Sarah Thomas, Cancer Survivor, Swims Pioneering Four Laps Of English Channel For “All The Survivors Out There”
by CRAIG LORD
17 September 2019, 02:42am
Sarah Thomas Swims First Four-Way English Channel In 54 Hours
Four laps. A fair bit more than 200m, though. As the crow flies, about 20 miles each lap. In the reality of the wash, the shipping lanes, tides and swells, 130 miles, 54 hours and 10 minutes. A pioneering four laps straight across and back twice in the English Channel.
Sarah Thomas, a 37-year-old from Colorado who completed treatment for breast cancer a year ago, just became the first person to swim across the English Channel four times in a row. The swim represents one of the greatest feats of human endurance.
Thomas began the epic challenge in the early hours of Sunday and finished after more than 54 hours just after dawn today around 6.30, London time.
She dedicated her mega-swimathon to “all the survivors out there”. Speaking to the BBC on the shore soon after clambering out of the Channel, Thomas said:
“I’m really just pretty numb. There was a lot of people on the beach to meet me and wish me well and it was really nice of them, but I feel just mostly stunned.”
She planned another marathon straight away: bed for the rest of the day: “I’m pretty tired right now”.
First up, though, there was champagne and chocolates to celebrate making dry land at Dover in England.
On the last lap, Thomas encountered choppy seas and ever-worsening conditions. Had there been any doubts along the way, the BBC asked. Said Thomas:
“I almost didn’t go back when I got back to England. I thought I should just finish and quit, but my team said, ‘Guess what? You can do better. You can keep going’.”
Lewis Pugh – Photo Courtesy: Speedo
Sarah Thomas – Photo Courtesy: Twitter
Accolades for Thomas included this from Lewis Pugh, the cold-water adventure swimmer, campaigner and fundraiser for a cleaner world: “Extraordinary, amazing, super-human!!! Just when we think we’ve reached the limit of human endurance, someone shatters the records. Huge congratulations to Sarah Thomas on swimming the English Channel 4x continuously!!!”
Thomas cited salt water as the toughest opponent, soar throat and mouth of bigger concern than aching arms. Asked how she got through it, Thomas told the BBC:
“My crew was really great about helping me out and keeping me strong. Every length had something that was really hard about it. Coming back from France the last time was definitely hard. It took forever and the current pushed me all over. I got stung in the face by a jellyfish and it wasn’t as cold as I thought it might be but it was still chilly.”
Only four swimmers had previously crossed the Channel three times without stopping, including Alison Streeter, the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Famer.
Thomas is na four-lap pioneer. Her mother, Becky Baxter, told BBC Radio 4: “I’ve been on a lot of her trips. This was by far the scariest.”
She said her daughter, who used swimming as a way of coping with her cancer treatment, was a “freak of nature” but did have “a lot of trouble with stomach ache” on this trip.
“We were a little worried at the end of the first day as she was not able to hold anything down,” she said. The cold was a challenge but Thomas is used to training in the cool waters of Colorado streams and lakes, her mother noted.
Protein recovery drink mixed with electrolytes and a little bit of caffeine helped keep Thomas going. Her mother noted that feeding was every 30 minutes in small doses, the bottle tide to a rope and thrown to the swimmer when the crew could catch her attention.
Official observer Kevin Murphy said:
“It is a triumph, she has tested the limits of endurance. It is amazing, absolutely inspirational. At the end we were very emotional.”
That means much coming from Hall of Famer Murphy: his own tally of a record 34 crossings includes three double-channel swims. Murphy also holds the record for the earliest Channel crossing of the year, set on 29 May 1990. In 1964, aged just 15, he completed his first long distance swim – 6 hours 29 minutes for the 10 miles (16 km) of Lake Windermere – and in 1968, he completed his first Channel swim – England to France in 15 hours 15 minutes.
The record book now includes a four-way swim.
Thomas’ mother agreed that all were “immensely proud” of her daughter. Baxter said: “We didn’t know if she would make it all the way to her reaching Shakepeare Beach in Dover. She had to really dig deep to finish.”
There had been 10-minute rests at the end of each lap. The tide was against Thomas on the way to the last beach, so much so that in the last 400m of the swim, “we had to do some screamin’ and yellin’ to get her through the tide,” said Baxter.
The Founder of The Channel Pioneers Club – Captain Webb
Pioneer Captain Webb and all that – Photo Courtesy: International Swimming Hall of Fame collections
Long the aquatic Everest, the English Channel might well be considered to be the greater human challenge in this age. There are no sherpas, for a start. Then, you have to be able to swim; you have to be able to swim in open water; you have to be able to swim a long way; and you have to be able to overcome the conditions and the coolness of the water, even in late summer.
There are other stats on the scale of challenge that tip towards the Channel as a champion of challenges. Swimming from England to France beat climbing Mount Everest by 78 years. Captain Matthew Webb was first to take the purge and get out on the other side: 1875. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay flew the flag on Mount Everest in 1953. During that timeline, more than 3,000 have got to the top of Everest; fewer than 900 have made it across the Channel.
Captain Webb’s crossing, well told in Kathy Watson‘s “The Crossing“, among other books and parts of volumes down the years, predated sport as a business. It was about pure achievement for the sake of it. The Channel Swimming Association would be born 52 years after Webb showed the way.
In 2015, Captain Webb hit the big screen. The film was directed by Justin Hardy and starred actors Warren Brown, Steve Oram, Georgia Maguire, Terry Mynott, Tom Stourton and Hannah Tointon. Hardy said at the time:
“Captain Webb is a largely forgotten British hero. He attempted to swim the English Channel when the very idea was seen as beyond impossible, equipped only with his moustache, doses of Brandy and a wire wool swimsuit. We want to tell the story of a classic underdog who fought against all odds to make it to the other side.”
J.B. Johnson tried and was forced to abandon the 22-miles-or-so crossing in his 1873 attempt to swim across the English Channel. Two years on, Captain Webb made history. His coach, the excitable Professor Beckwith (Oram) could not swim. So, how to instruct his pupil? Beckwith catches a frog and tells Webb to ape nature: “Be a frog! Forget the arms, a frog does not have arms.” Failure followed.
Abandoned by all about him, Webb turns to his one supporter and fan: Beckwith’s daughter Agnes (Maguire), also a swimmer. At one point she offers her body to Webb’s American rival, Paul Boyton (Mynott) in exchange for Webb being left alone to attempt his next crossing without the threat of sabotage. Boyton declines and charts a different course as the architect of the first shiny suit saga in swimming: he becomes the first to cross the channel – wearing a buoyant suit designed by the inventor Clark S. Merriman, the prop allowing him to drift and propel himself forward with a wooden oar. Not quite swimming as we know it; not quite swimming at all.
In the mix are references to Webb attempting and failing to save a seaman from drowning. That drama suggests motivation for his crossing but they truth may rest more in the age of Victorian society and sensibility. Webb did not swim to proof he could live; he crossed to prove he could; to show his chivalry, manliness, valour, courage, persistence and derring-do, for self and country at a time when such things spoke to a sense of national identity.
Worth watching – but read The Crossing for greater richness of detail.
MISHOF Class of 2019 and USAS Convention
United States Aquatic Sports Convention
and
MISHOF Class of 2019
ISHOF booth at USAS /old friends and new
As in years past, ISHOF attended the United States Aquatic Sports convention. We were joined by the City of Fort Lauderdale and Laura Voet, to promote the new aquatic facility and construction project, in addition to promoting ISHOF and producing the MISHOF induction.
ISHOF enjoys being supportive of the United States Aquatic Sports and this year we were a proud sponsor of the annual banquet. A very special thank you to the new staff of USAS for all their hard work in their first year in putting together this convention. A special thank you to Nadine Day, who went above and beyond for ISHOF, as she always does. Great job guys, you hit it out of the park!
One of the best parts of having a booth at USAS is all the friends that stop by to say hello; but almost as good as seeing our friends, are all the strangers that stop to tell us how important ISHOF and the aquatic facility are in their memories and that they cannot wait for the new facility and museum to open, and to make a return trip to Fort Lauderdale!
MISHOF Class of 2019
L-R: Rowdy Gaines, Rick Colella, Willard “Wink Lamb”, Marjorie Anderson,
Caroline Krattli, Dr. Jim Miller, Asta Girdauskiene, Joao “Pepito” Meirelles
We (ISHOF) hosted the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, September 13th in St. Louis, Missouri. The class of 2019 included five swimmers, Caroline Krattli (USA), Willard Lamb (USA), Rick Colella (USA), Rowdy Gaines (USA) and Satoko Takeuji (JPN); one Diver, Asta Girdauskiene (LIT), one Water Polo Player, Pepito Meirelles (BRA); one Synchronized Swimmer, Marjorie Anderson (CAN) and one Contributor, Dr, Jim Miller (USA).
The St. Louis Arch
The MISHOF ceremony was held at the Hyatt Regency St Louis at the Arch in conjunction with the United States Aquatic Sports convention. The ceremony began with a cocktail reception at 6:00 pm featuring hors d’oeuvres with a St. Louis flair. The event was held in one of the most spectacular venues in the city. We were on the 18th floor of the Hyatt, overlooking the St. Louis Arch on the banks of the Mississippi River.
David Johannsen, Laura Val, Rich Burns, Ron Copeland
USMS delegates and MISHOF Honorees got to mingle and relax for an evening of celebration to honor the aquatic greats in Masters sports. The turnout was one of the best ever and with nine honorees from five different countries, it was a very eclectic group and one of the largest to date.
Willard “Wink” Lamb and Rich Burns
Eight of the nine Honorees were present for their induction and it was agreed by all that it was one of the best ceremonies ever. The honorees, speeches, venue, guests and food……they all added to make it a fabulous evening for everyone.
97-year old Wink Lamb was the hit of the evening with his humor and stories. He is the reason we all swim and can only hope that we make it to his age and are as smart, sharp and witty as Wink at the age of 97. A big thank you to Matt Miller, Wink’s Coach, and Wink’s son, for bringing this gem of a USMS Swimmer to our event!
Asta Girdauskiene, children and John Denninger
Honor Diver, Asta Girdauskiene, travelled with her children from Lithuania to accept her award in person. MISHOF Honoree and friend, John Denninger inducted Asta. John has been a long-time friend of Asta, travelling to her meets, he even dives under the flag of Lithuania sometimes!
Rowdy Gaines and Jack Groselle
As usual, everyone enjoyed swimming celebrity, Rowdy Gaines’ induction and speech. We were thrilled that Rowdy was able to re-arrange his schedule and be with us, and his USMS family for his induction and celebration. The USMS delegates were happy to talk with Rowdy and share stories after the induction.
We will all look forward to watching Rowdy in Tokyo in 2020 covering the Olympic Games. No one has the enthusiasm or spirit of Rowdy! Go USA!
The evening closed with a full Harvest moon rising over the Mississippi River and USMS delegates, family and friends alike, not wanting to part, but knowing that next year we would be together again to celebrate a new class of Honorees.
See you In Jacksonville, September 25, 2020
All that glitters is gold for Fort Lauderdale diver Juliet Radich
Juliet will be honored at a commission meeting in October. She is also the 10M US National Champion. The highest level at the Jr. Pan Am Games is 5M for her age group.
By EMMETT HALL
SUN SENTINEL CORRESPONDENT |
Standing on the podium with the American flag draped across her shoulders as the United States National Anthem played was a golden moment Juliet Radich will savor for a lifetime. Representing Team USA at the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships in Santiago, Chile, the 11-year-old struck gold in the five-meter platform diving event to cap off a memorable summer.
“Winning the gold was definitely a highlight and very exciting,” Radich said. “Having the American flag on my back with the national anthem playing was the greatest experience. If someone told me a year ago that I would be representing the U.S. I would have told them no way.”
The Fort Lauderdale Dive Team member parlayed her two golds at the USA Diving Junior National Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee, to earn a selection to the 24-member USA squad. Boca Raton’s Emile Moore, of Coral Springs Diving, was also a member of Team USA competing in the girls 14-15 age division.
“I just wanted to do well and didn’t know what to expect at this level of a meet,” Radich said. “I was pretty calm, helped my teammates and just did my best. Our Team USA teammates were really nice and cheered everyone on during our dives. I’m sad that I’m not going to see them for a while. It was really cool to dive in a different country and a great overall experience. I was very happy with my performance.”
Radich had one week to add another dive to her repertoire as international rules required the divers to perform six dives compared to customary five dives in the states. She nailed the new 1 ½ somersault pike and closed out the competition with her signature inward double somersault to win by a comfortable margin. The last dive earned Radich 59 points to push her total to 242.65 points compared to the second-place Canadian diver’s 217 points. She also competed in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard finishing in sixth place.
The one-week interruption from school was well worth it for Radich who made the journey with her mother and father. Back home in Fort Lauderdale, the coaches and dive team members closely monitored her performance as well as her classmates at Bethany Christian School. Upon settling down and getting back into her normal routine, the sixth-grader received a hero’s welcome at school.
“All my coaches and teammates wished me luck and were happy for me,” she said. “I just really liked hanging out with Team USA while we got to know each other. I will be training and getting ready for competition season in January. The Pan Am games was a great, great experience.”
47 Years ago today MARK SPITZ wins 7th OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL in Munich
On this day, in 1972, in Munich, Germany, MARK SPITZ won his 7th OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL.
Forty-seven years ago today Mark Spitz won his 7th gold medal at the Munich Olympic Games. Seven gold medals in seven world records, an incredible achievement. It would be another 13 years until Michael Phelps was even born.
At the 1972 Games, Spitz was actually in a quest to win six gold medals, but he did even better, coming away with seven! Even more impressive, Spitz set a world record in each of the events. His four individual events: the 100m freestyle (51.22), the 200m freestyle (1:52.78), the 100m butterfly (54.27), the 200m butterfly (2:00.70), and the three relays: the 4 x 100m freestyle (3:26.42), the 4 x 200m freestyle relay (7:35.78) and the 4 x 100m meter medley relay (Spitz swam the fly) (3:48.16).
Mark Spitz was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1977, his write up is below.
Mark Spitz and Bruce Wigo at ISHOF event
MARK SPITZ (USA)
1977 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1968 gold (4x100m, 4x200m freestyle relay), silver (100m butterfly), bronze (100m freestyle); 1972 gold (100m, 200m freestyle; 100m, 200m butterfly; 4x100m, 4x200m freestyle relay; 4x100m medley relay); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1967 (5 gold); WORLD RECORDS: 33; NATIONAL AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 24; AMERICAN RECORDS: 38; NCAA Titles: 8; 1972 “World Swimmer of the Year”.
Mark Spitz was the 1971 Sullivan Award winner as the AAU’s top athlete in any sport, an omen of things to come. His 7 gold medals in the 1972 Olympics are all the more remarkable in that all were World Records. They were in such varied distances as the sprint 100m Freestyle and the endurance 200m Butterfly. He was everybody’s World Athlete of the Year for 1972 and along with Johnny Weissmuller is rated one of the greatest swimmers the world has ever known. This remarkable consistency was not easily come by. Always brilliant he ranged from the World’s best 10-and-under to the most disappointing swimmer at the 1968 Olympics before sticking it to his critics once and for all in Munich. Spitz was fortunate to have three of the greatest swim coaches the United States has known — Hall of Famers Sherm Chavoor, Doc Counsilman and George Haines.
Hall of Famers Mark Spitz and George Haines
HONOR SWIMMER: Aussie Libby Trickett ready to release new book
2018 ISHOF Honor Swimmer Libby Lenton Trickett is set to release her new book:
The brave and inspiring memoir of one of Australian Swimming’s Golden Girls, whose extraordinary achievements masked her private battles with anxiety and depression.
Australians know Libby Trickett as one of our golden girls of swimming. Winner of multiple Olympic gold medals and setter of world records, Libby wasn’t just a champion, she was Australia’s girl next door, the humble superstar from suburban Brisbane with the infectious grin and sunny nature.
Yet what we saw on the surface – the confidence, competitiveness and warmth that were her hallmarks – belied the very private battles she fought in her own head. Beneath the incredible achievements and that trademark smile, Libby suffered from crippling depression.
During her swimming career she managed to keep her demons more or less at bay, but when an injury forced her to retire in 2013 Libby was suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar world. With few, if any, qualifications to handle it, her self-doubts began to overwhelm her. The birth of her first baby added further complications to her fragile mental health, and she suffered intense postnatal depression. When she finally recognised the depression for what it was, and sought help for it, it was a major turning point in her life.
Libby’s memoir is an extraordinarily candid, revealing and inspiring account of both her public life as one of our greatest swimming champions, and her struggle to overcome her mental health challenges.
Earlier this week, Libby posted on her Instagram page, “It’s here. I can’t believe it’s a for release book now! Coming to a book store near you in October or you can pre-order now! Libby’s book will be available on Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble.com
Libby Trickett (AUS)
2018 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4×100m freestyle), bronze (50m freestyle); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m butterfly, 4x100m medley), silver (100m freestyle), bronze (4x100m freestyle); 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): bronze (50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle); 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley), silver (100m butterfly, 4×200m freestyle); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle, 4×100m medley); 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): silver (4×100 m medley), bronze (100m freestyle, 4×100 m freestyle); 2004 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (100m freestyle, 4×100m medley), silver (50m freestyle, 4×200m freestyle), bronze (50m butterfly, 4×100m freestyle); 2006 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4×200m freestyle, 4×100m medley) silver (4×100m freestyle); 2006 Commonwealth Games: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4×100m freestyle, 4×200m freestyle, 4×100m medley), silver (200m freestyle, 100m butterfly)
Libby Lenton, joined her first swim team at age four. By age ten, she was one of Queensland’s top age groupers. In 1995, the family moved to Brisbane, where Libby started training under coach John Carew, mentor of Hall of Famer, Kieren Perkins. But in early 2002, Libby began training under coach Stephan Widmar.
Her progress under Widmar was rapid and explosive. Suddenly, the 18-year old girl who had never reached the podium at the state level, stood on the top step four times, for the 50 and 100m freestyle and 50 and 100m butterfly, at the Queensland Champs in January, 2003. This qualified her for the Australian Senior National Team.
She made her international debut in April at the inaugural Mutual of Omaha “Duel in the Pool” meet in Indianapolis. She beat Hall of Famer Jenny Thompson to win the 100m freestyle. She finished first in the 50m freestyle in 24.92, but she was disqualified for a false start. However, officials later ruled her start was fair and she was credited with setting a new Australian record and the first Australian to break 25 seconds.
Libby qualified for and swam in three events in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. She earned a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle and her 4x100m freestyle relay team made up of Libby, Petria Thomas, Jodie Henry and Alice Mills overtook Team USA on the final leg to win the gold in the event for the first time in 48 years!
Libby cemented her position among the world’s top swimmers in 2005. First at the Montreal FINA World Championships by reeling in gold in the 50m freestyle, silver in the 100m butterfly and two golds and a silver for the three relays. Back in Australia, she twice broke the world record in the 100m freestyle at the Telstra Australian Short Course Championships.
In 2006, it was on to Shanghai, for the Short Course World Championships, where she repeated her performance, won five of Australia’s twelve gold medals, as well as being named “Leading Female Swimmer of the Meet”.
Libby won five more gold medals at the 2007 FINA World Championships. This time, three individual, the 50 and 100m freestyle and the 100m butterfly as well as two relays, with the 4x100m freestyle relay in a record-breaking time of 3:35.48. A week later, at the third USA-Australia “Duel in the Pool” in Sydney, she led off the 4x100m mixed relay against Michael Phelps. Although Phelps beat her to the wall, her time of :52.99, broke the world record of Britta Steffens by nearly a third of a second. A race she says she’ll always remember. Four days later, on April 7, 2007, Libby married fellow swimmer, Luke Trickett and started swimming under the name Libby Trickett.
Her performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games brought her two gold, one silver and one bronze. She was part of the world record winning relay team, the 4x100m medley relay, that brought home the gold, and her 4x100m freestyle relay team took bronze. Individually, Trickett won a gold medal in the 100m butterfly and took silver in the 100m freestyle.
Libby briefly retired from swimming in 2009, at the age of 24, but decided to return to competition in 2010 to be part of the 4x100m freestyle relay team at the 2012 London Olympic Games, winning yet another gold, her fourth and final Olympic gold medal of her career. Libby retired in 2013 for the final time.
Libby gave birth to daughter Poppy in 2015 and struggled with the transition to motherhood. Trickett had struggled with depression throughout other times in her life as well. She had worked with sports psychologists and by seeking that advice and guidance, Libby says, that “the biggest lesson she learned was that it’s OK to ask for help and that help is really valuable.” Libby is currently Queensland’s Mental Health Ambassador.
Longtime Friends of ISHOF: Bob and Norma, The Maxwells
Through the years, ISHOF has been lucky to have so many friends that have the most interesting and successful backgrounds from all over the world. Bob and Norma Maxwell were two of those people. For many years, Bob Maxwell donated his time and talents and was the voice and announcer of ISHOF’s International Dive Meets each May. Norma was always with him to lend a helping hand when needed. Here is their story.
They met because they were divers.
Bob was world renown as the greatest “spotter” diver (a back somersault to the board before the take
off). He organized many divers and is the only man in the world to have completed 7 ½ consecutive
somersaults utilizing the diving boards. A New York City native of Jones Beach, he was featured for
six years with water show troupes in the US and Canada, as the World’s Acrobatic Springboard Diving Champion.
During the same period, Norma Dean also of New York, was a featured diver and performer at Sam
Snyder’s “Water Follies” of the US, Canada and Europe. She performed in Johnny Weissmuller’s
“Watercade”; Noel Sheridan’s “Water Capers” of South America; Al Sheehan’s “Minneapolis
Aquatennial” and “Seattle Seafare”; the Canadian National Exhibition Lakefront Water Shows and
George Hamid’s Steel Pier Water- Circus in Atlantic City, NJ. Her diving act at the Steel Pier was a
“Ripley’s Believe It or Not”, as she rode a horse off a 35 foot platform into a 12 foot deep tank of water, six times a day! She graduated from New York University where she was Middle Atlantic States Inter Collegiate 3- meter Springboard Diving Champion. This
helped her be a stand-in for film star Esther Williams, when diving scenes were in the script.
In the early 1950’s, Norma met Bob at Sam Snyder’s Show. Their relationship blossomed into a 43 year long marriage that bore two
children and a strong business partnership. Bob had formed the winter-time, Miami Beach “Aqua Spectacular” traveling show unit
and with Olympic Diving Champion, Pete Desjardins, they put on over 100 shows a year. After five years of the traveling circuit
and providing talent for film, television, and other live show producers, Bob and Norma formed “Maxwell Associates”.
Together they became the icon for water show productions. When amusement parks became
more prevalent, they began putting water shows into the parks increasing park attendance. They
signed up with Great Adventure in New Jersey and stayed for 12 consecutive years. Some of the
over 500 parks in which they conducted shows included Disneyland, Sea World, Six Flags, Great
Escape, Dutch Wonderland and Busch Gardens. They became mainstays in parks throughout the
world including Safari Park in Austria and Ocean Park in Hong Kong. At one time, they had over
300 divers and performers under contract performing in such places as Hawaii, Taipei, Bangkok
and Miami.
The Maxwells were pioneers when it came to exposing diving to television. They created and formatted a variety of high dive shows for ABC’s Wide World of Sports and NBC’s Sports World,
including the Acapulco Cliff Diving Championships, the Men’s High Diving Championships, the Women’s Cliff Diving Championship and the Mixed Doubles World Target Diving Championships. They were honored with an award from Roone Arledge, head
of ABC Sports, when the Acapulco Cliff Diving Championships became the longest-running show on Wide World of Sports – 20
years of Acapulco Championships.
Bob and Norma had a perfect combination of talent. Bob was busy promoting the shows, while
Norma produced them. Bob conceived and designed the Acapulco CICI Water Park in Mexico and
served as General Manager of Disney on Parade at the Walt Disney Theme Park. Together they promoted and produced three Worlds Fair Aquacades – 1964 New York, 1984 New Orleans and 1988
Brisbane. Their water shows were the most ambitious of their time and set the standard for what
was to come. To assure crowd interest, the shows featured a combination of acts like precision water
ballets, highboard antics by the Aqua Maniacs, aquabatics by college diving champions and even a
water “circus” with animal acts, jugglers and tumblers and World Championship diving. Emphasis
was on creating a wholesome, family-style show that appealed to whole families around the world.
Performers were recruited world-wide, providing an opportunity to travel and earn money. Many
stayed with the Maxwell’s for years.
After Bob’s untimely death in 1997, Norma continued to run the business until her retirement a few
years ago. She and Bob stood high above their competition, not because they were high divers, but because of the impact they had
on what could be accomplished in promoting and producing shows around the water.
Always the thrill seeker, Norma celebrated her recent 80th birthday by jumping out of an airplane, only this time wearing a parachute and not diving into a pail of water.
The Maxwells were given the ISHOF Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
SATOKO TAKEUJI HONOR SWIMMER INDUCTED INTO MISHOF CLASS OF 2019
SATOKO TAKEUJI (JPN) HONOR MASTERS SWIMMER
The International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) is proud to announce that Satoko Takeuji will be inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2019 during the MISHOF Induction ceremonies in St. Louis, MO, on Friday evening, September 13, 2019, to be held in conjunction with the United States Aquatic Sports convention.
In 1960, When Satoko Takeuji was just a Senior in high school, and a member of her high school swim team, she was selected as a member of the Japanese Olympic Team. She travelled to Roma, where she won a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke. Satoko was also a member of the 1964 Olympic Team that was held in her home country of Japan. After that, she took a break from swimming for just over a decade to raise her family.
Then, when the Japanese Masters Swimming Association was established, Satoko was asked to become an executive in the association. She also started swimming classes for adults to promote swimming. She was 43 years old when she came back to swimming. It was then that she began to swim Masters.
Satoko is a backstroke swimmer that competes in the 50m, 100m and 200m events. Her Masters career spans 33 years. She went to the 1986, 1988, 1996, 1998, 2004 and 2006 FINA Masters World Championships and won gold in all ten events entered. She is currently competing in the 75-79 age group.
Of her 40 world records, 10 of them lasted for five years or more. In 1992, Satoko had a stellar year in the 50-54 age group, setting long course world records for all three distances (50m, 100m, 200m). This included dropping the 50m record by almost two-and-one-half seconds, from 37.18 down to 34.87. That record stayed on the books until it was broken by the legendary Laura Val in 2001.
In 2017 she was the runner-up in Swimming World magazine’s Top 12 World Masters Swimmers of the Year. She is a Senior Director in the Japan Masters’ Swimming Association and has held swimming classes for 120 children with asthma once a week for 30 years, in cooperation with doctors and nurses.
Takeuji will be inducted as part of a group of nine (9) outstanding individuals that will be inducted at MISHOF’s annual ceremony. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch in conjunction with the 2019 United States Aquatic Sports Convention.
The prestigious MISHOF class of 2019 includes five swimmers, one diver, one synchronized swimmer, one water polo player and one contributor, from five (5) different countries: the USA, Canada, Lithuania, Brazil and Japan:
SWIMMER INDUCTEES: CAROLINE KRATTLI (USA), SATOKO TAKEUJI (JPN), RICK COLELLA (USA), ROWDY GAINES (USA) and WILLARD LAMB (USA); DIVER INDUCTEE: ASTA GIRDAUSKIENE (LIT), SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER INDUCTEE: MARJORIE ANDERSON (CAN), WATER POLO PLAYER INDUCTEE: JOAO MEIRELLES (BRA), CONTRIBUTOR INDUCTEE: JIM MILLER (USA).
About MISHOF:
The purpose of the MISHOF is to promote a healthy lifestyle, lifelong fitness and participation in adult aquatic programs by recognizing the achievements of individuals who serve as an example for others. To be considered, honorees must have participated in Masters programs through at least four different masters age groups and are qualified by an objective point system based on world records, world top 10 rankings and World Championship performances. The MISHOF is a division of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, please visit: www.ishof.org
About ISHOF:
The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc. (ISHOF), established in 1965, is a not-for-profit educational organization located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It was first recognized by FINA, the International Olympic Committee’s recognized governing body for the aquatic sports, in 1968. ISHOF’s mission is to collaborate with aquatic organizations worldwide to preserve, educate and celebrate history, showcase events, share cultures, and increase participation in aquatic sports.
For more information, call Meg-Keller-Marvin at 570 594-4367 or
e-mail: meg@ishof.org
Jim Miller to be inducted as Honor Contributor into MISHOF Class 2019
The International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) is
proud to announce that Dr. Jim Miller will
be inducted into the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of
the Class of 2019 during the MISHOF Induction ceremonies in St. Louis, MO, on
Friday evening, September 13, 2019, to be held in conjunction with the United
States Aquatic Sports convention.
Jim Miller has been involved in all aspects of Masters
Swimming and aquatics. His eclectic aquatic experiences as an athlete,
coach, official, physician, leader and lecturer- have given him a wealth of
knowledge and experience beyond words. And only a person of Miller’s seemingly
unlimited talents could fit all his contributions to Aquatics and Masters
Swimming into one lifetime.
In 1986, at the age of 35, Miller achieved his first
individual top ten time as a masters swimmer and that same year he received the
first Coach of the Year Award presented by USMS. Three years later, in 1999, he
received the Dr. Ransom Arthur award for his contributions to Masters
swimming.
When Dr. Miller was elected president of USMS in 2001, he laid
the groundwork for the organization to make a switch from an all-volunteer
organization to a professionally managed national governing body with a paid
staff. And with Miller’s help, USMS put on what was then the largest FINA
Masters World Championships in Palo Alto, California in 2006.
As a physician, he has served as Chairman of the USMS
Medical Committee, as Team physician for USA Swimming at the Olympics, World
Championships and at Open water events since 1996. He has been a member of the
FINA Medical Committee since 2001 and lectures around the world on the benefits
of masters sports, nutrition and shoulder injuries for FINA and the
International Olympic Committee.
The prestigious MISHOF class of 2019 includes five swimmers,
one diver, one synchronized swimmer, one water polo player and one
contributor, from five (5) different countries: the USA, Canada,
Lithuania, Brazil and Japan.
SWIMMER INDUCTEES: CAROLINE KRATTLI (USA), SATOKO TAKEUJI
(JPN), RICK COLELLA (USA), ROWDY GAINES (USA) and WILLARD LAMB
(USA); DIVER INDUCTEE: ASTA GIRDAUSKIENE (LIT), SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER
INDUCTEE: MARJORIE ANDERSON (CAN), WATER POLO PLAYER INDUCTEE: JOAO
MEIRELLES (BRA), CONTRIBUTOR INDUCTEE: JIM MILLER (USA)
The event is open to the public and free of charge.
About ISHOF:
The International Swimming Hall
of Fame, Inc. (ISHOF), established in 1965, is a not-for-profit educational
organization located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It was first
recognized by FINA, the International Olympic Committee’s recognized governing body
for the aquatic sports, in 1968. ISHOF’s mission is to collaborate with
aquatic organizations worldwide to preserve, educate and celebrate history,
showcase events, share cultures, and increase participation in aquatic sports.
For more information, call
Meg-Keller-Marvin at 570 594-4367 or e-mail: meg@ishof.org
Becca Mann Becomes First Person to Complete Maui Nui Triple Channel Swim
by DIANA PIMER
Photo Courtesy: Becca Mann
At approximately 4:55pm EST on Monday, August 19, Becca Mann became the first person in history to complete the historic Maui Rui Triple Channel swim. The course entails 64 kilometers from Maui to Molokai to Lanai, then back to Maui.
The completion took Mann approximately 22 hours and was tracked throughout. The trip to Molokai took Mann approximately four hours, while the swim to Lanai took just under eleven. Her final channel back to Maui took about six more hours. Updates were also provided on Mann’s Instagram account throughout the swim.
Map of 64-kilometer swim. Photo Courtesy: Becca Mann
While Mann is the first to complete the swim, this was not her first time in Hawaii’s waters. At age ten, she swam the Maui Channel – a nearly 10 mile trek from Maui to Lanai. Becca Mann was also a member of the fastest all-female relay to complete the same channel swim last year.
In an exclusive with Swimming World, Mann recently provided more details on her experience in open water and her preparation leading into the attempt. Mann included that she was first inspired to swim in these waters after layovers in the Honolulu airport as a child.
As a member of USA Swimming, Becca Mann captured bronze in the 1500 meter freestyle at the 2019 Pan American Games on August 10. Just nine days later, she etched her name in another record book as she consecutively swam to and from these three Hawaiian islands:
Olympic Expectations: USA Men’s Water Polo Passes Pan American Test, Moves On to Tokyo
by MICHAEL RANDAZZO
23 August 2019, 08:11am
BROOKLYN, NY. It’s been more than a week since I returned from Lima, Peru for the 2019 Pan American Games. Following men’s and women’s water polo at Pan Ams was the most important tournament I’ve covered—so far—for one simple reason: events at Villa Maria del Triunfo Aquatics Complex represented a referendum on Dejan Udovicic’s tenure as head coach for the American men.
Despite a number of unknown variables, including the quality of the competition, his men succeed spectacularly. Of six matches, Team USA’s only competitive contest was in group play versus Canada, whom the Americans beat decisively in the gold medal game. In that first match, Udovicic’s side bolted out to a 10-5 lead after intermission, then held off a furious Canadian rally for a 13-11 win.
It was only after an 18-6 victory in the final—perhaps the best the Americans have played in a long time—that the most important question these past four years was answered: would Team USA qualify for the 2020 Olympics? But, given how easily they won gold at Pan Ams for the seventh-straight time—there was almost a “What? Me worry?!” aspect to the Peru adventure. It turns out that the Canadians—far less experienced than their American counterparts—and the Brazilians, who lacked the depth to advance to a second-straight Olympic Game, were never serious challengers to American polo hegemony in the region.
Not that this was clear to me, especially after a disastrous trip last September to Berlin that effectively ended the national team careers of goalie McQuin Baron and defender Alex Roelse. And, there was no way to guarantee the newly constituted roster—featuring Alex Wolf in goal and a couple of ex-UCLA players like Chancellor Ramirezand Matt Farmer at center—would successfully complete the one assignment Udovicic needed to keep his job: Pan Am gold and with it a ticket to Tokyo.
After the win, the American head coach took in the medal ceremony by himself, and was surprisingly reticent. This reserve in the midst of his team’s significant accomplishment makes sense; what made Udovicic so appealing to USA Water Polo CEO Chris Ramsey back in 2014 was his considerable international experience as head coach of the Serbian national team. This also is what has made it difficult for him to fully integrate with a roster exclusively populated by Californians who have literally grown up together.
A happy group of Americans in Lima. Photo Courtesy: Enrique Cuneo / Lima 2019
So, while U.S. assistant coaches Alex Rodriguez and Gavin Arroyo—both fully integrated in the California polo scene—stood on the pool deck and laughed it up, the American head coach was remarkably subdued—especially for someone who had just delivered on his primary contractual obligation.
Just how reliable were these results?
As it turns out, both the men’s and women’s competition at Pan Ams was extremely weak. Adam Krikorian’s squad has no comparable rivals anywhere on the globe—a fact again proven at the recent FINA World Championships, when the American women won their third-straight title. Expecting the Canadians to provide a challenge turned out to be wishful thinking, and none of the other six teams present—Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico or Venezuela—were within 15 goals of the Americans.
Instead, Krikorian, whose squad had qualified for the 2020 Games in June, took pains to avoid the bad optics of blowout losses against inexperienced teams like Peru and Venezuela. Instead, he took a shot against the IOC’s ill-considered roster limits for the 2020 Games by rotating Olympian Ashleigh Johnson out of the USA cage and inserting field players. The stated goal: have a viable plan “B” in case of injury to his star goalie. Current rules specify that teams at Tokyo can only substitute from its two alternates after the match is over—and the substituted player is done for the tournament.
USA’s Maddie Musselman. Photo Courtesy: Enrique Cuneo / Lima 2019
Udovicic had no such margin for error, even though his team outscored the opposition 117 to 26. The looming danger was the Brazilian men, and there failure was the story of the tournament. After Ricardo Azevedo named himself as head coach a little over a month ago, his team squandered a late lead and dropped an 8-7 semifinal match to Canada. This set up an all-North America final, and the USA men blew up their northern rivals behind five goal outbursts from Alex Bowen, Ben Hallock and Johnny Hooper.
The Canadian men and women each had their Olympic hopes, but only one of them were realized. Krystina Alogbo, who has been pursuing her dream for more than two decades, found satisfaction when her team advanced to the Pan American gold medal match against Team USA. That they did not need to win was likely the greatest possible gift; the Americans had already qualified, so whoever joined them in the final was also booked for Tokyo.
Canadian women’s coach David Paradelo’s task is to prove that his squad belongs among the world’s top ten teams. Based upon a 24-4 blow-out loss in the final, he and his players have a lot of work to do between now and July 2020—especially if the goal is to medal in 2020.
For Canada’s men and their head coach, Giuseppe Porzio, the road to Tokyo now runs through Europe. They will prepare for the Olympic qualification tournament next March. This is a tough path; all the major European powers who have yet to get an Olympic berth—so far, Italy, Serbia and Spain have qualified—will be there. It will be a dogfight for the final four Olympic spots.
North America is miles ahead of the South
What was quite clear at the was that there’s the U.S., Canada and everyone else in the hemisphere. Brazil captured bronze in both the men’s and women’s brackets, but their women were blown out by Canada 19-5 in the semifinals. The Brazilian men were far more competitive, though their semifinal failure may haunt the program, especially because Slobodan Soro won’t be around for the next Olympic cycle.
Mayelin Bernal from Cuba can play—why isn’t she in the U.S.? Photo Courtesy: Enrique Cuneo / Lima 2019
Outside of the top three in both the men’s and women’s brackets, the remaining teams on each side had combined records of 18 and 42 while being outscored by 237 goals. This is not surprising; the teams from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela are considerably younger and far less experienced than their neighbors to the north. They included a women’s team from Peru that was competing in Pan Ams for the first time—and was young enough to compete in the Junior Pan Ams—and their men’s squad was reconstituted after decades of inactivity.
For the Americans and their coaches, Pan Ams was both a satisfying adventure and—in the case of the men—a tremendous relief. For the rest of the hemisphere, there’s a lot of ground to cover to catch up to a dominant USA.