Happy Birthday Domenico Fioravanti!!
Domenico Fioravanti (ITA)
Honor Swimmer (2012)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m, 200m breaststroke); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (100m breaststroke), bronze (50m breaststroke); 1999 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): silver (100m breaststroke); 1997 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5th (100m breaststroke); 1999 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m breaststroke); 2000 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m breaststroke), silver (200m breaststroke).
Domenico Fioravanti was born in Novara, Italy on the 31st of May, 1977. He started to swim competitively at the age of nine. One year later, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Massimiliano, he began training daily.
Although a breaststroke specialist, Domenico won his first international medal in 1996 at the European Short Course Championships in Rostock as a member of Italy’s silver medal 4×50 meter freestyle team. In 1997, he obtained his first career international gold medal, winning the 100 meter breaststroke at the Mediterranean Games in Bari, Italy.
1998 was another year of growth, with Fioravanti winning nine Italian national titles in individual and relay races, and finishing fifth in the 100 meter breaststroke at the FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia. In 1999, his steady rise in world rankings continued with a silver medal in the 100 meter breaststroke at the World Short Course Championships in Hong Kong, and a gold at the European Long Course Championships in Istanbul. A year later in Sydney, Domenico got the biggest wins of his career, winning gold medals in both the 100 meter and 200 meter breaststroke events at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Fioravanti remained among the world’s elite breaststrokers after Sydney, but in preparing for Athens in 2004, he was diagnosed with cardiac hypertrophy. So, as a precaution, he retired from swimming. In 2008, he received the Olympic Legends Fair Play Award and he is currently an ambassador for the Italian Swimming Federation and television commentator for RAI.
During his racing career, Fioravanti won 46 Italian national titles, including relays. At the Sydney Olympic Games, he made history by becoming the first Italian swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.
Happy Birthday Steve Holland!!
Steve Holland (AUS)
Honor Swimmer (1989)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 bronze (1500m freestyle); WORLD RECORDS: 11 (800m, 1500m freestyle); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 gold (1500m freestyle); australian records: 5 (400m, 1500m freestyle); COMMONWEALTH GAMES: 1974 gold (1500m freestyle).
Most of the World had to wait until the first World Championships at Belgrade, Yugoslavia in September 1973 to see if the Australian wonder boy was for real. At age 15, Steve “Toothpick” Holland looked much younger, particularly when lined up beside Olympic medal winners Big John Kinsella, USA, Rick DeMont, USA, and his countryman Brad Cooper. Less than a year before, all these bigger men had won gold medals at the 1973 Munich Olympics. Holland, Five feet tall and weighing 9 stones 6 pounds had broken Mike Burton’s World and Olympic record by 15 seconds in the Australian Championships the month before but this was his first international competition.
The world waited to see if this wonder kid could do it against the best. He did, breaking his own world record by six more seconds. On the way to this amazing swim, Holland also broke the world record for 800 meters and kept swimming after the end to break the mile record. He had also broken the half mile as well as the 1000 meters. While the last three distances are not FINA-recognized world records, he nevertheless swam the world’s fastest times in five distances. His reason for swimming more than the 1500 meters was not intentional. FINA had installed a horn instead of the gun and Holland did not hear the “gun lap” signal. He swam more than 100 yards too far and seemed like he could go forever. “Swimming World” called it the most supreme exhibition of a “will-to-win” ever seen in swimming.
Steve Holland again broke the world 1500 meter record in Christchurch, New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games with the Queen watching. Holland’s greatest triumph came when he went on to own the 800 meters (half mile) breaking his own record six more times. He held a total of 11 FINA world records with his high turn over, two beat kick. His age, his size, his style and his fast rise to prominence made Steve Holland the most exciting swimmer of his brief era.
SwimLight Feature: Getting to Know Rowdy Gaines, the Man Behind the Iconic Voice of Swimming (Video)
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
30 May 2024, 07:45am
SwimLight Feature: Getting to Know Rowdy Gaines, the Man Behind the Iconic Voice of Swimming (Video)
Rowdy Gaines is a legendary figure in the world of swimming, celebrated not only for his remarkable achievements as a swimmer but also for his influential role as the broadcasting voice of Swimming. Transitioning from the pool to the broadcast booth, Gaines has become a beloved commentator known for his deep insights, infectious enthusiasm, and knowledge of the sport. Over a career spanning soon-to-be nine Olympic Games, he has guided audiences through the thrilling highs and emotional lows of competitive swimming, bringing the sport to life for millions of swimming fans worldwide.
In the heart of Winter Haven, Florida, where the landscape is covered with over 120 lakes, swimming is not just a skill but a way of life. For Rowdy Gaines, this watery playground was the very essence of his upbringing and the foundation of his journey to Olympic glory. After finding his initial passion for swimming in high school, his persistence and dedication to the sport would eventually lead him to greatness.
“I grew up in Winter Haven, Florida, which is like right in the center of the state. There’s like 120 lakes in Winter Haven; it’s 70-something percent water,” Gaines said. “So water was really part of the DNA of who I was growing up. I learned how to swim literally before I learned how to walk, and I swam maybe one summer as a six-, seven-, or eight-year-old on a little country club team. I didn’t start swimming again until 17. I was a junior in high school, and one reason is that I had tried out for so many different sports in high school and kept getting cut, so swimming was just next. I didn’t get cut, and it was something that I certainly fell in love with. It took me a couple of weeks, but I think once I realized I wasn’t going to get cut and I started seeing progress, I just fell in love with it and then literally became obsessed with getting better.”
From the exhilaration of pushing his body to its limits during training to the sense of peace in the water, Gaines feels deeply connected to swimming. He finds satisfaction in the tangible results and the feeling of improvement that follows. In addition, swimming serves as a form of meditation, offering Gaines a sanctuary where he can escape the world’s noise and focus solely on swimming in the water.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
“When I was swimming and training for the Olympics, I craved the feeling of what my body, my mind, and my soul felt like when I was finished training,” Gaines said. “I didn’t like training, but I loved the feeling of after it was over with. So, swimming from that perspective, I just love the feeling of exhaustion and knowing that I got better. I didn’t like the process, but I loved the result. The other form is that it’s a sort of a meditation for me. I feel so comfortable in the water. I can take my mind off of everything and just kind of concentrate on the movements of being in the water, which brings me great joy.”
Gaines sees his Olympic journey as a learning experience, emphasizing the importance of commitment, sacrifice, and teamwork. Despite the challenges and moments of doubt, he stayed true to his goals and found comfort in the routine of training. For Gaines, the Olympics served as the culmination of his hard work and a moment of validation for his intense commitment to his goal.
“I know hindsight is kind of a cheat, but in retrospect, it really was about the journey,” Gaines said. “I learned so much about myself during the journey leading up to that. I mean, the lessons I learned at the Olympics probably didn’t amount to much, but I learned a lot about sacrifice and the commitment and the responsibility and the teamwork and all those words that, certainly, you have to kind of learn if you’re going to be a swimmer. It’s not for the faint of heart. So, for me, after the Olympics, it was just really cool to be able to say that I stayed committed to the goal. I didn’t give up. Many days, I wanted to give up, many days. I think a big part of the Olympic experience for me also is this journey is a four-year journey. Well, for me, it was an eight-year journey because I made the team in 1980. So a lot about the journey is getting into a routine. I love routine in my life, so the Olympics was all about having that routine leading up to it. I always look back at the Olympics, and it was just sort of like icing on the cake. The cake part was the journey, and the icing was the Olympic Games.”
Gaines entered broadcasting in the mid-80s, initially covering swimming for TV shows like Battle of the Network Stars. He gradually became more well-known in the sport, commentating on various swimming events before landing his first Olympics gig in 1992. Since then, his broadcasting career has grown, with Paris 2024 marking his ninth Olympics.
“Back in the mid-80s, I was asked to do the swimming part of Battle of the Network Stars. This was a TV show that had different celebrities and B-list actors and actresses compete against each other in different sports, and that happened to be in Orlando,” Gaines said. “Then, they had another event called Battle of the Corporate Stars with different corporations. So I kind of got into that kind of gig where I would call the swimming, and next thing you know, I started doing some stuff for TBS and TNT. They started covering some swimming. I did the Goodwill Games and just kind of slowly but surely built up that resume, and I did my first Olympics in 1992 for Barcelona, and that was NBC. It wasn’t over the air. I did the cable side of things. Then, my first Olympics was in 1996 for NBC, the regular network of NBC. So [Paris 2024] will be my ninth Olympics.”
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
As the voice of USA swimming, Rowdy Gaines has witnessed many unforgettable moments in the sport. His favorite, the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay in Beijing 2008, is so famous it inspired the documentary The Greatest Race. Gaines also enjoyed broadcasting Michael Phelps’ 100-meter butterfly victory in Beijing 2008, Katie Ledecky’s first gold medal in London 2012, and Misty Hyman’s unexpected win in the 200-meter butterfly in Sydney 2000.
“Well, that’s an easy one. That’s the 400 free relay in Beijing,” Gaines said of his favorite race. “That race is so famous that they did an hour-and-a-half documentary on it. One race, a three-and-a-half minute race and the documentary is called The Greatest Race. But there have been many, I have probably a Mount Rushmore of races, one certainly Michael Phelps, probably, the 100 fly where he won that same Olympics, by one one-hundredth of a second. I think Katie Ledecky, her first gold medal in London, is something that I’ll always remember. I think when Misty Hyman won in 2000, she beat Susie O’Neill in the 200 butterfly. That’s another one that stands out. If you pin me down, I could probably get three or four. But those are the ones that stand out in my mind off the top of my head.”
When it comes to the most anticipated events of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Gaines is particularly excited. On the men’s side, he believes the 100-meter freestyle will be a race filled with unknowns and fierce competition. For the women, Gaines is most excited to see the 200-meter backstroke, an event so competitive that the sixth-place finisher at the Trials could medal at the Olympics.
“I think I’m a little biased because it’s my race, but there’s two. There’s the men’s 100 freestyle, which I’m most excited about, but there’s so many unknowns about the race, so that’s what makes it so exciting,” Gaines said. “It’s not like (before) where it was kind of like Caeleb [Dressel] and everybody else. Now it’s sort of wide open, and plus, it dictates what our 400 free relay will look like in Paris. So, for me, on the men’s side, it’s the 100 free. For the women, it either has to be the 100 or 200 backstroke, probably the 200 backstroke, because the woman who finishes sixth at the Trials would probably win a medal at the Olympics; that’s how good that event is for the women. So that’s the most exciting one, I think for me. The 200 IM will be cool, and the women’s 50 will be amazing. I mean, the women have so many incredible events, but if I had to pick one, it’s probably the women’s 200 backstroke.”
Gaines advises swimmers preparing for the U.S. Olympic Trials to stay focused while in the arena but leave the stress behind once they walk out of the venue. He emphasizes the importance of balance, recalling how he managed to keep his mind off of the competition by distracting himself with music, TV, and non-swimming conversations. Gaines’ key advice is to be all-in when competing but to find ways to relax and unwind outside of competing.
Rowdy Gaines
“Well, I’m probably the last one now to give advice to these kids because it’s a completely different sport than when I swam, but the feelings are still the same,” Gaines said. “The feelings of anticipation and stress and anxiety, and for me, I think the best advice I could give is when you walk into the arena, you’re all in. You put the blinders on and your game face the entire time. But when you leave the arena, leave it there, and I tried to do that, especially at our Trials in ’84. Otherwise, it’s going to eat you alive if you live and breathe it outside that arena because it’s just such an anxious time. So, I did everything in my power to try to take my mind off of it. I’d sit there in front of the TV. We didn’t have internet or anything. So, I would do everything in my power to forget about swimming. I wouldn’t talk about it with my friends. My coach and I would go to dinner, and we would talk about completely different stuff, and he knew the kind of, hey, listen, let’s leave it there. When we get there, you’re all in. But when we leave there, we leave it there.”
Gaines had a couple of unique pre-race rituals that he followed throughout his swimming career. One of his superstitions was elevating his feet for five minutes before every race, a ritual he began in high school. Additionally, Gaines always swam double-arm backstroke during his warm-down, a ritual he never skipped before he was finished swimming.
“I would always have to put my feet up. I would lay down anywhere and literally elevate my feet,” Gaines said. “It was a superstition of mine that I always had to do before a race. I had to take five minutes and elevate my feet. Which I did pretty much starting my whole career. I remember somebody telling me in high school, and I’m sure it was just an urban legend, but that was a superstition, and I always had to do double-arm backstroke before I got out of the water. So weird. Right before I got out, after I swam, during the warm down, at some point in the warm down, I had to do double-arm backstroke.”
If Rowdy Gaines could create a new swimming event, he would likely focus on the underwater dolphin kick. Acknowledging the dangers of this potential event, Gaines suggests an underwater race where swimmers must breathe and take a stroke every 25. He is fascinated by how swimmers today can disappear underwater for so long, reminding him of the days when he competed.
“I’m guessing it would be the fifth stroke that’s already out there. [Underwater dolphin kick] is a little tricky because it’s also potentially dangerous,” Gaines said. “You know, it used to be it go as far as you wanted to, and they changed that obviously. So, there’s an inherent danger in holding your breath. So I’d probably implement that it’s an underwater, but you have to come up and breathe and take a stroke for a 25 or two strokes for a 25 or something. One arm cycle, one stroke. I don’t know, but I think it’s cool that everybody just disappears underwater. In the old days, they would go 45 meters underwater.”
When asked about his favorite pool of all time, Rowdy Gaines says it is the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, which he compared to iconic sports venues like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. This historic facility, where Gaines made the Olympic team in 1984, holds a special place in his heart. Despite the existence of older pools, Indy remains a central hub for swimming, making it Gaines’ favorite pool to return to time and time again.
“That’s an easy one, too. It has to be in Indy because Indy is sort of our Wrigley Field, Fenway Park,” Gaines said. “Wrigley Field has been around for 100 years. We don’t have a Wrigley Field. Our oldest facility is probably Indy, which we still compete in. We have older pools, obviously, but we don’t compete in them anymore, but we still go to Indy. I made the Olympic team in 1984, 40 years ago in Indy. It’s sort of our Wrigley, and that’s my favorite pool to go to.”
Happy Birthday John Hencken!!
John Hencken (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1988)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1972 gold (200m breaststroke), bronze (100m breaststroke); 1976 gold (100m breaststroke; relay), silver (200m breaststroke); 1980 Member Olympic Team; WORLD RECORDS: 13 (100m, 200m breaststroke; 1 relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 gold (100m breaststroke; 1 relay), silver (200m breaststroke); AMERICAN RECORDS: 21 (100yd, 200yd, 100m, 200m breaststroke; 5 relays); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 14 (100yd, 200yd, 100m, 200m breaststroke; 3 relays); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5 (100yd, 200yd breaststroke).
With 13 world records and 14 AAU nationals, John Hencken is the only swimmer who ever qualified for three Olympic teams in both the 100 meter and 200 meter breaststroke. Hencken was the last great (and the fastest) of all those “flat on the water” American breaststrokers who appeared in the 1960-70s. “The stroke was like a fine sports car that needs constant tuning,” says Hall of Fame honor coach Howard Firby. Only Hencken survived more than a few years. He shared the era with honoree David Wilkie both indoors and out, long course and short. Without each other as constant rivals, who know how many wins each might have garnered.
In spite of or maybe because of this competition, John Hencken managed five NCAA Championships, 14 AAU Championships and 21 American records to go with his 13 world records and five Olympic medals. Unlike many breaststroke champions, no one could ever label Hencken a 100 breaststroke sprinter or a 200 man. His world records were about equally divided as he lowered the 100 meter from 1:05.68 in 1972 several times to 1:03.88 in 1974 and 1:03.11 in 1976. In the 200 he dropped the world record from 2:22.79 in 1972 to 2:18.21 in 1974. Scholar swimmer John Hencken graduated from Stanford in general engineering-product design and completed his MBA at the University of Phoenix.
Happy Birthday Gail Emery!!
Gail Emery (USA)
Honor Synchronized / Artistic Swimming Coach (2000)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1988, 1992, 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: Head Coach; 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Coach; 1983 – Present FINA WORLD CUP: Team Coach; 1979 to Present NATIONAL TEAM: Coach; Coach of OLYMPIC SWIMMERS winning 11 gold and 3 silver medals, WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SWIMMERS winning 14 gold and 9 silver, FINA WORLD CUP SWIMMERS winning 24 gold and 5 silver medals, GOODWILL GAMES SWIMMERS winning 3 gold medals; Coach of 56 U.S. National Team Championships, 11 Junior National Team Championships; Coach of 150 swimmers to National Titles.
Not since the days of Hall of Fame Honoree and San Francisco Merionettes coach Marion Kane, has a coach dominated the world of synchronized swimming. Her entry into the sport more than 38 years ago marked the beginning of a competitive and coaching legacy that has made Gail Emery synonymous with achievement and success. And she did it all with a competitive but compassionate heart that brought out the best in her athletes. Of all synchronized swimming coaches, she is the coach who perhaps had the greatest impact in this sport as it was developing on the Olympic scene.
She started at age eight when in 1959, Gail’s mom Sue Alf, long time coach and national judge, introduced Gail to synchronized swimming. She swam first with the Solfettes of Walnut Creek, California, then the Howell Swim Club of Danville and finished her competitive career with the Santa Clara Aquamaids under Hall of Fame coach Kay Vilen. It was here she became a national team champion in 1972 and was part of a demonstration team that performed at the Munich Olympics. Twelve years later, in 1984, synchronized swimming became an Olympic event and Gail was on the Olympic staff.
In the fall of 1972, Gail began coaching the Walnut Creek Aquanuts, a team her mother had founded. Eight years later in 1980, her team finally defeated the long-reigning Aquamaids of Santa Clara beginning a streak of 10 consecutive national championships, never before achieved.
As she began developing future world and Olympic champions, Gail was selected as the National Team coach in 1979, a position she held for 5 Olympic quadrennials. She served as Olympic head coach for three Games (1988, 1992, 1996) and coach/manager for one (1984). Her personal swimmers – duet pair Karen and Sarah Josephson won Olympic silver in 1988 and gold in 1992. Kristen Babb-Sprague won the solo gold in 1992. In 1996, five of Emery’s life-long athletes made up the eight girls who won the team gold medal in the first-ever perfect-routine score in Olympic history. With head coach Charlotte Davis in 1984, Gail helped coach Tracie Ruiz to the gold medal in the solo event and to another gold medal in the duet with Candy Costie. Tracie won the silver in 1988. That’s a total of 10 Olympians – eight of which originated from Emery’s club.
Gail served as coach of every World Championship team from 1982 to 1998 with her U.S. teams winning seven of the 18 gold medals. In FINA World Cup competition, Emery-coached teams have won 25 gold medals and four silver medals, with a 1993 and 1995 sweep of the gold medals – solo, duet and team. Her prodigy’s have earned Pan American Games gold in duet (1987, 1991) and in team entries in 1983, 1987, 1991 and 1995.
Emery’s athletes introduced a technical expertise to the sport that shed the old-school description of synchronized swimming as “water ballet” and led to the acceptance of the sport as a physically demanding yet artistically expressive athletic event. She implemented scientifically designed training methods and diverse, cross-training regimens to take her teams to a level only pursued by others. Her Olympic and international champions are testimony to this: Karen and Sarah Josephson, Kristen Babb-Sprague, Mary Visniski, Tracy Long, Michelle Svitenko Africano, Tammy Cleland, Heather Pease, Jill Savery, Nathalie Schneyder and Margot Thien. As the assistant head coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, four of Emery’s prodigies are among the team’s athletes.
In 1998, Gail took over the reigns of Stanford University’s synchronized swimming program and quickly won the NCAA National Championship, only the second time in 22 years for the school. Whether it is at the collegiate, national, World Championship or Olympic levels or at the Rome Open, American Cup, Pan Pacific Championships, Japan Cup, Moscow Invitational or Swiss Open, the legacy left by Gail Emery and the athletes that she coached will be long remembered and respected.
Lilli Allucci to be inducted as first female Italian Water Polo Player in ISHOF’s Class of 2024
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci will be the first Italian female water polo player inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. She will join a host of male Italian greats, including Cesare Rubini, Gianni Lonzi, Mario Majoni, Sandro Campagna and others.
Allucci competed at the 2004 Olympic Games as the captain of the Italian team that won the gold medal, only her second Olympics, as a member of the Italian water polo team. The Italian team won five consecutive matches after losing 6-5 in the first match against the defending champions, Australia. In the final, they beat Greece 10-9 after extra time, in front of 12,000 fans cheering for the home team.
Lilli has two World Championship titles (2001, 1998) and one silver medal (2003). She has four European Championship titles (2003, 1999, 1997, 1995), along with a silver medal (2001) and a bronze (1991). She is the second most titled player at the European Championships, only behind Netherlands player, Hedda Verndon. In FINA World Cup competition, Allucci took silver in 1993, and bronze in 1999, and in FINA World League competition, she won silver in 2006 and bronze in 2004. She has won seven consecutive Italian titles with team Volturno (1985-1991).
Allucci was awarded the Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2003 and the Commander of the Order of the Merit of the Italian Republic, both at the initiative of the President of the Republic. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, she was given the ultimate honor, by being asked to represent her country and carry the Italian flag at the Opening and Closing ceremonies.
Come join Lilli Alucci and the rest of this year’s class of 2024 in Fort Lauderdale. If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://ishof.org/donate/
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees include:
Honor Swimmers:
Lars Frölander (SWE)
Daniel Gyurta (HUN)
Dana Vollmer (USA)
1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Gold Medal Relay Team (USA)
(Includes Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton*, Jill Sterkel)
Honor Divers:
Alexandre Despatie (CAN)
Yulia Pakhalina (RUS)
Wu Minxia (CHN)
Honor Artistic Swimmer:
Virginie Dedieu (FRA)
Honor Water Polo Players:
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci (ITA)
Vladimir Akimov* (USSR)
Honor Coach:
Dennis Pursley (USA)
Honor Contributor:
Dale Neuburger (USA)
ISHOF 59th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
October 4-5, 2024 – Complete schedule will be forthcoming soon.
~ HOTEL INFORMATION ~
Host Hotel: Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here:
https://book.passkey.com/e/50757008
321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 467-1111.
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $229 per night,
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $199 per night
STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SCHEDULE AND TICKETS.
ISHOF Honoree Missy Franklin to Fly With US Air Force Thunderbirds
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
27 May 2024, 09:52am
Missy Franklin to Fly With US Air Force Thunderbirds
Olympic swimming champion Missy Franklin is taking to the air.
The five-time Olympic medalist was invited to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds on Thursday as part of the academy’s graduation celebration, according to the Denver Gazette.
The flight will take off from Peterson Space Force Base. Previous passengers included skier Mikaela Shiffrin and speedskater Apolo Ohno.
Franklin won Olympic gold in the 100 and 200 backstroke, the 800 free relay and the 400 medley relay in London in 2012 and earned five total medals over two Olympics, also medaling in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Missy Franklin won six gold at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, including sweeping the 100 and 200 backstroke again, and winning the 200 free, one of the top performances in the history of the World Championships.
In college, Missy Franklin led Cal to the NCAA championship led by her still-NCAA record 1:39 in the 200-yard freestyle
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2023.
The U.S. Air Force started flights with Olympians in 2019 to showcase the relationship between the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to the Gazette.
Happy Birthday Cathy Carr!!
Cathy Carr (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1988)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1972 gold (100m breaststroke; relay); WORLD RECORDS: 2 (100m breaststroke; relay); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2 (100m breaststroke); AMERICAN RECORDS: 4 (100m, 100yd breaststroke; 2 relays); 1974 Hall of Fame Outstanding College Athletes of America.
Cathy Carr is the first Olympic gold medal swimmer from New Mexico. Her Olympic victories at the 1972 Munich Games were a surprise to everyone except perhaps for Cathy herself. Just one year after placing fourth (100 & 200 breast) in the U.S. Outdoor Nationals, Carr won the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 meter breaststroke but was not taken seriously by the U.S. coaches as a threat to medal against the 60 competitors from 22 countries around the world.
The Europeans were always favored, especially Swimming Hall of Famer Galina Prozumenshikova, the first Russian to win an Olympic swimming gold in Tokyo and a bronze and silver winner in Mexico. But in the 1972 Olympics, even though Prozumenshikova was definitely favored, Cathy Carr beat her and set a new Olympic record to boot with a time of 1:15 in the prelims. In the finals two days later, Cathy took off in the center (lane 4) and led all the way, beating Prozumenshikova by two body lengths. It was as decisive as it was surprising. She won in world record time 1:13.58 beating her own Olympic record by more than a second and the world record of Hall of Famer Catie Ball by half a second. As the fastest American, this also qualified Cathy for the medley relay in which she won another gold in world and Olympic record time.
In addition to the two gold medals and the unofficial title of the USA’s most pleasant surprise winner, Cathy Carr showed that previous press clippings don’t win the Olympics. Cathy proved in the year after the Olympics that her surprise showing at Munich was no fluke. She retired to become a wife, mother and elementary school teacher. Coaching credits for swimmer Cathy Carr are owed to: Jimmy Stevens, Marc Lautman, John Mechem, coach-to-be Rick Klatt and Mike Troy.
Happy Birthday Jill Sterkel!!
Jill Sterkel (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2002)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1976 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 1980 OLYMPIC GAMES: (boycotted); 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat); 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat); THREE WORLD RECORDS: 2 (4x100m freestyle relay), 1 (4x200m freestyle relay); 1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 1982 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (4x100m freestyle relay), 4x100m medley relay), bronze (100m freestyle); 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze (water polo); 1983 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 1975 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay), silver (100m freestyle); 1979 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay, 100m butterfly), silver (100m freestyle); 1983 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 20 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 13 individual, 7 relays; 21 NCAA/AIAW NATIONAL: 16 individual, 5 relays.
n 1971, Jill Sterkel appeared in her first US National Championship meet at the age of ten. At age 14, she qualified for the Pan American Games, the same year she made her first appearance in the world rankings, with a 12th in the 100m freestyle. Sterkel strongly kept the momentum going, becoming a member of four U.S. Olympic Teams (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988), the most for any American swimmer in the first 92 years of the modern Olympiad. She won medals at each Olympics in which she competed.
Her first Olympic medal came in 1976 at Montreal when her 4x100m freestyle relay defeated the favored East German team and won the gold medal in the world record time of 3:44.82, with teammates Kim Peyton, Wendy Boglioli and Shirley Babashoff. Little did the athletes know at the time, but the competitors from East Germany had been under a planned drug doping program for six years. Their female swimmers won every event except two. When the East German drug scandal was exposed 17 years later, it proved their swimmers performances to be unfair, unbalanced and completely against the rules. They had won 11 of 13 gold medals and many silver and bronze medals.
At the 1980 Moscow Games, Jill’s Olympic aspirations were again dampened by another incident out of her control – U.S. President Carter’s boycott of the U.S. Olympic Team from competing in Moscow. Jill was picked to win three gold medals and to be team captain.
But, she could not compete.
Jill’s second gold medal came as a member of the 1984 Olympic 4x100m freestyle relay team (preliminary heat). When the 50m freestyle became an Olympic event in 1988, she tied with Katrin Merssner (GDR) for the bronze medal with a career best time of 25.71 behind Kristen Otto (GDR) and Yang Wenyi (CHN). This was Jill’s fourth Olympic quadrennial. She also received a second bronze medal for swimming the 4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat. Sterkel was elected captain of the U.S. Team for three Olympic Games – 1980, 1984, 1988.
Jill started her swimming career as an age group swimmer with coach Don Garmon (1966-1971). She then moved to El Monte Aquatics Team (1971-1979) in her home state of California where she trained under Don LaMont, competing in her first U.S. Nationals at age 12. By 14, she was competing at the 1975 Pan American Games where she won gold as a member of the 4x100m
freestyle relay and took home a silver medal in the 100m freestyle. Sterkel was then coached by Hall of Fame coaches Paul Bergen (1979-1983), Richard Quick (1983-1988) and Mark Schubert (1988-1991) while at the University of Texas, Austin.
Jill won gold medals at the 1978 World Championships (4x100m freestyle relay) and the 1979 Pan American Games (14x100m freestyle and medley relays) where she also won a silver in the 100m freestyle.
Sterkel competed at the 1982 World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, winning silver medals in both relays and a bronze in the 100m freestyle. At the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Jill won the gold on the freestyle relay. All totaled, Jill won 20 U.S. National Championships and 21 NCAA/AIAW National Championships while swimming for the University of Texas Longhorns.
Not only was Jill a great swimmer, she was also a member of the 1986 U.S. National Water Polo Team that won a bronze medal at the Madrid World Championships. From 1986 to 1991, Jill was assistant women’s swim coach at the University of Texas, and head coach from 1992 to present. “I am glad and proud to be able to give girls growing up in the sport some sort of example to follow…,” Jill Sterkel said in a 2001 USA Today interview. One of the first females to break into the USA Swimming coaching hierarchy to coach at the World Championship level, Sterkel is “an American swimming legend,” said Dale Neuburger, USA Swimming President,
“and she’s already distinguished herself as one of our country’s foremost coaches.”
Jill Sterkel’s accolades continue to flow. She won nearly every award available in swimming, from Olympic gold to the Broderick Cup U.S. National Female Athlete of the Year and a Texas-record 28 All-America honors. She was named assistant women’s swimming coach for the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka.
Sterkel has had a profound impact on the Texas women’s swimming program. She placed two swimmers on Olympic teams: Whitney Hedgepath (1996) winning silver medals in the 100m and 200m backstrokes and gold on the 4x100m medley relay – preliminary heat and Erin Phenix (2000) winning gold on the 4x100m freestyle relay – preliminary heat. Sterkel was inducted into the Texas Women’s Athletics Hall of Honor and was the 2000 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.
Happy Birthday Bruce Furniss!!
Bruce Furniss (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1987)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 gold (200m freestyle; 1 relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1975 gold (relay), silver (200m, 400m freestyle); 1978 gold (relay); WORLD RECORDS: 10 (200m freestyle; 200m individual medley; 5 relays); AMERICAN RECORDS: 19 (200m, 200yd freestyle; 200m, 200yd, 400yd individual medley; 9 relays); AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 11 (200yd, 500yd freestyle; 200m, 400yd individual medley); 7 relays); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 6 (200yd freestyle; 4 relays); KIPHUTH AWARD: 1975, 1976.
Bruce Furniss coped with painful arthritis using swimming as a remedial exercise. That he enjoyed himself during a twelve year career and turned his therapy into a successful competitive swimming career is an understatement. This younger brother of Pan American champion and world record holder, Steve Furniss, set out to own the 200 meters. He won two Olympic gold medals in world and Olympic record times in the 200 and in the 800 freestyle relays at Montreal and broke his brother Steve’s world record in the 200 individual medley. Twice he was high point winner at the U.S. Nationals and twice he was picked as World Swimmer of the Year in the 200 freestyle and individual medley. His world record total of ten included both 400 and 800 freestyle relays at the World Championships in Berlin. He added 19 American records including ten in yard distances which were the world’s fastest times.
Bruce, as an age grouper under Tom DeLong, Flip Darr and Jon Urbanchek, as a Senior National AAU swimmer with Dick Jochums, and as a college swimmer with Peter Daland, certainly added to the reputation of these distinguished coaches. During much of Bruce Furniss’ career he swam tired, without the benefit of a good night’s sleep. On trips he usually roomed with his best pal, Tim Shaw, a character who rarely needed more than six hours sleep and did most of his talking to roommates late at night.