Swedish Olympian Glen Christiansen to be inducted into MISHOF
This lifelong swimmer was very reluctant to water at first, and then other interests delayed him fully immersing himself in the sport until he was 13, but within a few months he was demonstrating his full potential.
Glen Christiansen was coached by 1960 Olympian, Berndt Nilsson and once together, his talents grew. Within a few years, he was competing at national championships, setting national records and eventually he made the Swedish National Team, competing in European and World Championships, until ultimately, the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, where he finished 11th in the 200-meter breaststroke. The following year, 1981, Glen posted the fastest Short Course Meters time in the world in the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.60.
Just three years after leaving elite swimming, he returned to his winning ways as a Masters swimmer. He competed in the very first FINA Masters World Championships, in Tokyo, walking away with three gold medals and a world record in the breaststroke events. Over the course of nine age groups, 25 to 69, Glen’s Masters resume has been outstanding.
Since 1986 he has set 24 Masters world records, winning 15 gold medals in FINA World Championships. In 2000, the men’s high point award at the Swedish Masters Championships was named after Glen’s honoring his success as a Masters swimmer.
In 2013, Glen’s Masters career was interrupted by a stroke he experienced which caused him to fall down a flight of stairs, only to awake three weeks later in the hospital. Paralyzed on the left side, he had to re-learn how to speak, eat, and do everything again properly. Of course, swimming became Glen’s measure of recovery and just six months later he won a 2.5km open water race.
In 2022, Glen won his first international title in the 200 butterfly at the European Masters Championships. “New world records are coming slowly” Glen says, but he is “just happy to be alive and back into swimming.”
Today, Glen runs his “Swimmers without Borders” camp on the beautiful island of Tenerife, coaching and spreading his swimming wisdom to people of all ages. Christiansen will be inducted, Friday, October 4, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach, during the ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend. If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://www.ishof.org/donate/
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Honorees include:
HONOR SWIMMERS:
Clary Munns (AUS)
Glen Christiansen (SWE)
Tom Wolf (USA)
HONOR DIVER: Tarja Liljestrom (FIN)
HONOR SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER: Lizzi Jakobsen* (USA)
HONOR WATER POLO: Jose Luis Martin Gomez (ESP)
HONOR CONTRIBUTOR: Nadine Day (USA)
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2024 includes:
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) 2023
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
~ 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
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION
#ISHOF #WorldAquatics #CityofFortLauderdale #USMS #Masters #USASwimming #AquaCal #Olympics #SwimmingHallofFame #SwimmingWorld #2024Paris
ASCA Announces Finalists for Coach of the Year Award
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
21 August 2024, 02:18pm
Five coaches who had numerous medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics have been named finalists for the prestigious ASCA George Haines Coach of the Year award. They are Bob Bowman, Todd DeSorbo, Dave Durden, Greg Meehan and Anthony Nesty.
This award is presented annually to the individual whose coaching effectiveness has contributed the most towards American swimming excellence on the World stage. Only coaches whose American athletes achieved medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics were considered for this award. The last three winners are Dave Durden, Anthony Nesty and Gregg Troy.
The 2024 ASCA George Haines Coach of the Year winner will be revealed on September 5 at the Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Celebration during the ASCA World Clinic at the Rosen Centre Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Team GB athletes unveil Golden Train in time for Paris 2024
About the ASCA finalists:
Bob Bowman, Director of Swimming and Head Coach of the Men’s Team at the University of Texas.
Todd DeSorbo, Head Coach at the University of Virginia, was the head coach of the Women’s US Olympic team.
Dave Durden, Head Coach at the University of California Berkeley, was an assistant coach for the US Olympic Team.
Greg Meehan, Head Coach of the Women’s Team at Stanford University and assistant coach for the US Olympic Team.
Anthony Nesty, Head Coach at the University of Florida, was the head coach of the Men’s US Olympic team.
The ASCA Coach of the Year has been awarded since 1961. The award is named after coaching great, George Haines, and has been awarded to other trailblazers in the profession such as Doc Counsilman, Eddie Reese, Bob Bowman, Jon Urbanchek and many others.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with ASCA. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
The Olympics Are Over: Where Will the World’s Top Swimmers Compete Next?
22 August 2024, 09:36am
The Olympics Are Over, So Where Will The World’s Top Swimmers Compete Next?
The 2024 Olympic Games are over. For three years, swimming fans waited to watch some of the biggest stars in the sport battle it out in the iconic La Défense Arena, and the results were certainly worth the wait. Fortunately, the swimming action will continue in just a few days with Paralympic swimming, but once the Paralympics are over, when is the next time that we will see the world’s top swimmers compete on the national or international stage?
Here are the next high-level meets taking place domestically and worldwide for the remainder of 2024 and the entirety of 2025.
2024
World Aquatics Swimming World Cup (SCM)
Stop One
Location: Shanghai, China
Date: October 18th–20th, 2024
Stop Two
Location: Incheon, South Korea
Date: October 24th–26th, 2024
Stop Three
Location: Singapore, Singapore
Date: October 31st–November 2nd, 2024
The World Cup is the first big international meet after the Paris Olympics, and multiple high-profile swimmers will compete. The World Cup will feature a short-course meters format, and consist of three “stops” or meets that will take place in Eastern Asia. Swimmers will compete at each stop for three days before moving onto the next location. Heats will be held in the morning session, and finals will be held in the evening session at all three stops.
Toyota U.S. Open (SCY)
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Date: December 4th–7th, 2024
The Toyota U.S. Open is one of the more unique meets on the 2024 schedule. This meet is different, as swimming fans can watch their favorite professional swimmer compete in short-course yards instead of the traditional long-course meters. National and international swimmers are known to race at this meet, which will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the beginning of December.
World Aquatics Swimming Championships (SCM)
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Date: December 10-15, 2024
The upcoming World Aquatic Swimming Championships are slated to take place in Budapest, Hungary, at the famous Duna Arena. This meet will also be the first time that Hungary will host the World Championships in a 25-meter pool. The championships will last six days, with heats in the morning session and semifinals and finals in the evening session.
Speedo Winter Junior Championships (SCY)
Location: East–Greensboro, North Carolina; West–Austin, Texas
Dates: December 11-14, 2024
The fastest 18-and-under athletes will race at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships in the middle of December. These young swimmers will look to leave their mark on the national stage and be recognized as upcoming stars. This meet will have two locations: the Eastern United States will race in Greensboro, North Carolina, while the Western half will race in Austin, Texas.
2025
TYR Pro Swim Series (LCM)
Stop One
Location: Westmont, Illinois
Date: March 3rd-8th, 2025
Stop Two
Location: Sacramento, California
Date: April 2nd-5th, 2025
Stop Three
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Date: April 30th-May 3rd, 2025
The 2025 season kicks off with three TYR Pro Swim Series stops. The electric Westmont, Illinois, stop is up first at the beginning of March, followed by a stop in Sacramento, California, at the beginning of April, and the final stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to close out April and kick off May. Many national and international swimming stars are expected at the TYR Pro Swim Series meets.
National Championships (LCM)
Location: To be determined
Date: June 3rd-7th
The National Championships are back in 2025. This meet is nearly as competitive as the U.S. Olympic Trials. American swimmers will compete for a spot to represent Team USA at the World Aquatics Championships later in the summer. This meet is set to take place from June 3rd-7th, 2025, but the location is yet to be determined.
2025 World Aquatics Championships (LCM)
Location: Singapore
Date: July 11th-August 3rd, 2025
The 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be one of the most anticipated meets of the 2025 season, especially since this meet takes place a year after the Paris 2024 Olympics. This meet may feature new, rising swimmers or well-known veterans and give the world a perspective on where some top athletes stand in their careers. These World Championships will take place in Singapore and will feature water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming, and high diving as well.
Speedo Junior National Championships (LCM)
Location: Irvine, California
Date: July 30th-August 3rd, 2025
The summer Speedo Junior National Championships feature long-course racing instead of short-course yards. The meet will be held in Irvine, California, beginning at the end of July and concluding at the beginning of August. Summer Juniors is highly competitive, and because this meet is contested in the traditional Olympic pool, young swimmers have a chance to show their skills early in the next quad.
TYR Pro Championships (LCM)
Location: Irvine, California
Date: August 5th-8th, 2025
The TYR Pro Championships will close the summer 2025 season. It will occur shortly after the Speedo Junior National Championships and be located in Irvine, California, which has hosted numerous international and national meets. Many professional and collegiate swimmers will be present at this meet.
Toyota U.S. Open (SCY)
Location: To be determined
Date: December 4th-7th, 2025
In December 2025, the world’s fastest swimmers will have another chance to showcase their short-course swimming. The Toyota U.S. Open is back and will continue to be one of the most unique meets on the schedule. The location of the meet is yet to be determined.
Speedo Winter Junior Championships (SCY)
Location: To be determined
Date: December 10th-13th, 2025
Again, the fastest 18-and-under athletes can compete at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships in 2025. The locations for the meet have yet to be determined, but they will take place in the middle of December, just like in 2024. These meets are excellent opportunities for young swimmers to race against the best and gain attention from the swimming world to see who has the potential to be the next rising star.
After Olympic Dominance, Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh Secure in Positions as World’s Best
Leon Marchand — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
19 August 2024, 05:06am
After Olympic Dominance, Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh Secure in Positions as World’s Best
Hundreds of swimmers competed over the nine days at La Défense Arena, all of whom had poured years of training and focus into ensuring they would be at their best for the Paris Olympics. Fifty-seven departed with at least one piece of individual hardware to commemorate a top-three finish, but all carried a sense of finality. The Olympics had been the target, not a stepping stone to some other competition, and the long buildup was over.
Of course, most will return to training soon enough for further cracks at international competition, but it will be four more years until another event comes around with the prestige of the Olympics. History tells us at least half of the headliners from Paris will have declined precipitously by the time the Games of the 34th Olympiad open in Los Angeles while younger swimmers who were not in contention or not even qualified for this year’s Olympics will be winning medals.
At the Olympics, more than any other meet in the world, results matter. Slow pool, lackluster winning times, fewer world records than expected? Who cares? Show up to perform, and your legacy in the sport is secure forever. Whereas World Championships performances can be scrutinized to project swimmers’ results in future years, the Olympics is the endgame.
Such circumstances breed pressure, and the swimmers who most successfully navigated that pressure deserve credit as the best swimmers of the Olympics and best swimmers in the world. Indeed, no one with even a rudimentary understanding of the sport would deny that Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh are the clear No. 1 choices for their respective genders right now.
Marchand, 22, captivated France and the world with his four-gold-medal performance, becoming only the third man and fourth swimmer overall to win that many individual events in a single Olympics. He was just short of his own world record in a dominant 400 IM triumph while he became the second-fastest performer ever in his three other races. Marchand then added a fifth medal when his breaststroke split helped France to the country’s first-ever medal in the men’s 400 medley relay.
Summer McIntosh — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Unlike her French counterpart, McIntosh was not perfect individually, coming in just behind Ariarne Titmus in the 400 freestyle before dominating the 400 IM and defeating stellar competition to win the 200 butterfly and 200 IM. McIntosh was unable to add any relay medals as all three Canadian women’s relays that she anchored fell to fourth. Still, she secured her swimmer-of-the-meet status with a win over two other individual gold medalists, Kate Douglass and Kaylee McKeown, in the 200 IM on day eight of competition.
Notably, the argument is not that McIntosh has the top résumé of any female swimmer who competed in Paris. That distinction still belongs to American freestyle great Katie Ledecky while Swedish sprinter Sarah Sjostrom is not far behind, but in the women’s meet this time around, McIntosh’s supremacy could not be questioned, particularly after her dramatic final victory.
Post-Paris, the contenders will be coming for perches atop the sport currently occupied by Marchand and McIntosh… but not yet. Not as most competitors enjoy their vacations and celebrations while only beginning to plot their returns to training. Not with the first opportunity to dethrone the current king and queen of the sport a long way off.
Yes, there will be other meets of significance in the coming months. Select 18-and-under swimmers will continue their quest toward Los Angeles this week as the Junior Pan Pacific Championships get underway in Canberra, Australia. A collection of experienced and fresh talent will gather in Budapest in December for the Short Course World Championships, with further international gold medals on the line. As usual with Short Course Worlds, particularly when held so close after the Olympics, we will not know which Olympic stars will choose to jump back in so soon.
Budapest will surely produce some exceptional performances, but because of the likely-limited participation roster and the 25-meter format, we will not use the meet to judge the best swimmers in the world. No, Marchand and McIntosh will remain in those positions all winter and spring, at the very least until the next global long course competition, with the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore scheduled for July 2025.
That’s the next meet when results will truly be judged for their placements, rather than as a lead-in to something bigger. The top swimmers in Singapore will then become the world’s best for that moment, even if World Championships medals and golds lack the prestige provided in the Olympics. From that moment on, the chase will be on for Los Angeles.
2007 ISHOF Honoree, Ratko Rudic documentary premiers at the OLY House Film Festival in Paris
“It Happened – Ratko Rudić premiered recently at the OLY House Film Festival in Paris. This is the true life story of Hall of Fame coach Ratko Rudic, produced by Dejan Aćimović.
The 115-minute film tells about the journey of the most trophy-winning water polo expert in the world, from his beginnings as a player in Zadar to his fantastic coaching results. He played his first matches for Zadar, won his first trophy under the cap of Split’s Jadran, and also marked a significant part of the Belgrade Partizan era. Rudić made 297 appearances for the water polo national team of Yugoslavia and won seventeen club titles and nine national team medals.
However, as a coach whose career spanned 39 years, he was even more successful. He won as many as 39 medals, 16 of which were gold, which makes him the best Croatian coach of all time in all sports. He is also the second most successful coach in the history of all sports after Brazilian volleyball specialist Bernardo Roche de Rezende, who has 52 medals.
At the Olympic Games, world and European championships, he won 16 medals, ten of which were gold. He won medals leading five different national teams – Yugoslavia, Italy, USA, Croatia and Brazil. He is the only water polo coach who won four Olympic gold medals and the only one who won a medal at the Olympic Games four times in a row, three times in a row.
With Yugoslavia, he won two Olympic and one world gold. He was an Olympic winner, European and world champion with Italy. He repeated the same with the Croatian national team. He led the USA national team to gold at the Pan American Games, and Brazil to silver at the same competition.
Currently the film is viewable online on the e-OLY House platform, which is open only to Olympians. An english language and USA release date will be announced in the future.
Decades-long Volunteer and Masters Superwoman, Nadine Day to be inducted into IMSHOF’s Class of 2023 as Honor Contributor
Nadine Day has devoted the last 25 years of her life to Masters swimming. Her volunteer work began in 2001 when she became the Illinois Local Masters Swimming Committee (LMSC) Sanctions Chair. Attending her first USMS convention a year later, she soon joined several USMS committees, all the while continuing to take on more responsibility within her local MSC. Nadine served as her LMSC’s Vice Chair and subsequently its Chair in addition to balancing the demands of multiple USMS Committee assignments.
In 2005, Nadine was elected to the USMS Board of Directors for the first time. After serving two terms as the Great Lakes Director, she was elected Vice President of Community Services. In 2012, Nadine was elected the youngest President in the history of United States Masters Swimming. During her 16 years as a leader on the USMS Board, Day was involved in numerous task forces and committees. In the late twenty-teens, Nadine was named the United States Aquatic Sports Convention Chairperson, which is no small undertaking. Day and her committee took it over flawlessly from a crew that had been running it for years and years.
Nadine continued serving in leadership positions on committees and international organizations, once off the USMS board. In Nadine’s own words: “To me it’s about giving back to a sport I love and encouraging other adults to love swimming—it’s about providing opportunities for others. Making sacrifices for others is easy when you want our sport to be successful”. Nadine’s contributions to USMS have touched countless lives and helped USMS to grow and evolve.
Nadine has received numerous awards through the years, showing her continued dedication to Masters swimming. She won the USMS Dorothy Donnelly Service Award; in 2015, USMS, gave her the Ted Haartz Staff Appreciation Award and in 2016, she received USMS’s highest honor, the Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award. In 2018 Swimming World Magazine named her “One of the 10 Most Impactful People” in Swimming. And lastly, in 2020 United States Aquatic Sports presented Nadine with the Women in Swimming Award.
Nadine Day will be inducted, Friday, October 4, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach, during the ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend. If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://www.ishof.org/donate/
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Honorees include:
HONOR SWIMMERS:
Clary Munns (AUS)
Glen Christiansen (SWE)
Tom Wolf (USA)
HONOR DIVER: Tarja Liljestrom (FIN)
HONOR SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER: Lizzi Jakobsen* (USA)
HONOR WATER POLO: Jose Luis Martin Gomez (ESP)
HONOR CONTRIBUTOR: Nadine Day (USA)
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2024 includes:
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) 2023
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
~ 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
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION
#ISHOF #WorldAquatics #CityofFortLauderdale #USMS #Masters #USASwimming #AquaCal #Olympics #SwimmingHallofFame #SwimmingWorld #2024Paris
Tom Daley Retires After Olympic Career Spanning 16 Years & A Full Set Of Medals
Tom Daley & Noah Williams: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia
by Liz Byrnes – Europe Correspondent
12 August 2024
Tom Daley Retires After Olympic Career Spanning 16 Years & A Full Set Of Medals
Tom Daley has retired from diving after a senior international career that spanned 16 years and brought Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles.
The 30-year-old has been winning national titles since 2007 and in March 2008, Daley became the youngest person to win gold at the European Championships in Eindhoven when he claimed the 10m platform title aged 13.
He made his Olympic debut later that year before becoming world champion aged 15 in Rome in July 2009.
Tom Daley: Photo Courtesy: Jim Thurston
Since then, Daley amassed a further three world titles among seven medals, four more European golds and as many Commonwealth titles.
With his appearance at Paris 2024, Daley became the first diver from Great Britain to compete at five Olympics.
There he won silver alongside Noah Williams in the men’s 10m synchro as he claimed his fifth Olympic medal.
The pair replicated their finish at the World Championships in Doha where Daley also won gold as part of the team event.
Olympic Roll Call
Gold: 10m synchro, Tokyo 2021
Silver: 10m synchro, Paris 2024
Bronze: 10m platform, London 2012
Bronze: 10m synchro, Rio 2016
Bronze: 10m platform, Tokyo 2021
Daley has now brought his career to a close, telling Vogue that he’d already made his decision ahead of the Games: “It was emotional at the end, up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive. But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time. It’s the right time to call it a day.”
He also posted to social media, saying: “Thank you, diving 
over and out ”
Passages: The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66
by Swimming World Editorial Staff
10 August 2024
The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66
By CHUCK WARNER
Legendary United States distance swimmer and coach Casey Converse lost his battle to cancer earlier this week at the age of 66. Here is a tribute to Casey, written by Chuck Warner.
Are you a swimmer or coach with an attitude of gratitude? You might take a moment to consider appreciating the incredible gift that the life of Casey Converse has brought to all of us.
If the sport of swimming’s greatest aspiration is for someone to be able to work their way from nothing to something, from no name to know name, from entrant to champion, then Casey Converse is one example of what we can all aspire to. Growing up in Mobile, Alabama swimming for the Chandler YMCA, in his junior year of high school, he took the big leap out to California to join, enhance and invigorate the “Animal Lane” at the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Beloved by his teammates, he worked hard, improving the practice environment for everyone around him. Occasionally it was tough to get out of bed in the morning to get to practice. His coach Mark Schubert rewarded him with recording a “20,000 for time” and a lesson to meet his commitments. Casey completed the distance with no malice, accepting his responsibility as a team member.
On a winter holiday training trip to Hawaii, he was one of the first to crow joyously over the rainbows spanning the mountains, the racing between the lane lines and the laughter in the locker room. He described a 5000 for time racing in and around “the animals,” as “the most fun a teenager could ever have.” The skinny kid from the south etched himself into the team and became bold enough to begin another training session by pointing the groups minds toward their goal, when he bellowed, “I declare the Olympic Games of Montreal OPEN!”
Photo Courtesy: Air Force Academy
Casey climbed onto the 1976 Olympic team back before the USA was punished for its Olympic domination and three swimmers could qualify in each swimming event—just as is still the case in track today. In Montreal Casey didn’t medal, or even make the finals of the 400 freestyle, but he was the kind of “glue guy” that helped make that team the best Olympic men’s swimming team there has ever been.
You know Casey’s type? Every team has them. Teammates that make going to practice not only a physical workout but a social celebration. Some teammates you tolerate, others you delight in. Casey’s love and kindness for his teammates generated the same emotion back to him, forging a permanent bond.
We met in 1985 when I became the head coach of the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlins. I inherited his help as an assistant coach on the CPM staff. For me, a slow swimmer and coach from Connecticut, I had never been around an Olympian. Just like he’s done with so many colleagues, Casey quickly made it clear how he saw our relationship. We were standing by the “weight room” at the Keating Natatorium which was 50 plus meters, a stairway and a balcony away from our office. Casey said to me, “I want to clarify our relationship. If your pencil breaks, I will run up to the office and get you a new one.” He went on, “If it breaks again, I will run and get you another one.” His forthright humbleness launched a wonderful coaching rapport and friendship. And reenforced in me what kind of qualities a human is capable of.
Two years later my swimmers helped me become an assistant coach on the USA Pan Am Games staff. Skip Kenney was the head coach. Eddie Reese and Jonty Skinner, were assistant coaches with me. At our first staff meeting I told Skip that I wanted to make my relationship clear with him. I said if his pencil broke and there was a sharp one on the tenth floor of the hotel, I would run and get it for him. Other coaches echoed my sentiments.
In part, because of Casey’s example, our staff and team gelled into an egoless unit representing the USA with every ounce of emotional swimming or cheering we could give. Because of that, we were inspired to sing “America The Beautiful” together when we met our competition goals (okay, a self-conscious Eddie Reese just hummed the words).
The American Swimming Team is much more than Olympic finalists and medal winners. Our big broad tapestry of clubs, coaches, swimmers and national teams that make our sport’s flag wave with grace and pride, needs people that are seamstresses to sew our varied individual interests, backgrounds, or fabrics if you will, together.
Casey Converse was a seamstress to all who swam and coached on our team. Casey brought people together because of his love for the sport, and most especially, the people like you, that are in it.
Casey was a barrier breaker doing things others couldn’t and wouldn’t do. In his freshman year at Alabama, he became the first human to swim faster than 15:00 in the 1650. Ten years after becoming the head men and women’s coach at the US Air Force Academy, the school moved from Division II to Division I competition. It also decided to split the men and women’s programs with a head coach for each. It was much easier to recruit male national class swimmers to Air Force than women. Coach Converse was given his choice and elected to coach the women. He explained in a private moment then, “I wanted to do the most good for the most people I could.” In a recent phone call, he went further,
“Once we went into Division I, I knew that, overall, our women’s team wouldn’t be able to compete at the NCAAs. In many ways it was going to be harder to coach the women’s team. But those ladies had the same values to develop that the guys did from their experience in the sport of swimming. I wanted to help them do that.”
Courtesy: Rosie Converse-Soriano
About 2014, well into his cancer diagnosis he decided to give again by writing the book Munich To Montreal, because of the way he felt our women had been cheated by the East German systematic doping of their swimmers leading into Montreal. Casey wanted the women on his 1976 team to be recognized for what they had earned but had been denied. Wanting to fully vet his story, he flew to East Germany to interview some of the DDR women. The book helped support USA Swimming’s superb documentary “The Last Gold” about the 400-meter freestyle relay in Montreal for which he served as a consultant.
Casey was the waiter in a restaurant full of stars and egos, that provided each table the most timely, meaningful, satisfying and loving experience most could dream of. Casey Converse helped make us, The American Swimming Team, or more likely, showed us what role we could play: as a teammate, as a coach and, for those lucky enough, as a friend. Even more importantly he set an example as a father, a grandfather and husband.
Always on the search for a way to give to others, his life on earth was a gift to all who knew him, but also to every member of the swimming community that didn’t because his kindness and service reverberates throughout the sport he loved.
What a gift the life of Casey Converse has been.
Paris Olympics: In and Out of Pool, Katie Ledecky Brought Power and Grace to Latest Games
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
15 August 2024, 06:10am
Paris Olympics: In and Out of Pool, Katie Ledecky Brought Power and Grace to Latest Games
At both the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Katie Ledecky faced the media at a press conference and let her emotions pour out. She spoke of the sport’s meaning in her life, and expressed appreciation for those who played a critical role in her ascension to future Hall of Famer. Tears flowed. Her voice cracked.
Typically stoic and businesslike in her approach to the sport, Ledecky’s openness at the end of a quadrennial serves as an important reminder. She is beautifully human. Vulnerable. Not a machine, despite the power with which she moves through the water. And the mental and physical toll of Olympic preparation is something only a miniscule percentage of athletes can truly understand.
At the recently concluded Olympic Games in Paris, the Ledecky scene played out again. This time, it followed Day One of competition at La Defense Arena. But the crux of the press conference was the same.
“Yeah, I love this sport so much,” she said. “I get emotional about it. I love those people (teammates and coaches), and that’s what carries me through, keeps me going.”
Ledecky kept her Olympic momentum rolling at the Paris Games. The upstart who first represented Team USA at the 2012 Olympics is now a four-time Olympian, more medals collected than any other female swimmer.
Another chapter written.
SHINING IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS
Katie Ledecky is familiar with the attention that accompanies global championships and is magnified at the Olympic Games. A four-event program guaranteed significant attention over the nine-day meet in Paris, and the 400-meter freestyle wasted no time thrusting the American into the spotlight.
The event was held on the first day of the meet and featured a clash between the last three world-record holders – Ledecky, Australian Ariarne Titmus and Canadian Summer McIntosh. The showdown was dubbed The Race of the Century II, nicknamed as the successor to the 2004 Race of the Century, when Ian Thorpe, Pieter van den Hoogenband and Michael Phelps battled in the 200 freestyle at the Athens Games.
Retaining her title, Titmus recorded a wire-to-wire triumph over McIntosh, who occupied the silver-medal position throughout the race. A bronze medal for Ledecky gave her a complete set of medals from the event, complementing her gold from the 2016 Olympics and a silver from the 2020 Games.
“It’s awesome for the sport and awesome for women’s swimming,” Ledecky said of the event’s drama. “It’s a testament to Ariarne and Summer and the performances they’ve had over the last few years. And I’d like to think that I contributed a little bit to the buildup around that race.”
The 400 freestyle is no longer Ledecky’s domain, but she continues to dominate in the longer freestyle events. Sandwiching a United States silver medal in the 800 freestyle relay, in which she handled the third leg, Ledecky added additional Olympic gold in the 1500 freestyle and 800 freestyle. The 30-lap discipline was a rout, with Ledecky repeating and setting an Olympic record of 15:30.02 and prevailing by more than 10 seconds. The effort handed Ledecky the 20-fastest performances of all-time.
The 800 freestyle required a bit more work, but Ledecky eventually broke free of Titmus and got to the wall in 8:11.04, more than a second clear of her rival. By winning the 800 freestyle, Ledecky joined Michael Phelps as the only other swimmer to claim gold in the same event at four consecutive Games. Ledecky won her first title in the event as a 15-year-old in 2012. Phelps achieved the feat in the 200 individual medley from 2004-2016.
“Coming into the 800, I just felt a lot of pressure from myself, just from my history (in the event),” Ledecky said. “And I knew going into it that it was going to be a really tough race and that everyone in the field was going to throw everything they had at me.”
The gold medal in the 800 freestyle was the ninth of Ledecky’s stellar career, moving her into a six-way tie for second in Olympic history. While Phelps leads with 23 gold medals, Ledecky is tied for the No. 2 spot with fellow sporting legends Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Caeleb Dressel, Larisa Latynina and Paavo Nurmi.
The four-peat also raised Ledecky’s career-medal count to 14, making her the most-decorated female swimmer in Olympic history, that honor shared with Australian Emma McKeon. In addition to her nine gold medals, Ledecky owns four silver medals and a bronze medal.
The greatness is not lost on Ledecky’s competitors.
“She’s just a champ,” Titmus said of Ledecky. “I have the most respect for her of any athlete I’ve ever competed against. I know how hard it is to go back-to-back and (for her) to be on top of the world in the same event for over 12 years is just remarkable. I feel so honored to be part of her story and hopefully it’s made me a better athlete as well.”
A CLASS ACT
If Ledecky never wins another Olympic medal, her legacy is firmly established. She is the greatest female swimmer in history. Plain and simple. Yet, what further elevates Ledecky’s status as a sporting icon is how she carries herself. She’s the first to praise her foes. She heaps recognition on her teammates. She repeatedly acknowledges her coaches, family and friends. It’s all from the heart. Pure.
On the final day of swimming action, Ledecky watched the final of the men’s 1500 freestyle from the stands. From the starting beep, American Bobby Finke – a training partner of Ledecky – attacked the race and was under world-record pace. With each stroke, Ledecky enthusiastically cheered her friend. When Finke ultimately broke the world record, no one in the building was more thrilled than Ledecky.
There’s a reason she was selected as a Team USA captain for Paris. There’s a reason she was chosen as a United States flag bearer – along with rower Nick Mead – for the Closing Ceremony of the 2024 Games. It’s called respect.
Heck, when Ledecky surged up the all-time medals lists in the French capital, speaking about herself was not the approach. Rather, she took a moment to cast praise elsewhere.
“I try not to think about history very much,” she said. “I know those names, those people that I’m up there with. They’re swimmers that I looked up to when I first started swimming. It’s an honor to be named among them. I’m grateful to them for inspiring me and so many great swimmers over the years in the U.S. that have helped me get to this moment.”
AHEAD TO LOS ANGELES
In the days after a Games concludes, most athletes beam over their upcoming break from the physical and mental demands of training. It is an opportunity to recharge and prepare for the future. For some, that might be life’s next chapter, as retirement calls. For others, detachment from that familiar black line on the bottom of the pool is a welcome split, if only to ensure the reunion will be free of resentment.
Ledecky does not operate in this sense. She has always enjoyed the demands of training, gaining satisfaction from completing countless laps and grinding sets. The pool is an escape for the 27-year-old, and her unique relationship with the sport – one that is organic and cannot be faked – offers further insight into her longevity and greatness.
So, it isn’t a shock that Ledecky plans to swim on – races inside SoFi Stadium at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles part of her long-term plan. She’ll be 31 when the Summer Olympics return to the United States for the first time since 1996, more than twice as old as when she made her Games debut. If she earns the chance to compete in L.A. and defend her crowns in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, it will require the same dedication Ledecky has exhibited for more than a decade.
And that is just fine.
“I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in the sport yet,” Ledecky said in Paris. “I’d love to continue on and just seeing the kind of support that the French athletes are getting here, I think all the U.S. athletes are thinking about how cool that could be in Los Angeles having the home crowd. So that would be amazing to be able to compete there.”
Paris Olympics: The Fingerprints of Bob Bowman Detected All Over Games
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
13 August 2024, 05:28am
Paris Olympics: The Fingerprints of Bob Bowman Detected All Over Games
For the sixth straight Olympics, Bob Bowman sported red, white and blue gear on deck. But after previously only representing the United States, it happened to be in support of the home nation’s tricolor at the Paris La Défense Arena, coaching France’s biggest star of the Games in any sport.
What the American found in Paris was something vaster, something befitting the aspirations of a coach whose reputation has long since been cemented by mentoring the greatest swimmer in history. The United States of Bob Bowman, were it so constructed out of the pupils he’s overseen at Arizona State and now the University of Texas, would’ve walked away from the Paris Olympics as the story of the pool competition.
Led by Leon Marchand’s four gold medals, freed of much of the baggage of the underperforming American men, with a Hubert Kos here and a Regan Smith there, Bowman’s contingent performed like few others in Paris. In doing so, the pro group he’s led since the Tokyo Olympics lived up to Bowman’s coaching credo in this second chapter of his career, after North Baltimore Aquatic Club and the University of Michigan with a swimmer of some renown named Michael Phelps.
Fast swimmers are what Bowman seeks out. Turning good swimmers into great ones and greats into legends is his guiding principle, whatever flag may adorn their caps and suits. Paris marked a celebration of unparalleled success.
“I think as a coach, it’s always amazing to bring forward your swimmers, whoever they are,” Bowman said. “… For me, I’m here trying to help everyone do their best. And if they do, I feel good about it.”
Leading Leon
For the adoring French public, Bowman will be as synonymous with Marchand’s performance there as he long has been with Phelps in America. Once a promising youth swimmer born in Toulouse to Olympian parents, Marchand has grown into a world-beater thanks to his time in Tempe with Bowman. There, he’s built upon an excellent technical foundation from long-course swimming in his youth with the speed work and underwater proficiency required of short-course yards competition. A busy racing schedule in the NCAA has forced Marchand to develop toughness that eludes many European swimmers, especially in their early 20s.
Most importantly, for a swimmer whose talent and aspirations exceed all but the elitest of echelons, finding the man who navigated Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals was a vital piece of the puzzle. In doing so, Marchand joined Phelps (twice), Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto as the only swimmers to win four individual gold medals at the same Olympics.
Bowman is under no illusions as to his role in Marchand’s journey. It’s as a sagacious presence just off stage, advising and extracting the best while Marchand laps up the limelight his swims have earned. Bowman didn’t discover Marchand, who made an Olympic final in Tokyo before he’d started in Arizona. But he has helped Marchand bring out the best in himself.
“This whole meet is about me fulfilling a promise I made to a kid three years ago,” Bowman said. “And that I can come through and deliver because not only was it a challenge for him, it was a huge challenge for me. So to put it together, see it come to fruition, it’s incredibly satisfying, and to be able to help him meet this moment, ready for it, it’s amazing.”
Marchand fulfilled the promise in the pool, not Bowman. He began the Games by dominating the men’s 400 individual medley, the event in which he took down Phelps’ last remaining world record in 2023. Marchand added the Olympic record, under Phelps’ former world mark from his eight-for-eight golden performance in Beijing, and a winning margin of nearly six seconds over the field.
He added a golden double on the fifth night of the meet that exceeded anything even Phelps had ever done. He outdueled reigning 200 butterfly champion Kristof Milak by a half-second, rallying on the final lap, then dominated the 200 breaststroke to deny Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook a second straight gold. Both were Olympic records.
He made no mistakes in the 200 IM to become the first man since Phelps in 2008 to complete the IM double, then shared the French glory by helping the country win its first ever medal in the men’s medley relay (the event dates to the 1960 Games) with bronze.
A Stacked Stable
Were Marchand Bowman’s only star in Paris, the credit may have been due solely to the Frenchman’s brilliance. But swimmers of all flags lined up to testify as to Bowman’s influence.
It was felt among the American delegation, which counted Bowman as an assistant coach in Tokyo. Veterans like Paige Madden and Simone Manuel have rebuilt their careers working with Bowman. Regan Smith, who won three individual silvers and two relay golds, has taken her undeniable talent to new levels after working with Bowman, on the physical and mental aspects of the sport. Bowman guided Drew Kibler in his final push toward making a second Olympic team in the 800 freestyle relay, and Kibler played a key role in returning the U.S. to the podium in that event.
“Bob and Eric (Posegay) really pushed me and held me to the highest standard as well as my teammates,” said Madden, whose shock bronze in the women’s 800 free was the result of a best time by nearly eight seconds and one of the best moments of the meet for Team USA. “I train with the best people in the world. Regan Smith has pushed me every single day, and shout out to her for that. I’m so thankful for that. And I think I had a few breakthroughs in training that in turn, made me believe in myself.”
“I think it’s taught me a lot and it’s helped me definitely strengthen things on the mental side, because I think I’ve always had it physically,” Smith said after setting the world record at U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 backstroke. “I just for a long time didn’t have it mentally. But I’ve worked really, really hard with Bob, and a lot of my teammates, and I’ve learned a lot from all of them. And I think that’s really helped what culminated a great swim tonight.”
With Bowman in charge, Arizona State became a haven for international swimmers, too. Ilya Kharun, who trained primarily with Bowman’s assistant and new ASU head man Herbie Behm, netted bronze medals in both butterfly events for Canada. Hubert Kos, who exploded into a world champion in the 200 back last year summer, parlayed that into Olympic gold this year.
“Without him I’d probably be like 15th in the 2IM right now,” Kos said. “It’s been an incredible journey with him, and I’m just to happy be part of a team like that. The magic touch is the work. He doesn’t let us be second best. He doesn’t let us stoop down to a level he doesn’t want from us. That brings out the best in us.”
Those swimmers have also brought out the best in Bowman, in a way. Bowman’s ability to help Phelps reach transcendent status was singular, in both Phelps’ greatness and the complexity and length of their relationship. Phelps was never Bowman’s only student, and the success of Allison Schmitt, Chase Kalisz and many others spoke to Bowman’s pedigree as stemming from more than just Phelps.
But in guiding the swimmer who could come as close as any since Phelps as warranting a place in the same breath as the greatest of all time, Bowman is also adding new chapters to his legacy.