the MPSF Invite, but there’s no dismissing the huge implications of UCSB’s back-to-back conquests of #1 teams: it’s an impressive body of early season work that should give the Gauchos at least a share of the top spot in the polls this week.
UC Davis captures an historic victory
If the Trojans were tripped up by the Gauchos, it looks like Cal early on fell into a deep hole, especially against UC Davis. Losing to UCSB at the Triton Invitational in the first week of the season now seems understandable. Much harder to explain: a 16-13 OT loss to the Aggies—for the first time in more than anyone can remember.
The only record available is the Cal website, which has entries that date back to 2000. Over a span of 19 years—and 27 matches—Cal had not lost to their regional rival. But, UC Davis Head Coach Dan Leyson believes it may be much longer—as far back as 1976. After his team’s win against a Cal program that has represents a standard of excellence in the Bay Area, Leyson cited a total team effort.
– Quotes courtesy of Jason Spencer, UC Davis Assistant Director, Athletics Communications
“We had balanced scoring we had some guys step up and have hat tricks in the game and those guys had been working so hard, and trying so hard, and it hasn’t been happening for them and it finally paid off that game. Also, really timely goalkeeper play. There were a couple instances where we were exposed and, in that moment, Jonah (Addington) stepped up — especially in overtime — and made two huge steals where he was more aggressive in coming out. I think that was a big step. We need great goalkeeper play and we had it in that game and the result shows.
“I’m so happy for them. It feels great and I’m happy for the guys because they wanted it so bad but, you know what? It’s one game and it’s early in the season and we’ve talked about it already. Is this going to be our high point for the season? We’ve already learned about complacency and the negative things that come along with winning. Not everything that comes along with winning is positive and we’ve learned from that and we’re aware of that. So, we’re just going to keep going forward.”
Leyson also added this thought, which may have been most telling: “It was just an overall team feeling that felt better in that game. Now, the question is, can we keep that going?”
The answer this weekend was “No.” The Aggies (5-4) dropped a 14-10 decision to the Golden Bears on Sunday at their own tournament, a day after getting beat 16-8 by Stanford at Davis. In truth, beating Cal, or Stanford or any other non-conference opponent means relatively little in the bigger picture; what does count is how UC Davis does against Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) rivals, in particular, UC San Diego.
[Friday Rewind: UC San Diego Beats Princeton in Wild Men’s Water Polo Contest]
Victory after 40 years! UC Davis’ Dan Leyson celebrates. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne
In their first weekend of play Leyson’s squad dropped a 12-8 decision to the Tritons; luckily it was a non-conference match-up, but UCSD was missing Kacper Langiewicz, a senior center who has been nursing an injury early on—but should be back in the water on November 9th, when the two teams who have split the WWPA title the last six years meet in their final regular season match before the WWPA tournament.
The Tritons are NOT going anywhere
If UC Davis fans had hopes that their biggest obstacle to an NCAA berth might be going away, they—and this columnist—were sadly mistaken. Despite a move to NCAA Division I status, and an almost total migration to the Big West Conference that will be completed by 2020, the Tritons will be staying put in the WWPA for the foreseeable future.
[2019 Swimming World Men’s Water Polo Previews: Western Water Polo Association]
This was confirmed by Steve Doten, WWPA Commissioner; it makes sense because UCSD has grown comfortable getting to the NCAA tournament through the conference’s automatic berth—even though the conference is meant to be a haven for DII programs. the reality is more than half of its members on the men’s side are Division I programs. For the Aggies to get back to the big show this December, they’ll need to beat the Tritons—and maybe a resurgent Loyola Marymount program.
Fordham, beast (and best) of the East?
Harvard has gotten off to a fast (9-0) start, Bucknell has perhaps the best player (Rade Joksimovic) and La Salle (5-8) has demonstrated it’s no longer a bottom-feeder. But the real surprise team of the East has been Fordham. They’ve beaten #14 (T) Bucknell and #16 St. Francis, and pushed #12 Harvard in an 11-8 loss at the Princeton Invitational. At 9-2 and already 3-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC), the Rams, whose polo players do not receive athletic scholarships, are off to a fantastic start, including a 4-0 sweep last weekend at the Bison Invitational.
[2019 Swimming World Men’s Water Polo Previews: Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-East]
Leading the way for Head Coach Bill Harris’ squad has been Jake Miller-Tolt, who will finish his career in the Bronx as the Rams’ all-time leading scorer. Helping out on both ends of the ball has been Oscar Nomura, who transferred this summer from MAWPC rival Wagner.
Fordham’s Bill Harris, Oscar Nomura and Brian Bacharach. Photo Courtesy: M. Randazzo
At the Navy Invitational, Nomura talked about moving from one New York City program to another.
“I had an epiphany over winter break. I was going to get stick with a major that I didn’t want. I really wanted to do a bachelor of science. Coming to Fordham and doing Environmental Science, which is not a program at Wagner, was my best move. Water polo-wise, this team and the culture fit me better than Wagner did.”
– You were a founding member of the Seahawk men’s program—and now you’ve moved literally to the other side of the city to play for the Rams.
“Those guys are my best friends—I spent pretty much every waking minute with them. It was definitely the toughest decision that I ever made.
“I still think about it but in the end, I think I made the right decision for me personally.”
– Chris Radmonovich, who recruited you to Wagner, has left the Seahawks.
“I got a text from one of my buddies at Wagner about Chris stepping down and I was in complete shock. I could never image that happening—it was surreal to me.
[Radmonovich Steps Down After Nine Superb Years Leading Wagner Water Polo]
“You can’t look back. We have a really good team here and I’m ready to move forward.”
And so the Rams have. Next up: George Washington, back-to-back MAWPC title-holders, come to the Bronx on Saturday.
DARA TORRES, RON O’BRIEN, ERIN POPOVICH TO BE INDUCTED INTO US OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC HALL OF FAME
by ANDY ROSS
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced its 2019 induction class with nine individuals, one team, two legends, one coach and one special contributor. Swimmer Dara Torres, diving coach Ron O’Brien and paralympic swimmer Erin Popovich were among the 13 inductees that will be honored and inducted at an awards dinner Friday November 1 at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
The rest of the inductees include:
Candace Cable (Para alpine skiing, Para Nordic skiing, Para track and field)
Lisa Leslie (basketball), Nastia Liukin (gymnastics)
Misty May-Treanor (beach volleyball)
Apolo Anton Ohno (short track speedskating)
Chris Waddell (Para alpine skiing, Para track and field)
the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team
John Carlos (legend: track and field)
Tommie Smith (legend: track and field)
Tim Nugent (special contributor)
Dara Torres
Dara Torres; Photo Courtesy: JM STREINER
Twelve-time Olympic medalist
tied for most decorated female swimmer in history
first American to swim at five Olympics
at 41, set three American records en route to three silver medals at Beijing 2008
16-time national champion
Inducted into International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2016.
Ron O’Brien
Ron O’Brien (left) with Dick Kimball; Photo Courtesy: ISHOF Archive
Coached the U.S. Olympic diving team at eight straight Olympic Games between 1968-1996
his divers won 154 gold, 90 silver and 78 bronze medals in major Olympic, world, national, NCAA and Big Ten Conference diving championships in his first 25 years of coaching
all 12 U.S. diving individual national titles were won by his divers in 1988
inducted into International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1988
Erin Popovich
Photo Courtesy: Swimming World Archive
Three-time Paralympian and 19-time medalist, including 14 golds
won seven golds in seven races, setting three world records and four Paralympic Games records at Athens 2004
two-time winner of the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability