Happy Birthday Edward “Ted” Stickles!!
Edward “Ted” Stickles (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1995)
FOR THE RECORD: 4 WORLD RECORDS: 400m individual medley; 8 U.S. NATIONAL AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley.
Ted Stickles swam with Doc Councilman’s legendary Indiana University swim team from 1962-1965. At on point during his career, he and his roommate, Hall of Famer Chet Jastremski, held a total of seven world records. Ted dominated the individual medley throughout the early ’60s, breaking a total of nine world records throughout his career.
His mother taught him to swim at an early age, but it was not until he entered high school that Ted began competitive swimming. After enjoying a successful high school career, Hall of Famer Doc Councilman recruited him to his IU team.
At first, Ted felt that Doc had made a mistake in his recruitment, but before long, he surprised himself and began to break unforgettable records. Ted was one of the first people to actually train for the individual medley events. Ted’s ease in moving from one stroke to another and fluidity without breaking stroke helped him be the first person to break two minutes in the 200 yard individual medley and five minutes in the 400 meter individual medley. For a span of three years, Ted Stickles held all of the world records in the individual medley events.
At the height of his career, he developed tendonitis in his elbow, hindering his ability to train. Yet Ted continued to swim and barely missed making the ’64 Olympic team. This was a disappointment because his sister, Terri Stickles, made the team; they would have been the first brother and sister to make an Olympic team.
Ted went on to coach swimming for the University of Illinois and Louisiana State University. Presently, he resides in Louisiana with his wife and two children and is event management director for all athletic functions at Louisiana State University.
Happy Birthday to ISHOF’s 2023 Honor Coach Bob Bowman, the newly appointed Director of Swimming and Diving at the University of Texas
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
click here to read story of Bowman taking the helm at UT:
To read Bob Bowman’s ISHOF bio, click here: https://ishof.org/honoree/bob-bowman-usa/
To watch Bowman’s induction video and speech, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrwlaX4nRPo&t=15s
Happy Birthday Djurdjica Bjedov!!
Djurdjica Bjedov (YUG)
Honor Swimmer (1987)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1968 gold (100m breaststroke), silver (200m breaststroke); OLYMPIC RECORD: (100m breaststroke); Many time Yugoslavian National Champion and record holder; First Yugoslavian swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.
As the only swimming gold medalist Yugoslavia ever had, Djurdjica Bjedov may just be the all-time Cinderella of the modern Olympics. She is certainly a wonderful story on why it pays to be ready because no one really knows when their big chance might come. Swimming’s miracle wonder story went something like this:
The best Bjedov had ever done was third in her heat at the European Championships two years before her 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The Yugoslavian Swimming Federation decided they had to take her to the Olympics because they had no other breaststroker for their medley relay (which was ultimately disqualified in the preliminaries because she jumped on her relay start). Bjedov qualified fifth in the 100 meter breaststroke in a final in which the odds were on favorite, world record holder Catie Ball of the United States who placed a sub par fifth because of a serious intestinal disorder. The formidable field that remained included Galina Prosumenschikova, the only European to have won a gold medal fours earlier at Tokyo.
Everyone was worried about the altitude affecting their performance, something Bjedov thought might improve her chances. She was fit, and she was ready, and she had made the finals. To everyone’s surprise, the unknown from Split, Yugoslavia, came through to win in Olympic record time. A few days later she almost did it again in the 200. Qualifying seventh, she swam in an outside lane, topped her best previous time by three seconds and again beat the Soviet Prosumenschikova, but this time she was the only Yugoslavian swimmer to win a silver medal as American Sharon Wichman came on to win the event.
Happy Birthday Franziska van Almsick!!
Franziska van Almsick (GER)
Honor Swimmer (2010)
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (200m freestyle, 4x100m medley relay), bronze (100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (200m freestyle, 4x200m medley relay), bronze (4x100m freestyle relay); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (4x200m freestyle relay); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (4x100m medley relay, 4x200m freestyle relay); TWO WORLD RECORDS: 200m freestyle; FOUR WORLD RECORDS (25m): 50m freestyle (1), 100m freestyle (2); 200m freestyle (l); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m freestyle), silver (4x200m freestyle relay), bronze (100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay), 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x200m freestyle relay), silver ( 4x100m freestyle relay); 1993 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay), silver (200m butterfly); 1995 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle,400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay) silver (50m freestyle), 1999 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay), silver (4x100m medley relay), 2002 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay); WORLD SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: 1993; GERMAN SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR: 1993, 19995, 2002; EUROPEAN SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: 1993, 1994, 2002; WORLD SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: 1993.
Growing up in Berlin, Germany in the former GDR, “Franzi” loved swimming, joined a team and by the time the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, she was ready to burst onto the international swimming scene. At age 14, at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, she was the youngest participant of the re-united German team, and sensationally won the 200m and 1 OOm freestyle silver and bronze medals, as well as silver and bronze medals on Germany’s medley and freestyle relays. She set the 200m freestyle World Record at the 1994 World Championships in Rome, breaking an eight-year record held by Heike Friedrich, the last of the GDR swimmers. She broke her own record in 2002 in Berlin. Overall, her 200m freestyle World Record stood for 13 years until broken by Federica Pellegrini of Italy in 2007. Franziska held the record longer than any other female in that event except for Hall of Fame swimmer Ragenhild Hveger of Denmark from 1938 to 1956.
Competing in another three Olympic Games, she won a total of 10 silver and bronze freestyle medals, the most of any female swimmer until surpassed by Hall of Farner Jenny Thompson (USA) with 12 medals, also in 2004.
Swimming for SC Dynamo Berlin, she competed at four European Championships between 1993 and 2002 winning 18 gold and silver medals. She is a three-time German Sports Woman of the Year, (1993, 1995, 2002), two-time European Swimmer of the Year and the 1993 World Swimmer of the Year.
Happy Birthday Péter Biros!!
Péter Biros (HUN)
Honor Water Polo (2016)
FOR THE RECORD: 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver; 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver; 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver; 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold
Hungary is a land of thermal springs and although landlocked, swimming and water sports are ingrained in their culture. This love of water led to an early domination of international swimming and diving competitions in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1920s, it was water polo that came to symbolize Hungary’s unique strengths and individuality. From 1928 to 1980, the Hungarian National Water Polo Team dominated the sport like no other nation, reaching the podium at twelve consecutive Olympic Games. During this streak the Hungarians won six gold medals, three silver medals, three bronze medals, and back to back titles twice: 1932 and 1936 and, 1952 and 1956. It came to be that anything less than the gold medal was considered a failure.
So it became something of a national catastrophe and source of embarrassment when the pride of Hungary failed to medal in four consecutive Olympic contests. After finishing fourth in 1996, the Federation reached out to a young coach, who had made a name for himself coaching in Italy and Australia, to rescue the program.
Denes Kemeny started by building his team around two young men who had helped Hungary finish fourth at the 1996 Games in Atlanta: Tibor Benedek and Tamas Kásás.
Benedek was one of the most talented youngsters to ever play the game. He had joined the National Team as a teenager prior to the 1992 Olympic Games. His speed, quickness, rifle left arm and goal-scoring in Barcelona earned him the Hungarian Player of the Year titles in 1992, 1993 and 1994.
Tamas Kásás took up water polo at the age of six, being taught by his father Zoltan, a famous coach and silver medalist in 1972. Because of his world-class swimming speed, defensive skills, accurate shooting and passing he would come to be regarded as one of the world’s best defensive and all around players of his era.
Born in Szeged, Tamás Molnár was selected for the national team in 1997. He was a powerhouse at the all-important center position and could score or draw exclusions against the best defenders in the world.
The youngest to join the team in 1997, was 19-year old Gergely Kiss. He was not only a brilliant left-hander and center defender, but at 6’6”, 245 pounds, he was one of the most physically intimidating players in the sport.
It was 1998 when Péter Biros joined the team. Born in Miskolc, Biros had combined water polo with handball until the age of 17. He could play any position and could score from anywhere in the pool.
The final piece of Kemeny’s team was the goalkeeper, 21-year old Zoltán Szécsi. Standing 6’6” tall, he had learned to swim as an infant, but grew up playing a variety of other sports, like basketball and tennis, which was good training for his position.
Kemeny’s new approach brought immediate results, as the Hungarians won gold at the 1997 European Championships, silver at the 1998 FINA World Championships and gold at the 1999 World Cup.
At the 2000 Sydney Games, Hungary regained its Olympic water polo success by winning their first Olympic medal in 24 years, and their record seventh water polo gold medal, by routing Russia, 13-6.
Four years later, at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Gergely Kiss scored four goals, including the game-winner in an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Serbia-Montenegro to defend their title.
In Beijing, at the 2008 Olympic Games, the Hungarians faced off against the surprising team from the USA. In a wild shoot out, the Magyars took command in the fourth quarter for a 14-10 victory.
The win gave Hungary an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic title. While a total of 21 players won Olympic gold medals playing for Hungary over the period of 2000 to 2008, only six own three by themselves. It is to them, and their coach, that we honor the Hungarian Men’s National Water Polo Team as the first team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Happy Birthday Brian Goodell!!
Brian Goodell (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1986)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 gold (400m, 1500m freestyle); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1979 gold (400m, 1500m freestyle, relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1975 silver (1500m freestyle); WORLD RECORDS: 5 (400m, 1500m freestyle); AMERICAN RECORDS: 8 (400m, 1500m 500yd, 1650yd freestyle, 400yd individual medley); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 9 (500yd, 1650yd freestyle; 400yd individual medley); AAU NATIONALS: 10 (500yd, 1000yd, 1500yd, 400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle); 1977 World Swimmer of the Year.
Brian Goodell “was a coach’s dream possessing uncanny determination and talents” says his coach Mark Schubert. Schubert’s record for team championships with the Mission Viejo Nadadores is unsurpassed in American swimming. He went into high gear with the emergence of Goodell. The same could be said for Goodell’s college swimming at UCLA where Coach Ron Ballatore says, “He had a will to win the I’ve seen in few other athletes. He can summon up those hidden reserves and turn it on when somebody is after him, like few others.”
Goodell came to Mission in 1972 not yet a world class athlete. He won a silver in the World Championships in 1975. But from there on in we can speak only of golds. Goodell attributes his incredible training regimen to a fantasy he and Jesse Vassallo used to indulge during those incredible dawn practices with steam coming off the water. They would play games; imagine the world’s best in the next lane and a huge crowd cheering from the imaginary grandstand at the Olympics. With such self-styled inspiration, Goodell set goals for his training and his future races that were unconquerable to others. He believed he did it and he won — until after the incredible boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics when Goodell announced matter of factly, “I’ve accomplished all that I’ve really want to” and retired.
In the years between, he was twice honored as the world’s top male swimmer (1977 and 1979), set five World and eight American records, won nine NCAA and 10 AAU Nationals and won two Olympic gold medals in world record time in individual events. Alongside the world’s best swimmers, one can’t help but wonder if he looked up at the Olympic crowd and fantasized he was swimming through the predawn fog at morning practice. . .
Catching Up: Rowdy Gaines is Gearing Up for Another Olympic Games Behind the Microphone
photo credit: Peter Bick
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
31 March 2024, 04:31pm
Catching Up: Rowdy Gaines is Gearing Up for Another Olympic Games Behind the Microphone
In our latest edition of “Catching Up,” it seemed an appropriate time to visit with Rowdy Gaines, a man who has worn many hats during his enduring role in the sport. Gaines recently wrapped up broadcasting the NCAA Championships for ESPN, and will now shift his focus to the push toward the Olympic Games in Paris.
There are a few guarantees within the swimming competition at each Olympic Games. World records will be broken. A few surprises will get fans talking. Team USA will field a powerful squad. And Rowdy Gaines will be a nightly part—at least in the United States—of living-room gatherings or swim-club viewing parties.
Gaines is one of those rare individuals who has carved out a place in history as a dual-role star. During his competitive days, he was one of the premier freestylers in the world, an athlete who bounced back from heartache to capture Olympic glory. In his second career, as a television analyst for NBC Sports (among other network opportunities), Gaines has become the Voice of the Sport, and is preparing to cover his ninth Olympiad at this summer’s Games in Paris.
The Hall of Famer, plain and simple, has long been a key thread in the fabric of the swimming world.
A SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY
This summer will mark the 40th anniversary of the most iconic moment of Gaines’ career. It was a day that arrived four years after the Auburn University star had his initial Olympic dreams wiped out by United States President Jimmy Carter’s decision to have the U.S. boycott the Olympics in Moscow.
Expected to contend for multiple titles at the 1980 Games, the intersection of sports and politics dealt Gaines—and hundreds of other athletes—a gut punch. The work he had logged in preparation for the Moscow Games went for naught, and retirement soon called. At least for a stretch, it appeared as if Gaines would not receive his Olympic opportunity.
But rather than exit competitive waters via a decision not his own, Gaines cut his retirement short to make a push at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. While nothing was guaranteed, Gaines felt he owed it to himself to make a charge at a home Olympiad.
It was a great call.
At the 1984 Olympics, Gaines helped the United States to gold medals in the 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. But it was his performance in the 100 freestyle that made Gaines a legend, an Olympic champion for life.
Rowdy Gaines. Photo Courtesy: Tim Morse
Racing to a time of 49.80, Gaines captured the Olympic crown ahead of Australian Mark Stockwell (50.24) and Sweden’s Per Johansson (50.31). The key for Gaines was a spectacular start, one made possible when his coach, Richard Quick, alerted him that the starter was quick with the gun. With this knowledge, Gaines fired off the blocks and never looked back.
Years later, Gaines can vividly recall the events of July 31, from his chat with Quick to the exuberance he felt upon being crowned an Olympic champ. It’s also hard to believe it’s been four decades since he listened to “The Star-Spangled Banner” after an Olympic gold medal was placed around his neck.
“Part of me feels like it was yesterday,” Gaines said. “I can remember specific details of the race. But another part of me feels like that was another person. I’m not sure how I did all that.
“It would have been impossible without Richard Quick. He had such a knack for picking up things to help his athletes. But more than a coach, he was always a confidant and friend.
“That was such an important time in the Olympic movement. We were coming off the boycott of 1980, and our country was starving for the Olympics. And patriotism was at an all-time high. There are definitely memories.”
THE NEXT CHAPTER
As well known as Gaines is for his exploits in the pool, which include world-record performances, he might be best known for his years as a television analyst—most notably at the Olympic Games. Gaines worked his first Olympics in 1992 in Barcelona and has not missed one since. When he calls the Paris Games this summer, it will mark his ninth Games.
Through the years, he has also served as a regular voice for the NCAA Championships, major college conference champs, the World Championships, Duel in the Pool, United States Nationals, USA Swimming Pro Series and the International Swimming League. If there’s a competition of significance, there’s a good bet Gaines will be part of the announcing team.
“The first and foremost thing I try to bring to my announcing is passion,” Gaines said. “People can question some of my knowledge and my language or grammar, but they can’t question my passion. I hope that’s something that comes across because it’s genuine and I love doing it. I have the best seat in the house.”
Gaines’ passion undoubtedly comes through on telecasts, his voice frequently rising an octave or two. There is pure joy in his approach.
This summer will be a busy one for Gaines, as he’ll call the United States Olympic Trials from Indianapolis in June with longtime NBC partner Dan Hicks. The tandem will then shift their focus to Paris and the latest edition of the Olympic Games.
Through the years, Gaines and Hicks have developed a tight relationship—on and off camera. They have an undeniable chemistry, and truly enjoy working with one another.
“I feel incredibly blessed to be able to go to Paris and call my ninth Olympic Games for NBC,” Gaines said. “They have been incredible to work with, and the entire team at the network has been very supportive of our sport through the years. I will never take for granted the opportunity to be a part of a broadcast of the greatest sporting event in the world.
“Dan is not only the ultimate pro, but also an incredibly dear friend and mentor. There is no way that we would be able to do eight Olympic Games together without being in sync. I’m very fortunate to call him my partner.”
GIVING BACK
As an Olympic champion and longtime fixture behind the microphone, Gaines is one of the best-known personalities in swimming. To his credit, he has used that identity to give back. Gaines has routinely traveled the country providing clinics for clubs and sparking interest in the sport, in addition to providing developing athletes with a few technique tips and motivational words.
More important, Gaines has been at the forefront of the importance of water safety. Since first joining forces with the USA Swimming Foundation in 2003, Gaines has been an ambassador for the organization. His primary focus has been on the importance of swim lessons, and how they can save lives in the fight against drowning.
Really, Gaines’ love for the water—and his many roles—has made him, perhaps, the greatest promoter swimming could imagine.
“I could never give back to the sport more than it has given me,” Gaines said. “It changed my life in so many ways. I will stack swimming against any other sport for the values that are taught every single day. For that, I will always be grateful.”
Happy Birthday Li Ting!!
Li Ting (CHN)
Honor Diver (2019)
FOR THE RECORD: 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (10m platform synchro); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (10m platform synchro); 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (3m springboard synchro); 2006 FINA Diving World Cup: gold (3m springboard synchro); 2004 FINA Diving World Cup: gold (10m platform synchro); 2002 FINA Diving World Cup (10m platform synchro); 2002 ASIAN GAMES: gold (10m platform synchro); 2006 ASIAN GAMES: gold (3m springboard synchro); 2005 SUMMER UNIVERSIADE: gold (10m platform, 3m springboard synchro, 10m platform synchro); 2007 SUMMER UNIVERSADE: gold (3m springboard)
Li Ting was born April 1, 1987 in the Lingui District in China. She and her twin sister were the youngest of three daughters.
Their hometown had an open-air swimming pool where her older sister was trained for basic diving. It was here that Li Ting, and her sister Rao, fell in love with diving at age six, and joined the Lingui Sports School. After school, the three sisters received basic training from Coach Tang Gengsheng.
When Li and her sister were seven years old, senior diving coach Deng Biqiang recognized that the twin sisters had athletic potential in diving and were selected into the Guilin Diving School and were trained by coaches Zeng Yong and Qin Jing. From then on, the sisters began formal training along with their normal education.
Soon, the six a.m. daily wake-up calls caused Ting Li to lose motivation and want to quit the sport. On one day in particular, she was crying during her entire training session and told Coach Qin she wanted to go home. She then thought of her parents and their original dream for her to become an excellent diver.
It is safe to say Li did not give up on her dream. In 1999, she and twin sister, Rao were selected to join the national diving team at the age of 12, suddenly being surrounded by national heroes, like Sun Shuwei and Fu Mingxia.
The training was difficult and the sisters were both under a great deal of stress. Within a year, they had adjusted well and were among China’s best in platform diving. In 2001, Ting and Rao went abroad for the first time to compete in Germany, Russia and the UK, winning gold in the 10m synchro event at all three meets.
A year later, Li Ting competed for China at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and won gold in the 10m synchro event. In 2003, she won the gold medal in the 10m synchro at the World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona with new partner, 2015 ISHOF Honoree Lao Lishi.
Li Ting’s career culminated at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she won the gold medal in the 10m synchro with Lao, defeating the teams from Russia and Canada.
After Athens, Li made the transition to springboard diving, having already mastered the platform. It was not an easy transition, but she quickly became world class, winning the 3m synchro gold medal at the 2005 World Championships with ISHOF Honoree, Guo Jingjing as her partner.
After more springboard training, Li started to experience pain in her leg. She would find out it was from long-term overload training. She insisted she would endure the pain and keep competing, but it would eventually overpower her.
Li qualified to compete at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing but could not participate in the Games because of her leg. After the Olympics, she was selected again for the national team training but chose to complete surgery and rehabilitation treatment. The pain was too much and she ultimately ended her diving career.
After diving, Li was able to study humanities, sociology and sports management and completed her graduate program at Beijing Sports University. After briefly living in the United States, she returned to China as the Deputy Director of the Aquatic Center of Guangxi. In 2018, Li successfully passed tests to become an international diving referee, giving back to a sport that gave her so much.
SW and Women’s History Month Presents “The General Slocum Disaster & the Right to Swim for Women”
by TAYLOR BRIEN
05 March 2018, 04:00am
Tragedy to Triumph: The Story of the General Slocum Disaster and the Right to Swim for Women
The General Slocum disaster in 1904 was the greatest single catastrophe in New York City’s history until 9/11. More than a thousand passengers — mostly women and children — who tried to escape the fire aboard the excursion steamboat by jumping into the water, had drowned. Bodies of mothers, grandmothers, and girls washed up on the shorelines for days.
The catastrophe was the most impactful event in the history of swimming in America. Immediately, politicians and school administrators recognized swimming as an art essential to self-preservation and advocated teaching all children to swim. Despite the known benefits of learning to swim, it was an era where strenuous exercise was seen as harmful for girls’ health and, also, there was the issue of “modesty.”
As America sought to resolve these issues, schools began to teach girls how to swim without them having to learn in the water.
Change would not begin to take rise be until 1907 and the arrival of Australian Annette Kellerman. Once in America, Kellerman was appalled by the swimsuits that women were required to wear and staged a one-woman protest on Revere Beach near Boston, where she was arrested for “public nudity” while wearing a man’s suit. In court, she defended herself by famously stating,
“Don’t women have the right to save themselves from drowning when men aren’t around to protect them? Then how can we learn to swim wearing more material than you hang on a clothes line?”
Kellerman quickly became a symbol of hope and change for women in swimming and helped pave the way for the right to swim.
Throwback Thursday: When Caeleb Dressel Went 17.63 in 50 Freestyle; A Swim That Seemed Like Fiction
Caeleb Dressel. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Editorial content for the 2018 NCAA DI Championship coverage is sponsored by TritonWear. Visit TritonWear.com for more information on our sponsor. For full Swimming World coverage, check event coverage page.
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
28 March 2024, 05:00am
Throwback Thursday: When Caeleb Dressel Went 17.63 in 50 Freestyle; A Swim That Seemed Like Fiction
By Dan D’Addona.
It starts with a few seconds of unbroken calmness, then explodes into a frenzy of speed unleashed into the water.
No record is safe.
No swim is truly unbelievable for Caeleb Dressel anymore.
The Florida senior assaulted the record books three times in one day. Each swim more stunning than the one previous.
Each brought a collective gasp to the NCAA championship crowd, a crowd that is used to seeing Dressel do the previously impossible — to others at least.
Dressel’s goal was to go a 17.6 in the 50-yard freestyle, when no one — himself included — had broken 18 seconds. It was a lofty goal, to say the least.
“I think there needs to be a fine line between goal-setting and laughter. I don’t think you should sell yourself short. This meet, I think 17.6 was the perfect swim,” Dressel said. “I am super happy with it. I got one of my goal times — 17.6. I wasn’t focused on 17.9, I was focused on 17.6 — that is what I thought I was capable of doing — maybe I lied to myself, I don’t know.”
Dressel knows now, and so does the world as he won in 17.63, more than a second ahead of NC State’s Ryan Held — the biggest margin of victory in history. Most of all his teammates that see the work on a daily basis lead to incredible performances seemingly every time he touches the water.
“It’s just jaw-dropping. Seeing everyone in the stands and they just don’t know what is going on,” teammate Jan Switkowski said. “It is absolutely amazing and I am so fortunate that can witness it every single day.”
It was stunning, and in addition to the disbelief of his fellow swimmers, and the fans in the stands, social media blows up every time he dives into the water.
Not that he would know.
“I actually deleted all of my social media, so I don’t know what people are saying. I don’t have a clue,” he said. “It is kind of nice actually. It is very freeing. I have done that this year, set my own goals and ignore all the expectations and what people expect me to do. That is where 17.6 came from. It was a number that popped into my head and I thought it was possible.”
This is what Dressel has done for swimming, he has simply made the impossible possible with every barrier he breaks.
And it isn’t just the performances that are stunning, it is the unique way Dressel gets the most out of himself.
It begins with a calmness completely opposite of the impending assault on the record books.
“I usually say a prayer. It is calming. I just try to relax,” he said. “I just want to be in control of my emotions. I want to embrace the pressure and thrive on it — be in control of the moment.
“I am the only person I can talk to behind the blocks, so I may as well talk to myself and calm myself down. There is really no reason to let your emotions get the best of you. If you can control that, you are really in control of everything. That is something I have really been trying to do, have fun. There is no reason to get nervous. I get to do what I love to do. It is another opportunity to race.”
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
During relays, there is a different kind of calm. Dressel can talk with his teammates, so he does, joking with Maxime Rooney before walking out, just keeping things light before the 400 medley relay, in which he of course swam the breaststroke leg — yes, the breaststroke.
And he split a 50.62, leading Florida to fourth (3:03.16).
It was a great swim, but that relay didn’t compare to the first relay of the day, when Dressel split a 17.96 in the 200 free relay during prelims, causing an audible gasp from the crowd.
“I learned from each one. The relay this morning, I was 17.9 with a relay swing. There was room to improve there and I learned something from that race. I kind of got the first-race jitters out of the way. I just learned from each one and went with the momentum,” Dressel said.
He then led off with a 17.81 in finals, leading Florida to the national title in 1:14.39. He was joined by Jan Switkowsi, who also won the 200 IM, Enzo Martinez-Scarpe and Mark Szaranek.
“The relay was great. I was super excited,” Dressel said. “At Florida, if you win a national title you go up on the wall of champions. The order we did it was me, Mark won (the 200 IM) last year and Jan won tonight. All three of us in a row. I could probably cry about it right now. We are going to be on that wall forever, the three best of friends. Then the relay is going to be right there.
“I am just so happy for Enzo. He actually had a note card above his locker last year. His was NCAA champions, 200 free relay. Probably the whole nation was laughing for that because we are not known as a sprint school, but we just proved the whole world wrong.”
Creating that line between laughter and goals helped the Gators to an unexpected relay national title and has led Dressel to what was thought to be unreachable — except by him.