Passages: Lance Larson, 1980 ISHOF Honoree Controversially Denied Olympic Gold, Dies at 83
Lance Larson — Photo Courtesy: ISHOF
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
23 January 2024, 06:29pm
Lance Larson, a former world-record holder in the 100 butterfly and 200 IM and the winner of two Olympic medals at the 1960 Games, passed away January 19 at age 83. Larson was a longtime resident of Southern California, attending USC before working as a dentist in Orange County later in life while continuing to compete in Masters swimming.
Larson was the first high school swimmer to break 50 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle before becoming the first man to ever break 1:00 in the 100-meter fly, setting the world record on two occasions in 1960 prior to competing at the Rome Olympics. But Larson is best known for what happened in Rome, when a controversial decision by the head judge on deck denied him Olympic gold in the 100 free.
The Olympic swimming program in 1960 consisted of only six individual men’s events plus two relays, with both of Larson’s world-record events omitted. That left the 100 free as his only chance for an individual medal, and Larson faced off with Australia’s John Devitt down the stretch of the race. Larson appeared to touch the wall first, but in a massive controversy, Devitt was declared the winner, leaving Larson with silver.
Larson did, however, earn gold as part of the U.S. men’s 400 medley relay, in which he swam butterfly and his team finished in a world-record mark of 4:05.4. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer in 1980.
A celebration of life for Larson will take place March 1 at 11 a.m. at the Garden Grove Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Garden Grove, Calif. According to an obituary published in the Orange County Register, Larson’s family is asking for contributions in his memory to be made to the Trojan Victory Fund, which supports the USC men’s and women’s swimming and diving program.
Lance Larson, right, and John Devitt, middle, after a controversial judging decision handed the Australian gold in a 100 freestyle final at Rome 1960 in which Manuel Dos Santos, of Brazil, claimed bronze – Photo Courtesy: ISHOF film still
At the 1960 Games, the relatively-new automatic timing technology was not official in declaring winners and medalists, and neither were the hand-timers placed on deck. Instead, place judges were responsible for determining the order of finish, and two of the three first-place judges said Devitt had gotten to the wall first. However, two of the three second-place judges also ruled for Devitt, forcing the situation into flux.
Hand-timing results were 55.0, 55.1 and 55.1 for Larson and 55.2 from all three timers for Devitt. The automatic timing system said that Larson had gotten to the wall six hundredths ahead of Devitt, 55.10 to 55.16. But that’s when chief judge Hans Runströmer got involved. Runströmer, the chief judge, was not supposed to have any say in determining the order of placement, but he stepped in and ruled in favor of Devitt, even though it appeared that Runströmer did not have a clear view of the finish.
Both of the men were listed with times of 55.2, and while Larson was given the Olympic record, Devitt got the gold medal. An appeal by the American team, which included recorded video evidence and was supported by American FINA official Max Ritter, was unsuccessful, and further attempts to change the results over the years never resulted in Larson receiving gold. Devitt passed away in August at age 86.
The events of that 100 free Olympic final would force change in the sport, with influential voices calling reliable automatic timing in advance of the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. And just 12 years later, touchpads would be used to break a tie for Olympic gold, with Sweden’s Gunnar Larsson given the gold in the 400 IM over American Tim McKee by a margin of two thousandths, 4:31.981 to 4:31.983. After that, though, ties to the hundredth resulted in shared Olympic gold medals, and after Americans Larson and McKee were both denied the top prize, three future ties for Olympic gold would all involve at least one American.
2023 ISHOF Honoree Michael Phelps and wife Nicole Announce Birth of Fourth Son
Photo Courtesy: Annie Grevers
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
23 January 2024, 01:50pm
Michael Phelps, Nicole Phelps Announce Birth of Fourth Son
The Phelps family is now a family of six. Olympic champion Michael Phelps and wife Nicole Phelps announced the birth of Nico Michael Phelps.
He was born on Jan. 16, 2024.
“(Nicole) and I wanna welcome Nico Michael Phelps to the world,” Phelps posted on Instagram. “We’re so blessed to be given a 4th child. We’re now a family of 6!”
Nico is the fourth child and they are all boys, leading to plenty of jokes about a Phelps relay.
Michael Phelps announced the upcoming birth at his induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Phelps won 28 Olympic medals during his spectacular career, 10 more than the second-most of all time. Of that total, Phelps won 23 gold medals, 14 more than the second-most in history. His career featured 33 medals from the World Championships and 21 medals from the Pan Pacific Championships, along with an incredible 39 world records.
As impressive as his accomplishments in the pool, Phelps has served as a role model to the next generation of athletes to walk the deck, and his public emphasis on the importance of mental health has highlighted the need to take care of oneself and seek support when necessary.
He and Nicole started the Michael Phelps Foundation and have done several other things to support swimmers in a variety of ways.
Now, their family has a relay.
Happy Birthday Kevin Murphy!!
Kevin Murphy (GBR)
Honor Open Water Swimmer (2009)
FOR THE RECORD: THREE TWO WAY CROSSINGS OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL: 1970, 1975, 1987; 34 ENGLISH CHANNEL CROSSINGS; NORTHERN IRELAND SCOTLAND: 1970, 1971, 1989 (11H 21MIN); LOCH NESS: 1976 (23 MILES); RICHMOND TO GRAVESEND – RIVER THAMES: 42 MILES; THE WASH: 1973 (17 MILES); LOCH LOMOND: 1967 (15H 4MIN); LAKE WINDERMERE TWO WAY:1969 (21MILES);EIGHTLAKE WINDERMERE CROSSINGS; LAKE TAHOE: (21+MILES); CATALINA CHANNEL: (22+MILES); CHICAGO SHORELINE: (30+MILES); AROUND MANHATTAN: (27 MILES); LAKE BALATON: (48 MILES); LAKE COMO: (30 KM); MAJORCA TO MINORCA: (25 MILES); MARATHON DU SAGUENAY: (42 KM); CAPRI TO NAPLES: (23 MILES); NILE MARATHON: (20 MILES); LAKE WINDERMERE INTERNATIONAL: (25 KM).
On an August day in 1968, wearing his cap and goggles, Kevin Murphy stood on the stony Folkstone’s Shakespeare beach ready for his first crossing as a swimmer of the English Channel. During the next 41 years, he successfully completed the Channel 34 times, making him, The King of the English Channel with the most crossings by a male. Kevin became one of the greatest solo swimmers of all times.
In 1970, 1975 and 1987, he completed two way swims of the Channel. In 1970, he challenged uncharted cold waters swimming from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 11 hours 21 minutes in water 10 degrees C, a record that stood for 18 years. And in 1989, he repeated the Irish Sea swim. He set an inaugural record for swimming the 56 miles around the Isle of Wright in 26 hours, 51 minutes. He spent 52 hours, 30 minutes in the English Channel trying for a triple crossing but ending just short of the goal with a double crossing. He is the only man to have completed three two way crossings of the English Channel. He swam frigid Lake Windermere seven times including a double crossing in 1969. Most of his swims have been over 21 miles and include Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and Bristol Channel in Britain, Lake Tahoe, Catalina Channel, Chicago Shore Line and around Manhattan in the USA, Lake Balaton, Hungary(48 miles), Capri to Naples, Lake Hergozzo and six times Lake Como in Italy, The Nile Marathon, Egypt, the Spanish Balearic Island and 22 other International swims. Many of his swims he swam multiple times. He has completed over 73 swims of 10 miles or more with most of the swims over 21 miles.
Save the Date! October 4 & 5, ISHOF’s 2024 Honoree Induction Weekend
January 23, 2023
Mark your calendars now! The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) has selected the dates for the 2024 Honoree Induction Ceremonies and the ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal Weekend.
The 59th Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend will be held Friday, October 4, and Saturday, October 5, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Make your plans now to attend!
The Class of 2024 will be announced sometime in late winter. The ISHOF Awards and other award winners will be also honored during the Honoree weekend. Join our E-mail list or keep checking www.ishof.org or www.swimmingworld.com for more information for all the latest aquatic news!
The Induction weekend will begin Friday evening, October 4, 2023 and will celebrate the ISHOF Aquatic Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal, which typically honors six stellar aquatic men /women from the following categories: competitive swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, recreational swimming and aquatic safety.
The other ISHOF specialty awards honored on Friday evening include: The Buck Dawson Authors Award, The Virginia Hunt Newman Award, The John K. Williams Jr. Adaptive Aquatics Award, The Judge G. Harold Martin Award, The ISHOF Service Award, and others.
On Saturday, October 5, 2024, ISHOF will host, the 59th Annual Honoree Induction Ceremony. The event will be hosted at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, located one mile north of ISHOF on beautiful Fort Lauderdale Beach. The Class of 2024 will be announced sometime in the late winter, so keep checking back for any announcements.
The ISHOF Honoree Induction will also host its annual silent auction. If you have anything you might want to donate to this year’s silent auction, please contact Meg Keller-Marvin at meg@ishof.org or call her at:570.594.4367
*Ask about our Honoree weekend sponsorship opportunities, email amy@ishof.org for more information“.
Happy Birthday Karen Moe!!
Karen Moe (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1992)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1972 gold (200m butterfly), 1976 4th place (200m butterfly); WORLD RECORDS: 4 (200m butterfly); AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3 (200yd butterfly, 1 relay); AMERICAN RECORDS (Short Course): 1 (100yd butterfly); AMERICAN RECORDS (Long Course): 3 (200yd butterfly); OLYMPIC TRIALS: 1976 1st (200m butterfly).
Although she was born in Del Monoe, the Philippines, Karen Moe and her family settled in Orinda, California. At age eight she started swimming and after joining the Orinda Aqua Bears Swim Team, she competed for the next eight years as an age group swimmer. It was not until 1968, at age fifteen, that she competed in her first World Championship.
During those years she had to overcome two spinal deformities, for which she was required to wear a corrective back brace at all times, except when in the water. In 1970 she set the world record in the 200-meter butterfly, taking the record from the legendary Ada Kok of Holland, and overcoming a bout with shoulder tendonitis attributed to the many yards swum in practice sessions. Soon after, she and her family moved to Santa Clara where she swam for Coach George Haines at the Santa Clara Swim Club. Said Haines, “Karen is the type of girl that’s a great competitor and she’s an intelligent racer. She’s one of the smartest swimmers I’ve ever dealt with, in or out of the water.” Under Haines, Karen set the world record an additional three times.
Her greatest individual achievement was at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games where Karen won the 200-meter butterfly in world record time–two minutes, 15.56 seconds. It was a clean sweep by the American girls with Lynn Colella (second) and Ellie Daniel (third). She also placed forth in the 100-meter backstroke.
She returned home to a heroine’s welcome and soon enrolled at UCLA in Kinesiology. She took a two year layoff, but the Bruin’s coach Colleen Graham convinced her to swim for the team. They were contenders for the women’s collegiate national championship, and Karen became the national collegiate champion in the 200-yard butterfly, training the collegiate season from October through March only.
It was after graduation in 1976 that she married fellow student Mike Thornton and again began training for a second Olympic Games, even though she was considered an “old lady” at age 23. She made the team to Montreal, was elected the team captain and placed fourth in the 200-meter fly in an Olympics that saw the girls from the German Democratic Republic win every event but two.
Karen then retired from swimming, but again not for long. She coached with husband Mike at the Beverly Hills YMCA for two years and in 1978 became the head women’s coach at the University of California, coaching forty-nine All-Americans and nine Olympians. She is a three-time conference Coach of the Year and 1987 NCAA Coach of the Year.
All totaled, she won eighteen U.S. National Championships, setting seven American records. She was a member of the first U.S. Sports Team to make the Goodwill Trip to the Peoples Republic of China following the Ping-Pong Exchange in 1973.
Happy Birthday EVGENI SADOVYI!!
EVGENI SADOVYI (EUN)
Honor Swimmer (1999)
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4×200 freestyle relay); TWO WORLD RECORDS: 400m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay; 1991 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m freestyle, 4x200m relay); 1993 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (2 relays), silver (200m freestyle).
In 1992, Evgeni Sadovyi of the United Team was chosen World Swimmer of the Year. Probably never before has there been a more unexpected winner of this award. He had been ranked third and ninth in the 400m and 200m freestyles in 1991, but in Barcelona he captured 3 Olympic gold medals – the most in men’s competition. He shattered the world record by 1.95 seconds in the 400m freestyle and achieved the world record-setting 800m free relay.
Born in 1973 in Volzsky, Russia, Sadovyi started swimming at age six. In an economically depressed region, his grandmother took him to swim, with the dream of making it to the Olympic Games. In 1981, his family moved to Volgograd where he continued swimming on the “TROUT” team of kids. His mother worked long-hard hours to support him both morally and financially. After a year of disappointment academically in a special sports training school, his mother enrolled him in the School of Olympic Reserve where he grew with success. Three years later in 1983, his coach Victor Avdienko began training him for international competition. Soon after, in the USSR vs. GDR Dual Meet, he won the 400m freestyle and 4 x 200m medley relay. The next year in 1988, he won the National 4 x 200m medley relay. It was here he was presented a copy of Vladimir Salnikov’s life story. It became the motivational key to Sadovyi’s drive for success.
In 1989 at the World Cup in Rostok, GDR, the small thin Sadovyi imagined himself as Arnold Schwarzenegger to swim against the big East German swimmers. Spectators giggled when they compared “skeleton-in-skin” Sadovyi to the hunk Yve Dassler. But he won the 400m freestyle and the giggling stopped. When he swam the 800m freestyle, he stopped at the 750m mark thinking the race over. After everyone else turned and kept swimming, he pushed off the wall and caught up to a spectacular second place finish. At the 1990 European Championships, he set a Junior Record in the 400m free. He competed in the 1991 last Sports Festival of the USSR and the 1991 European Championships in Greece winning the 400m free and 4 x 200m relay.
In early 1992, an operation to remove stones from his body almost kept him out of the Barcelona Olympics. But his perseverance qualified him for the team and won 3 gold medals at the Games 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle and the 4 x 200 freestyle relay. Upon his return home from Barcelona, he was greeted by President Boris Yeltsin and IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. He was awarded Russia’s Athlete of the Year, a special prize from the Olympic Committee and a gold watch from the President.
The Barcelona press called him “a water king” and “golden boy of Russia”, but he remained open-hearted with a shy but disciplined demeanor. Following the 1993 European Championships in England where Evgeni won gold medals on two relay teams and a silver in the 200m freestyle, disappointment began to set in and he decided to take a rest. By September of 1996, he decided to withdraw from training and put his efforts into assisting his coach Victor Avdienko, now Head Coach of the Russian Swimming Team at Swimming Club Volga.
Happy Birthday Dawn Fraser!!
Dawn Fraser (AUS)
Honor Swimmer (1965)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1956 gold (100m freestyle; 4x100m freestyle relay), silver (400m freestyle); 1960 gold (100m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle relay; 4x100m medley relay), 5th (400m freestyle); 1964 gold (100m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle relay), 4th (400m freestyle); WORLD RECORDS: 100yd, 100m, 110yd, 200m, 220yd, 400m, 440yd freestyle.
Dawn Fraser is the female version of the water world’s “fastest human” and has been for 10 years and three Olympics (Melbourne-1956, Rome-1960, Tokyo-1964). In winning the 100 meter freestyle at each of the last three Olympics, Miss Fraser beat the field in swimming’s most popular and most fiercely contested event. When she broke her first Australian national record in 1955, she was already older at 17 than are most of our modern girl swimming champions when they retire. She was ten years older than when she won the Olympic gold medal at 27 in Tokyo. Her first world record was not in the 100 meters, but in the 220 yard freestyle at Sydney on February 25, 1956. She has since reduced this world record to 2:11.6 and still holds it although married, with a new baby and temporarily suspended from competition.
Dawn has frequently held the 440 yd., 400 meter, 220 yd., and 200 meter records and she has almost always held the 110 yd., 100 meter and 100 yd. records. In October 25, 1962, she became the first woman to break a minute for 100 meter freestyle and she was the only woman to break a minute for two more years until the U.S.A.’s Sharon Stouder did it at Tokyo, finishing second to “Old Ma” Fraser. Many believe that Dawn could win again in Mexico City in 1968 and perhaps somewhere else in 1972.
We may never find out because her good times are not all in the water. Her rule-breaking has been almost as dramatic as her record-breaking and she is currently under suspension by the Australian Amateur Swimming Association.
The Swimming Hall of Fame has no desire to become involved in Miss Fraser’s disciplining problems, but to honor her as the world’s finest ever woman freestyle sprinter during her long career of excellence when she was an amateur in good standing.
A Look At the Women’s American Records Ranked By Age; Katie Hoff Still Holding Strong
by SWIMMING WORLD EDITORIAL STAFF
14 January 2024, 09:59am
A Look At the Women’s American Records Ranked By Age
As the TYR Pro Series stop in Knoxville wrapped up on Saturday night, multi-event star Kate Douglass put an exclamation mark on the action. Racing the 200-meter breaststroke, Douglass delivered a time of 2:19.30, which established an American record. The effort lowered the 2012 standard of Rebecca Soni, who clocked 2:19.59 to win Olympic gold at the 2012 Games in London.
Soni’s record was the fourth-oldest American mark (long course) on the books and was good for a world record when it was produced at the London Aquatics Centre. The oldest American standard is held by Katie Hoff, who went 4:31.12 in the 400 individual medley at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha.
Of the 17 individual events which are contested in long-course competition, Regan Smith holds the American record in four – all three backstroke disciplines and the 200 butterfly. Katie Ledecky is the owner of three American records – 400 freestyle, 800 free and 1500 free.
Here’s a look at the American records by age.
American Records (LC) Ranked By Age
400 Medley – Katie Hoff (4:31.12) – June 29, 2008200 Medley – Ariana Kukors (2:06.15) – July 27, 2009200 Freestyle – Allison Schmitt (1:53.61) – July 31, 2012400 Freestyle – Katie Ledecky (3:56.46) – August 7, 2016800 Freestyle – Katie Ledecky (8:04.79) – August 12, 2016100 Breaststroke – Lilly King (1:04.13) – July 25, 201750 Freestyle – Simone Manuel (23.97) – July 30, 201750 Breaststroke – Lilly King (29.40) – July 30, 20171500 Freestyle – Katie Ledecky (15:20.48) – May 16, 2018100 Freestyle – Simone Manuel (52.04) – July 26, 2019200 Backstroke – Regan Smith (2:03.35) – July 26, 2019100 Backstroke – Regan Smith (57.57) – July 28, 2019100 Butterfly – Torri Huske (55.64) – June 19, 2022200 Butterfly – Regan Smith (2:03.87) – June 4, 202350 Butterfly – Gretchen Walsh (25.11) – June 28, 202350 Backstroke – Regan Smith (27.10) – July 26, 2023200 Breaststroke – Kate Douglass (2:19.30) – January 13, 2024
Happy Birthday Betsy Mitchell!!
Betsy Mitchell (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1998)
FOR THE RECORD: 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m medley relay), silver (l00m backstroke); ONE WORLD RECORD: 200m backstroke; 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (l00m backstroke), silver (200M backstroke, 4 x100m medley relay, 4x100m, 4x200m freestyle relays); 11 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 100, 200 backstroke, relays; SEVEN NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 100yd., 200yd. backstroke, 200yd. I.M.; 1985 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m backstroke).
As a youngster, this swimmer’s dream was to make it to the Olympic Games. She started competitive swimming at the age of 5 and by age 13, swimming for the Marietta Ohio Y Marlins with Coach Jim Everett and later Tom Phillips of Parkersburg, West Virginia, she was winning backstroke and freestyle events in the local AAU Region. As a high schooler she competed for John Trembley at Mercersburg Academy, by her graduation in 1983, she was recognized as one of the best backstrokers in the country. After a year at the University of North Carolina, training with coach Jay Fitzgerald at the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlins, Betsy Mitchell qualified for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials. Having made the U.S. team and
competing in the Los Angeles Olympics, her first major international competition, she won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke, out touched by teammate Teresa Andrews by less that 1 tenth of a second. FINA also awarded a gold medal for her participation in the preliminary heat on the USA gold-medal winning 4 x 100m medley relay.
Betsy’s success was just beginning. She enrolled at the University of Texas and under Coach Richard Quick and late Mark Schubert, won seven NCAA National Championship, three titles in the 100 yard backstroke, two in the 200 yard backstroke and one title in the 200 yard individual medley for 1986, 1987 and 1988. She was selected as the 1987 Collegiate Swimmer of the Year and the 1986 U.S.S. Swimmer of the Year. She won the 100m back at the 1985 Pan Pacific Championships, the 1990 Goodwill Games and for three years running at the U.S. Open. She set American records for the 100m and 200m backstroke at the first U.S. Open in Austin, Texas in 1985.
It was at the 1986 World Championship Trials in Orlando, Florida, that Betsy surprised the world by setting the world record in the 200m backstroke by 1.3 seconds over Cornelia Sirch of East Germany. Her record stood for 7 years before it was broken y Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary in 1996. At the V World Championships in Madrid, Betsy won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke and the silver in the 200m backstroke, only two one hundreds of a second behind Sirch. She also won silver medals on the 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m freestyle relays and the 4 x 100m medley relay for the United States. Along with Mary T. Meagher, she was the only swimmer to win an event at these World Championships other than the East Germans.
During her career, Betsy won a total of 11 U.S. National Championship in the 100m and 200m backstroke. She continues to be an inspiration to aspiring athletes first as Head Women’s Swimming Coach at Dartmouth College from 1990-1996 and now as Athletic Director at the Laurel School in Ohio.
How the Furniss Brothers – Steve and Bruce – Were Robbed Of An Epic Olympic Showdown
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
09 January 2024, 03:40am
How the Furniss Brothers – Steve and Bruce – Were Robbed Of An Epic Olympic Showdown
“The Missed Turn” is a regular Swimming World feature that examines overlooked athletes or stolen opportunities. In this installment, we highlight the Furniss Brothers, Steve and Bruce, who were denied the chance to duel in the 200 meter individual medley at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
Even today, nearly 50 years after the 1976 Olympic flame was extinguished, Bruce Furniss can picture the scene. Just before the start of the final of the 200 meter individual medley at the Montreal Games, he catches a glimpse of his older brother standing behind his starting block.
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Even today, almost a half-century after his Olympic career came to an end, Steve Furniss can picture the scene. To the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” he stands on the medals podium at the 1976 Olympics, his younger brother also wearing a medal earned from the final of the 200 individual medley.
The Furniss Brothers are American swimming royalty. Their wide-ranging talent in the pool produced national titles, exceptional college careers at the University of Southern California and Olympian status.
Yet, a what-if cloud lingers—a stolen opportunity beyond their control. What would have happened if they had clashed for gold in the 200 IM at the 1976 Games. Would Steve have won? Would Bruce have prevailed? Would they each have earned a medal?
Of course, we’ll never know the answer—the 200 IM was eliminated from the 1976 program. What is inarguable, though, is this: It would have made for one hell of a storyline.
A FAMILIAL SPORT
Swimming has long been a familial sport. Parents who love the water get their children involved. An older sibling who dives into the pool is often followed by a little brother or sister. And so, it’s not surprising that, through the years, there have been numerous instances of world-class excellence emanating from the same family. There were the Kahanamoku brothers—Duke and Sam—in the early 20th century. There’s Gary Hall Sr., followed by his son, Gary Jr. There’s been the sister-brother tandems of Shirley and Jack Babashoff, and Laure and Florent Manaudou.
The Furniss Brothers, too, boast talented aquatic genes.
Like most brothers growing up, they tussled now and again. In the family room. In the backyard. On the basketball court. At practice. Some of the feuds were intense. Others were low-key. But more than anything—and it still rings true in their older years—they shared a deep respect and love, and were only a lane away with support when it was needed.
Photo Courtesy: Furniss Family
As Steve and Bruce embarked on their storied careers, they didn’t have to look far for inspiration. Their older brother, Chip, was an elite swimmer, gifted enough to take his skill set to USC. A blueprint existed for enduring family success, and Steve and Bruce were attentive to what worked.
More, the patriarch of the Furniss family, William, kept a logbook of times, numbers that proved to be checkpoints as the younger boys moved through the age-group ranks and beyond. For Bruce, who had two older brothers to follow, he holds a deep appreciation for the path worn ahead of him.
“A key for the family is when Chip went to USC,” Bruce said. “I think (our success) would have been less likely had he not gone there. That was the lynchpin. And for me, I could learn from my brothers.”
RICH CREDENTIALS
The focus of this piece is what could have been, that 200 individual medley that should have been a marquee event of the 1976 Olympics. But before we shift the attention to a moment that got away, we must look at the rich credentials of the Furniss boys.
International acclaim was first gathered by Steve Furniss at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia. Via titles in the 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley, Steve generated momentum heading into the 1972 Olympic campaign. At the Munich Games, he claimed the bronze medal in the 200 IM, finishing behind Sweden’s Gunnar Larsson and American Tim McKee, who also earned gold and silver in the 400 medley, Larsson’s triumph by 2-thousandths of a second!
Silver medals in the 200 backstroke and 400 IM followed for Steve at the 1973 World University Games, and gold-medal repeats in the medley events were registered at the 1975 edition of the Pan American Games. That year, Steve also picked up the silver medal in the 200 IM at the World Championships.
Four years younger than his brother, Bruce broke through on the global stage at the 1975 World Champs, where he was the silver medalist to United States teammate Tim Shaw in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle. Bruce also secured a gold medal as a member of the American 400 freestyle relay (coincidentally, the other event eliminated from the 1976 Olympic program) that shattered the world record and would have nabbed a fourth medal if not for his false start on the anchor leg of the world-record-setting 800 freestyle relay.
At the U.S. National Championships in August, Bruce snared the world record in the 200 medley in unique fashion. En route to a time of 2:06.08, Bruce not only defeated his brother, but lowered the global standard that was jointly held by Steve and Great Britain’s David Wilkie at 2:06.32.
“Honestly, I’m glad the record stayed in the family,” Steve recently said of his brother’s record-breaking effort. “It was still our last name. We were competitive with one another, but in the best way.”
While Bruce supplanted Steve’s world record in the 200 IM at the 1975 nationals and broke his own world mark for the third time that summer in the 200 freestyle, Bruce and Steve got the chance to work together on another global mark. Teaming with teammates Tim Shaw and Rex Favero in the 800 freestyle relay, the Furniss Brothers helped Long Beach Swim Club to a time of 7:30.54, an effort that sliced nearly three seconds off the previous world record, set by Team USA at the 1973 World Championships. It’s the last time a club team broke a world record.
The time spent in Long Beach produced more than positive results in the water. The car rides to practice allowed the Furniss Brothers to speak about their feelings, discuss concerns and offer confidence boosts.
“We spoke candidly on those drives,” Steve said. “We really supported each other.”
THE POLITICS OF 1976
Between the conclusion of the 1972 Games and the Trials for the 1976 Games, the International Olympic Committee announced that two swimming events, the 200 IM and 400 freestyle relay, were being eliminated from the Olympic program.
The 200 individual medley was introduced at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, but only endured two Olympiads before its removal. Reasons for the expulsion vary. One reason for the scaled-back program revolves around its significant expansion, moving from 15 events (male and female) in 1960 to 29 events by 1972.
Another theory surmises there were too many opportunities for multiple medals, prompted by the seven gold medals won by Mark Spitz at the 1972 Games in Munich. An additional theory is that the events were eliminated as a tradeoff, the other option being a reduction in the number of athletes per event from three to two.
Photo Courtesy: TYR Sport
While swimming lost two events, the track and field program remained untouched, a fact that questions whether higher-ups in swimming did enough to protect the sport. Steve Furniss has long believed the individual medley events should have been branded like track and field’s decathlon, revered for their measure of all-around prowess.
“The stroke events were essentially protected,” Steve said. “Where swimming made a mistake was not marketing (the individual medley) properly. They never took the IM and marketed it as a true test of versatility and talent.”
Regardless of why the 200 IM was cut is ultimately inconsequential. Simply, it meant the Furniss Brothers’ long-envisioned dream of battling on the Olympic stage went up in bureaucratic flames. It also forced the siblings to adjust their programs.
Without the 200 medley, which was reinstated for the 1984 Games, Steve qualified for the 400 IM at the Montreal Games. By that time, however, he was dealing with a nagging ankle injury that required surgery, and his body was not as capable of handling eight laps as it was in the past. In the final of the 400 IM at the Olympics, Steve finished sixth, the gold going to Rod Strachan, and silver, for the second straight Games, to McKee.
The schedule in 1976 was more conducive to Bruce. In addition to capturing gold and setting a world record in the 200 freestyle, Bruce helped the United States to gold and a world record in the 800 freestyle relay. Still, he wanted that chance to race against his brother, to walk out of the ready room together and, potentially, stand side-by-side on the podium.
“That’s the vision I always thought it would be,” Bruce said. “In both of our minds, we view ourselves on top (of the podium). For me, I’m on top and he’s on the second step. It’s a picture we’ll take to the grave.”
As the Furniss Brothers answered questions on a Zoom call for this feature, they occasionally exchanged memories from their childhoods and competitive days. They also lauded one another’s ability. Everything was genuine, and an overwhelming theme hovered in the air: They succeeded because they had each other.
“We wanted to beat each other,” Bruce said. “But there was never a feeling of jealousy. We were always there with support.”
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN…
Photo Courtesy: USC Swimming
Had the 200 individual medley remained on the Olympic slate, how would the final have unfolded? For starters, the Furniss Brothers would have entered the race with Steve as the former world record holder and Bruce the current standard bearer. But they rightfully note the challenges that would have been posed by Wilkie and Canada’s Graham Smith, the previous and subsequent world record holders in the event, respectively. Wilkie shared the world record with Steve while Smith lowered Bruce’s world record in 1977. In Montreal, it could have been an epic four-way battle.
“All four of us were in the same place and time together, for a race that could have easily been conducted,” Bruce said. “I wish I had suggested the four of us just line up and race without spectators or officials.”
From a strategy standpoint, the Furniss Brothers both indicated a need to attack the front half of the race to build an advantage over the two breaststroke specialists. Heading into the closing freestyle leg, they would have been close, battling stroke for stroke to the wall, with Olympic and family bragging rights on the line.
Oh, it would have been special.
“We missed an opportunity we dreamed of,” Steve said. “It was always dinner-table fodder. We had great experiences in the sport, but that would have been the ultimate.”
For the Furniss Brothers…and the sport.