Happy Birthday Janet Evans!!
Janet Evans (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2001)
FOR THE RECORD: 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 400m IM); 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (800m freestyle), silver (400m freestyle); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: participant; SEVEN WORLD RECORDS: 2 (400m freestyle), 3 (800m freestyle), 2 (1500m freestyle); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle), silver (200m freestyle); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (800m freestyle), bronze (4x200m freestyle relay); 1993 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 4x2OOm freestyle relay); 45 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 11 (400m freestyle), 2 (400y freestyle), 2 (1000y freestyle), 12 (800m freestyle), 1 (1650y freestyle), 8 (1500m freestyle), 1 (200m IM), 2 (400y IM), 5 (400m IM); 7 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2 (500y freestyle), 2 (1650y freestyle), 2 (400y IM), 2 (4x200y freestyle relay).
Being teased by other swimmers because of her lack of height and weight while growing up only fueled her to be more competitive and vigorous in the water. Even at 5 feet 4 inches and 99 pounds during her peak years, Janet Evans turned her “windmill-in-a-hurricane” stroke into the machine that won one silver and four Olympic gold medals, set seven world records and qualified for three successive Olympic teams. She was the first American woman to win four individual Olympic gold medals in swimming. As a distance freestyler and 400 IMer, she turned in over half of the top ten 400m and 800m freestyle world best performances in a four-year period. After Shane Gould of Australia, she is only the second female swimmer to hold three world records concurrently (400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle), recognizing her as the USA’s greatest female distance swimmer. In just a few short years, she was groomed from swimmer to world hero.
Evans was a very active child who loved swimming. By age three she could do at least half of an I.M.. As a member of the Fullerton Aquatic Swim Team under coach Bud McAllister, she was a coach’s dream, always trained hard, never complained and focused on improving. All but the fly came naturally to her. In 1984 at age thirteen, she won her first U.S. Junior Nationals (1500m freestyle). In 1987 she opened onto the national and international scene winning her first of 45 U.S. National Championships over a nine year period and first of 12 Pan Pacific gold medals having qualified in four Pan Pacific Championships. 1987 was also the first year of three World Swimmer of the Year titles (1987,1989,1990).
In the year before the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Janet set three of her seven World Records. Her 400m freestyle time of 4:05.45 broke Hall of Famer Tracy Wickham’s (AUS) nine-year-old mark and her 8:17.12 800m freestyle time broke the 1978 world record time, also held by Tracy. Janet also set the 1500m freestyle record at 16:00.73, beating Hall of Famer Kim Linehan’s 1979 world mark. During her career, Janet set each of these records a second time and a third time for the 800m.
The next year in Seoul, Janet became the first female since Hall of Famer Debbie Meyer in 1968 to win three individual Olympic events – the 400m and 800m freestyle and 400m individual medley. It was her trademark “bursts of speed,” a rapid and timely increase in stroke rate towards the end of each race, that boosted her to defeat competitors sometimes 60 pounds stronger and with longer arms and bodies. By capturing the golds, she captured the hearts of millions of people. At age 17 and still a student at El Dorado High School, Placentia, California, she became a household name, a celebrity and public speaker.
In 1989, she was elected U.S.O.C. Sports Woman of the Year and received the Sullivan Award as the most prestigious amateur athlete in the United States. This is only the fourth time in the award’s history that a female swimmer has been the recipient.
After two years at Stanford University in the early 1990s swimming for Olympic coach Richard Quick and winning 7 NCAA National Championships as well as NCAA Swimmer of the Year, Janet moved to Austin, Texas to be with Olympic coach Mark Schubert who prepared her for the 1992 and 1996 Olympic teams. In Barcelona in 1992, Janet made Olympic history by becoming the first female to win the 800m freestyle for a second time. She also won the silver in the 400m freestyle. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics at the age of 24, she competed as captain on her third U.S.A. Olympic team, culminating a career filled with success and excitement.
Janet’s familiar pose was standing on top of the victory stand. She won six medals at the 1991 and 1993 short course and 1994 World Championships. After college competition, she became eligible to pursue many sponsorship endorsements. She was elected to the First FINA Athletes Commission (1992), chosen as the Atlantic Games Olympic stadium torchbearer with Mohammed Ali and had “The Janet Evans International” in Los Angeles named in her honor. This energy-efficient, two-beat freestyle swimmer, unusually humble with a smile that won a million hearts, is a swimmer who loved competition, loved racing and loved sharing it with all who asked.
Happy Birthday Petria Thomas!!
Petria Thomas (AUS)
Honor Swimmer (2010)
FOR THE RECORD: 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (200m butterfly); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (4x100m medley relay, 4x200m freestyle relay)), bronze (200m butterfly); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay), silver (200m butterfly); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (200m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay), bronze (100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay); 2002 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (200m butterfly), silver (100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay), bronze (4x200m freestyle relay); 1994 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay); 1998 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay), silver (200m butterfly); 2002 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (50m, 100m, 200m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay, 4x100m freestyle relay); 2002 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay), silver (100m butterfly).
Petria was held in such high regard for her swimming accomplishments that her hometown pool in Mullumbimby, New South Wales was named after her. But her swimming career was a long struggle with many hardships before she was decorated as Australia’s greatest Olympic swimmer along with legendary Dawn Fraser and Susie O’Neill. Despite three shoulder injury surgeries and bouts with depression, she won eight Olympic medals in three Olympic Games. Early in her career, she battled Suzie O’Neil and Inge de Bruijn in the butterfly events.
She was 20 years old at her first of three Olympic Games during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where she won a silver medal in the 200m butterfly. Swimming at the Australian Institute of Sport, she had already had excruciating shoulder problems leading later to two shoulder operations as well as bouts of severe depression from the stress of training and keeping up with school work.
But Petria proved in life to be the champion she was in the pool. She competed in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, winning gold medals, and the 1998 World Championships winning silver medals. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games she won three gold medals in the 100m butterfly and 4x100m freestyle and medley relays. As the team veteran at age 28 in Athens, when she was just touched out .3 seconds by Poland’s Otylia Jetzejezak in the 200m butterfly, a swimmer she had earlier beaten in the 100m butterfly. All totaled, she won eight Olympic medals, seven World Championship long course medals, nine World Championship short course medals, twelve Commonwealth and five Pan Pacific medals. In 2001, she was crowned the AIS Athlete of the Year and the World Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year as Australia’s premier butterfly swimmer. In 2005, she released her autobiography Swimming Against the Tide, where she described her career including her experiences with depression.
Mind Reading: Michael Phelps On The Watershed Article About His Mental Health That Inspired A New NFT Series
shared from: Forbes Magazine
Michael Phelps, November 2021 GETTY IMAGES
It’s been seven years since Michael Phelps first publicly acknowledged the debilitating mental health issues he’d been struggling with throughout his legendary career as a swimmer. The news came out in in a November 2015 Sports Illustrated cover story: The most decorated Olympian of all time struggled with anxiety and depression, and had contemplated suicide.
“I still don’t know why at that very moment I just let it all out,” Phelps says today. “For whatever reason, the time and place were perfect and it was like, ‘I’m ready, buckle up.’ Looking back, that’s the moment that probably saved my life—being able to let that stuff out that I was compartmentalizing for decades.”
To commemorate that watershed occasion, Phelps and SI are teaming on a collection of digital covers that drops December 6 via Web3 company OneOf. The collection is a nod to the original sports collectible trends of yesteryear, with action figures reimagined for Phelps’ ninth Sports Illustrated cover. Phelps will donate all of his proceeds to the foundation he established in 2008.
“It was one of the most meaningful stories of my career,” he says. “Mental health is so important to me and this will help us with what we’re trying to do to lower the stigma around mental health and get people the help and the care they need.”
The narrative of Phelps’ mental health journey and the ways he uses his influence to help others is ongoing. Its chapters continue to evolve through the work of The Michael Phelps Foundation, through his partnership with online therapy company Talkspace, through just being Michael Phelps.
“Through everything I’ve gone through, I saw a significant opportunity to make an impact in mental health. I’ve looked suicide basically in the face. I saw myself as a swimmer and not a human. I had a swim cap on and a pair of goggles and people just saw me as this kid who wins a shitload of medals,” he says.
“And I’m now on this side where I was able to find the help I needed to be able to look at myself in the mirror and like what I see. I have feelings like everybody else, and the struggles I have are just like what everybody else is going through. So my thing is, ‘How do we help?’
Phelps’ own path to healing began at a residential treatment center, where he was introduced to therapy for the first time.
“I will say therapy has saved me, and it’s helped me process life on dry land a little bit easier. When I first started seeing a therapist I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this, it seems awkward.’ Then I come out of my first session, and I was like, ‘Wow that was awesome. The complete opposite of what I thought,’ ” he says.
“When I was in treatment we had basic emotions that were on the wall and every single day we would talk about them. Some days were harder than others but being able to understand how you feel and communicate that is something that is important for all of us.”
The Talkspace partnership was a natural fit for Phelps, who was used to being on the road for large periods of time and understood the danger of pushing off a session because it wasn’t convenient to show up for an in-person appointment.
“For me, it’s covering myself and being prepared in any situation,” he says. “If I’m on the road and I’m struggling I can make a phone call, have a Facetime, text to my therapist. It’s just having these tools ready at any single opportunity. That’s what I did when I was swimming. I was prepared. I want to be prepared if there ever is a situation when I go spinning—and I do get triggered—so for me it was just perfect.”
Not surprisingly, he’s also keenly tapped into the mind-body connection, and he still works out in various capacities six or seven days a week.
“If I’m in a really in a dark spot, I need to go swim. That’s the only place that is quiet. I don’t get much quiet time in my life and if I need that escape, that’s’ the place where I can go I and just turn my mind off because it’s so natural.”
Phelps also does his share of journaling. “I still write a lot, and I like going back and looking at it,” he says. “I’m pretty detailed about what’s going on. Whether I didn’t sleep enough or didn’t get enough water… throughout my career I’ve been used to paying attention to every small detail, and I just want to give myself the best chance every single day to be the best me. Obviously some days are harder than others but if I’m able to get 5 percent, 10 percent, 20 percent out of that day then it’s a win.”
Through his foundation, whose signature program IM is a multifaceted life-skills curriculum focused on water safety; physical, social and emotional health; and goal-setting, he partners with Boys & Girls Clubs of America—the program has reached more than 35,000 participants—and Special Olympics International.
“Whether it’s kids overcoming their fear of swimming and becoming more confident, and then their grades are getting better in school and everything starts to move forward—I love being able to hear the stories,” he says.
In fact, Phelps thrives on feedback. “If somebody walks up and becomes vulnerable and shares their story because I have shared my journey—for me that’s bigger than anything else,” he says.
“For a long time I felt like I was standing on top of that mountain screaming and no one was listening. And now we’re at a point where more people are putting their hands up into the air trying to get people to listen. We’re not shutting these things down and holding on to them, and hopefully that in turn is allowing people to become their authentic selves.”
Of course, there’s feedback and there’s feedback.
A few years ago Phelps was approached by a man at an airport who asked how he’s been spending his time. Phelps responded he’s focused on helping destigmatize mental health. “He said, ‘So, you’re telling me you talk about your mental health and you think that’s going to help people?’” Phelps recalls. “And then he says, ‘I think that’s almost a sign of weakness.’ And at that point I took both of my headsets out and was like, ‘Dude…’ ”
After a bit more back forth during which the man insisted neither he nor anyone close to him struggled with PTSD, anxiety, depression—“I listed 10 different things,” Phelps says—Phelps finally shut down the conversation. It was a moment of frustration, but this is a man who knows how to channel frustration into opportunity.
“I honestly couldn’t believe it, but at that point I was like, ‘This is exactly why I’m doing what I’m doing,’ ” he says.
“I want our foundation’s mental health division to continue to evolve. Every person needs something different so I want to be able to give every option to try to save a life. Saving a life is way more important than ever winning a gold medal.”
Mind Reading (formerly Hollywood & Mind) is a recurring column that lives at the intersection of entertainment and wellbeing, and features interviews with musicians, actors and other culture influencers who are elevating the conversation around mental health.
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Happy Birthday Inge de Bruijn!!
Inge de Bruijn (NED)
Honor Swimmer (2009)
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: 8th (100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly), silver (4x100m freestyle); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle), silver (100m freestyle), bronze (100m butterfly, 4×100 freestyle); ELEVEN WORLD RECORDS: four (50m freestyle), two (100m freestyle), two (50m butterfly), two (100m butterfly); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50mfreestyle,50mbutterfly);1999WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (50m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle).
Inge de Bruijn is the most successful athlete of all time in Dutch sports history. In Olympic swimming history, she won four gold, two silver and two bronze medals in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events and joins Debbie Meyer (1968), Shane Gould (1972), Janet Evans (1988), Kristin Otto (1988) and Krisztina Egerszegi (1992) as the only female swimmers to win three gold medals in individual events at one Olympic Games (2000).
Although de Bruijn competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics finishing 8th in the 100m freestyle, it wasn’t until 1999 that she won the European Championships 50m freestyle gold medal and started setting world records eleven by the time she retired.
She fell into a slump during the Olympic year of 1996 and connected with Hall of Fame coach Paul Bergen in Portland, Oregon, training under his guidance. Four years later, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she won the 50m and 100m freestyles and the 100m butterfly, setting world records in all three events. With a silver medal in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay, her nickname became “Invincible Inky”. In 2000 and 2001, she was named World Female Swimmer of the Year. At the 2001 and 2003 World Championships, she won world records in the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m and 100m butterfly.
All totaled, she won eight Olympic medals, seven World Championship medals and 26 Dutch National Championships.
Happy Birthday Jon Sieben!!
Jon Sieben (AUS)
Honor Swimmer (2022)
FOR THE RECORD: 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: GOLD (200M BUTTERFLY), BRONZE (4X100M MEDLEY); 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: 4TH (100M BUTTERFLY), 6TH (4X100M MEDLEY); 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: 6TH (4X100M MEDLEY); ONE WORLD RECORD: 100M BUTTERFLY; 1982 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: GOLD (4X100M MEDLEY), BRONZE (200M BUTTERFLY)
If it wasn’t for the Sieben family cat, we might not all be here tonight for Jon. Following a near drowning of the animal, Jon’s mum immediately hauled Jon over for a learn-to-swim, figuring if the cat could drown, so could Jon. Fast forward 11 years, Sieben attends the National Age Group Championships
where he wins a silver and a bronze respectively, in the 100 and the 200m butterfly. Yet, he wanted more. Sieben heard rumors that the great Laurie Lawrence was planning to return to coaching. The two met, and at their first meeting, in typical “Laurie” fashion, he asked Jon, ”Are you hungry?” Once Jon figured out exactly what that meant, he knew Laurie was the coach for him. With Lawrence, the results were immediate. Sieben’s time in the 100m butterfly dropped from 60 to 55 seconds and his 200 time went from 2:11 to a dramatic 2:01
At 15, Sieben won his first Australian Open National Championship in the 200m butterfly and placed second in the 100m butterfly to make his first Senior Australian Team, which qualified him to attend the Commonwealth Games.
Sieben made his debut on the international stage, as a 15-year-old, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games and won bronze in the 200m butterfly and gold as a member of the 4x100m medley relay.
Heading into the 1984 Olympic Games, Sieben was not even on the radar for a medal. Sieben was the youngest and probably the most untested swimmer in the race, and his competition was herculean. He would be swimming against Michael Gross of West Germany, who had a wingspan of 7 ft 4 inches and had already amassed two gold and one silver from the Games only days prior. Of course, there was the USA’s Pablo Morales, ranked third all-time in the event, and was the world record holder of the 100.
With Sieben in lane six at the halfway mark of the race, he was well back as he had planned, and as he turned at the 150 mark behind Gross and Morales, Jon shifted into high gear, exploding in the pool and blowing past them in the final 50 meters, winning in a world record time of 1:57.04, stunning just about everyone in the Coliseum, except his coach, Laurie Lawrence. It was the first Australian Olympic gold medal in swimming in 12 years. Not since Brad Cooper last took the title of the 400 I.M. in Munich, in 1972.
The following year in Tokyo, in 1985, at the Commonwealth Games, Sieben took home two silver medals, one in the 100m butterfly and the other as a member of the 4×100 medley relay. Later that year, he swam at the Universiade Games, in Kobe Japan, where he took gold in the 100m butterfly event, once again defeating both Matt Biondi and Michael Gross.
Shoulder injuries restricted Sieben’s performance at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, he did however compete in the 100m butterfly, finishing fourth in the finals. The Australians took sixth in the medley relay with Jon swimming the butterfly.
He retired for a few years and made a comeback, competing in the 1992 Games in Barcelona, unfortunately, Sieben did not final in either of his events. He did however become the first swimmer to compete in three consecutive Olympic Games, since Dawn Fraser had done it in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
Happy Birthday Jon Urbanchek!!
Jon Urbanchek (USA)
Honor Coach (2008)
For the Record: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: Men’s Assistant Coach; 1994, 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Men’s Head Coach; Coach of 28 OLYMPIC SWIMMERS: winning 5 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze medals; 1983, 1987, 2003 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: Coach; 22 YEARS COACH UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: 1 NCAA National Team Championship;
Wherever he goes, honors follow him. As a coach, his swimmers hold him in high regard and his opponents treat him with respect. History has looked kindly on this man who has spent almost 50 years pacing the pool deck developing and training the world’s best swimmers – Jon Urbanchek “rules”.
Jon Urbanchek
A Hungarian immigrant, Urbanchek enrolled at the University of Michigan where he competed on the University’s three National Championship swimming teams from 1958-1962. He moved from the water to the deck in 1963 as the swimming and water polo coach at Anaheim High School for 16 years. He then spent another five years at Long Beach State University before returning to Michigan in 1982. For the next 22 years, Urbanchek developed Olympic medalists, world champions and world record holders. His Olympic medalists include: Mike Barrowman (1992), Gustavo Borges (1992 and 2000), Tom Dolan (1992 and 1996), Dan Ketchum (2004), Brett Lang (1988), Tom Malchow (1996 and 2000), Eric Namesnik (1992 and 1996), Chris Thompson (2000), Peter Vanderkaay (2004) and Marcel Wouda (2000).
Urbanchek coached 34 Olympians to seven gold, six silver and four bronze medals in five Olympic Games that included four world record holders. Sixteen of Urbanchek swimmers earned medals at the World Championships of 1991, 1994, and 1998. He served as the Head Coach of the World Championship Teams in 1994 and 1998, U.S. Olympic Team Assistant Coach five times from 1988 to 2004, the 1986 and 1990 World Championship Team Assistant Coach and six-time coach of the Pan American and Pan Pacific Games Teams. Jon won the 1995 NCAA National Team Championship, has been twice named ASCA Coach of the Year and has had 35 NCAA individual National Champions.
Happy Birthday Carol Zaleski!!
Carol Zaleski (USA)
Honor Contributor (2022)
FOR THE RECORD: FIRST WOMAN TO CHAIR FINA’S TECHNICAL SWIMMING COMMITTEE; FIRST FEMALE REFEREE AT BOTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES; PRESIDENT, USA SWIMMING, FOUR TERMS; FIRST FEMALE DECK REFEREE IN OLYMPIC SWIMMING
Who knew on that day in the early 1970’s when she took her kids to a swim meet and volunteered to time, she would become the most powerful woman in the world in swimming? Probably not Carol Zaleski. She never dreamed that she would go on to hold every office with the Allegheny Mountain LSC from Secretary to General Chairman. She never saw herself becoming the Eastern Zone Director for USA Swimming, a position she held for four years. And she did not stop there.
Carol quickly rose through the ranks of USA Swimming, serving as secretary of the Rules Committee from 1980- 1985, then as Vice President for two years, before she was elected President of USA Swimming in 1986, serving an unprecedented four terms. She also was instrumental in the development of the National Officials Training Program, and years later she would create a similar program at FINA.
In addition to USA Swimming, Carol also served on various committees of the United States Olympic Committee, including the Overview Commission and the Olympic Games Preparation Committee.
Her leadership skills would eventually cross over into FINA, and they too would benefit from her knowledge and expertise. Carol was first elected to the FINA Technical Swimming Committee (TSC) in 1988 and served as the Honor Secretary from 1988-1992. She was the first woman to chair the TSC and she was only getting started. She served as Chairman of the committee from 1992 to 2005, and again from 2009 to 2022, for a total of 26 years. Additionally, Carol was elected President of UANA in 2003.
Carol was the first female referee at both the FINA World Championships and the Olympic Games. At the World Championship level, she was Competition Director in 1991 in Perth, and 1994 in Roma. On the Olympic level she was Administrative Referee in 1988 Seoul and went on to serve as Competition Director for four straight Games; Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, and Athens in 2004. At the 2008 games in Beijing, she became the first female to be named deck referee in Olympic Swimming. Once again, Zaleski, as Chairman, was the Competition Director for the Olympics in London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Carol has been honored by many organizations who have recognized her achievements. In 1992, she received the highest honor presented by USA Swimming, the United States Swimming Award, given for exceptional contribution to the sport of swimming. In 1990, she received the United States Swimming’s Athletes Appreciation Award. In 2009, she received the Paragon Award from ISHOF, and that same year, she was awarded the George M. Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award from the United States Olympic Endowment Foundation. In addition, Zaleski was named one of the 30 Most Influential People in Swimming over the Past 30 Years.
In 2021, Carol received the FINA Order in Abu Dhabi at the 2021 Short Course World Championships. The Award is FINA’s highest honor, presented to individuals who “illustrated the ideals, aims and objectives of FINA in the spirit of sport, and with morals, ethics and/or fair play through his/her action, who have achieved remarkable merit in the world of swimming or have rendered an outstanding service to FINA’s cause, either through his/her contribution in the development of swimming.”
“It is difficult to find a facet in the sport of swimming that has not felt Carol’s nudge in the right direction,” said William Hybl, chairman and CEO of the U.S. Olympic Foundation. “Her passion and expertise combine to make her a dynamic leader who helped raise the profile of swimming while enhancing the performance of the athletes and officials who ensure the sport’s legitimacy.”
Happy Birthday Natalie Coughlin!!
Natalie Coughlin (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2022)
FOR THE RECORD: 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: GOLD (100M BACKSTROKE, 4×200M FREESTYLE), SILVER ( 4×100M FREESTYLE, 4×100M MEDLEY), BRONZE (100M FREESTYLE); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: GOLD (100M BACKSTROKE), SILVER (4×100M FREESTYLE, 4×100M MEDLEY), BRONZE (100M FREESTYLE, 200M I.M, 4×200M FREESTYLE); 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: BRONZE (4X100M FREESTYLE); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (100M BACKSTROKE, 4×200M FREESTYLE), SILVER (4×100M MEDLEY), BRONZE (50M BACKSTROKE); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (4×100M FREESTYLE) SILVER (4×100M MEDLEY); 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (4×200M FREESTYLE), SILVER (4×100M MEDLEY, 100M FREESTYLE), BRONZE (100M BACKSTROKE, 4×100M FREESTYLE); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (100M BACKSTROKE, 4×200M FREESTYLE), SILVER (4×100M FREESTYLE, 4×100M MEDLEY), BRONZE (100M BUTTERFLY); 2011 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (4×100M MEDLEY), SILVER (4×100M FREESTYLE), BRONZE (100M BACKSTROKE); 2013 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): GOLD (4×100M FREESTYLE)
She is the only American woman to win six medals at one Olympic Games, while tying Dara Torres and Jenny Thompson with winning the most Olympic medals at twelve. Natalie Coughlin became the first woman to break the one-minute barrier in the 100-meter backstroke in August, 2002, then going on to break the record several more times, going below the 59 second mark.
At 15, she became the first US swimmer to qualify for all 14 events at the U.S. Nationals, but by the time she was ready to enter college, she was already burnt out in the sport. She had a devastating shoulder injury and was in an environment that didn’t support her.
Enter the University of California Berkeley and a program that would change Natalie’s entire outlook on swimming. In her four years at Cal, Natalie became the most decorated swimmer in the university’s history. She was a three time NCAA Swimmer of the Year and won 12 NCAA titles and upheld an undefeated dual meet record throughout her collegiate career (61-0).
Natalie regularly attended the World Championships as well as the Pan Pacs and other major competitions and she regularly brought home the hardware too. After her disappointing swims at the 2000 Trials, all events Natalie competed in after that were a build up to the Trials of 2004, and ultimately, the Athens Games. In 2004 at the Trials, Natalie qualified first in the 100m backstroke and second in the 100m freestyle, she had punched her ticket to Athens.
In Athens, she won her first two Olympic medals in gold. First, the 100m backstroke and next as part of the world record-setting 800m freestyle relay. After that, she swam on the 400m freestyle relay and the 400m medley relay, where the USA girls took silver. She finished up in the 100m freestyle, where she earned bronze.
Four years later in Beijing, Natalie proved she was one of the most successful swimmers in U.S history by becoming the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the 100m backstroke. She added two more silvers to her medal count, again in the 400m freestyle relay and the other in the medley relay. She added three more bronze, for a total of six medals in one Olympiad, making her the first woman to ever do so.
Natalie attended her third and final Games in London in 2012. She was a member of the U.S.A. ‘s 400m freestyle relay that took bronze. She would swim in 2016 but come up short. Natalie never officially retired and continued to stay involved in the sport, serving as an athlete representative for USA Swimming’s Board of Directors, and in 2019, Natalie competed in the International Swimming League’s inaugural season.
She has won a total of 60 medals in major international competition, 25 gold, 22 silver, and 13 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Pan American Games.
ISHOF Loses Australian Honoree John Devitt
by IAN HANSON – OCEANIA CORRESPONDENT
17 August 2023, 09:17pm
PASSAGES: Australia Mourns The Passing Of “Mr Swimming” John Devitt, A Legend With Chlorine In His Veins
The Australian swimming community is in mourning today following the passing of one if its greatest champions, two-time Olympic and three-time Commonwealth Games freestyle gold medallist John Devitt AM – a true legend of the sport.
“Gentleman John” passed away peacefully in Sydney yesterday, aged 86, leaving an enormous legacy not only in sport but after a special life alongside his adoring wife Wendy and the four Devitt kids – Carmel, Mark, Julie, and Sean.
Swimming in Australia has been blessed with a host of true champions over more than 130 years of success both in and out of the pool, but few have had the charisma, the presence, and the passion of John Devitt.
ROME OLYMPIC PODIUM: John Devitt with his prized 100m freestyle gold from 1960. USA’s Lance Larson (Silver) right and Brazil’s Manny Dos Santos (Bronze) left. Photo Courtesy: Robin Poke.
Known on pool decks around the world as JD and affectionally referred to back in the day as Johnny Devitt -Australia’s 1956 and 1960 Olympic gold medallist – Australian swim team captain of the golden era – he was “Mr Swimming.”
Born in Granville on February 4, 1937, John went on to become a dual Olympic gold medallist in the 4x200m freestyle in Melbourne and in the blue ribband 100 metres freestyle in what was a controversial final in Rome in 1960.
John grew up just 250 metres from the Granville Olympic pool, in the heartland of the Sydney’s golden west and was a product of the government funded learn-to-swim program attending Marist Brothers Parramatta.
But after his coach Tom Penny was forced to move from Granville to Manly (Ocean) Baths, Devitt moved with him, and it was the continuation of a partnership that led to Devitt’s foray on to the National scene.
But it was Devitt’s next move to noted coach Sam Herford (at the Spit Baths) who was in charge of the great Olympic champion Murray Rose, that eventually steered him towards his Olympic dream.
After duelling with the likes of Barry Darke and then graduating through match races with Jon Henricks and Gary Chapman, Devitt was named on the 1956 team for the Melbourne Olympics – and much to his surprise he was named captain.
He opened his love affair with the Games with an individual silver medal to Henricks in a dominant Australian 100 metres, with Chapman third – creating wild celebrations on pool deck.
It was Australia’s first ever Olympic clean sweep in any event. It was also the first time an Australian had ever won the men’s 100m freestyle and the first Australian freestyle gold medal in 32 years (Another Manly boy, Andrew “Boy” Charlton’s 1500m win in Paris was the previous gold medal).
Devitt, Henricks, Rose and Kevin O’Halloran then combined to win gold in the 4x200m – with Devitt clocking the fastest split time of the four – but little did Devitt know what lay ahead as he prepared for the 1958 Cardiff British Empire And Commonwealth Games and the 1960 Rome Olympics some four years on.
The freestyle sprint ace continued his gold rush in Cardiff winning three gold – including the prized 100m freestyle in another Aussie sweep with Chapman second and Geoff Shipton third.
Photo Courtesy: Robin Poke
Devitt was again named as the prestigious team captain in Rome and while Henricks was favoured to defend his crown he failed to make the 100m final after falling ill.
It was left to Devitt to take on American Lance Larson and the flying Brazilian Manny Dos Santos.
Devitt and Larsen hauled Santos in over the closing stages of a thrilling final before one of the most controversial finishes in Olympic swimming history unfolded.
The trio touched in a flurry of splash and the experienced Devitt – noted for his quick touch, was convinced he had won the gold medal, reaching out underwater with one hand as the other came over the top.
But the US camp was equally convinced that Larsen was the victor, with the American claiming the victory with his post-race celebration.
Devitt himself would recall one of the most controversial days in Olympic swimming history saying: “Eight of us hit the wall, almost in line. In the crowd, bedlam turns to ovation, then speculation, then anticipation. Who has won?
“I didn’t know. I knew I had missed the wall with my left hand and started to raise my right, but then stretched out with the left to touch.
“I had contested four close finishes in my career; I won three of them, having lost one in Melbourne to my old mate Henricks.
“My touch had been recognised as being one of the quickest of all time. And the motto ‘a quick touch wins races’ had been with me for years. I was hoping that touch had worked with me this time.”
And after much deliberation amongst the judges, Devitt was announced the winner, with Larsen the silver and Dos Santos the bronze, sending the US into the protest room.
Two of the three first-place judges said Devitt had won and two of the three second-placed judges said Devitt had finished second – giving him the majority of the votes for both first and second.
Devitt’s time was adjusted and both swimmers were given the Olympic record time of 55.2 – but it was Devitt who packed the golden medal in his suitcase for the trip back to Sydney.
The controversy is still the subject of much discussion between swimming’s great archrivals the USA and Australia.
TEAM CAPTAIN: John Devitt led the golden era of Australian swimming in the 1950s and 60s. Photo Courtesy: Swimming NSW.
Devitt held his head high after he returned home and retired to work for swimwear manufacturing giant, Speedo and as head coach of the squads in the Queenscliff rock pool and the famed Manly Baths before leaving Australia to take up a major position with Speedo International, returning home to continue his administrative roles with Swimming and as a vice president of the Australian Olympic Committee.
The gentleman of the pool first served the Swimming Australia board as its Chairman of Overseas Planning – instrumental in bringing Don Talbot back as head coach in 1989 – under the reign of CEO and future Olympic Committee guru Craig McLatchey.
Devitt had then become Vice President of Swimming Australia, alongside President and lifelong friend and fellow Olympian Terry Gathercole between 1996 and 2000 taking over as President of Swimming Australia between 2000 and 2004.
A fitting post for Devitt, after being instrumental and influential in winning the successful bid in 1993 for the Olympics to come to Sydney.
He would later lead Australia into the MCG as Chef de Mission of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Team – 50 years after his Olympic triumph in Australia’s sporting capital.
Receiving due recognition for his passion and poise for the sport he loved – often saying he was a chosen one who had chlorine running through his veins, was awarded FINA’s highest award – the FINA (World Aquatics) Prize.
The FINA Order is only awarded to heads of States/Cities, which host major FINA or Olympic events, joining fellow Australians Bill Berge Phillips in 1991 and Kieren Perkins in 1994 as fellow FINA Prize recipients.
Former Swimming Australian CEO, the late Glenn Tasker had been full of praise for Devitt saying: “John dedicated 60 years of his life to the sport of swimming. His career has spanned the most exciting period in the sport’s history. The Fina Prize is a wonderful recognition of his life’s dedication and truly deserved.”
John Devitt AM was captain of the Australian Swimming Team that won eight gold medals at the 1956 Olympic Games and President of Australian Swimming at the time the team won five gold in the next home Games in Sydney, seven more in Athens and 13 at the 2001 World’s in Fukuoka.
Devitt quietly stepped aside from public life on Sydney’s Northern Beaches where he spent time with his kids and grandchildren.
And dedicating his time to researching and writing a book with co-author Larry Writer about the extraordinary life of his own hero, 1912 Olympic gold medallist Cecil Healy, who would become the first Olympic champion to make the ultimate sacrifice, losing his life in World War I.
THE SOMME: John Devitt at The Somme graveyards. Photo Courtesy: Devitt Family Collection.
Healy had refused to swim in the 100-metres final in Stockholm in 1912, unless famed Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, the favourite, was allowed to compete.
Duke had missed his semi-final after a misunderstanding over the starting time. Healy’s gesture cost him victory but earned him a place in sport’s pantheon of true champions.
Devitt, the true champion himself, had long admired Healy, with their lives travelling down such similar paths in sport and in life and it had been a life long ambition of Devitt’s to travel to The Somme to visit Healy’s grave and honour his fellow Olympic champion with a detailed biography of his life.
Such was Devitt’s feelings for his hero, when Manly Council chose to honour Devitt (like Healy a long time Manly Swimming Club member) by naming their new eight-lane indoor pool after the 1956 and 1960 Olympic champion.
But Devitt convinced the powers-that-be to change the name to the Devitt-Healy pool, saying that it was important to him to have Healy’s name next to his as a “tangible memento.”
“I regard myself as having had a similar life (to Cecil Healy),” said Devitt, “We have enjoyed a great escalator, we have been successful but when the discussion came up I thought Cecil should have been recognised…and I said our names should be associated.”
The humble act by Mr Devitt was fitting, given Healy’s reputation as one of Australia’s most honourable sportsmen for his unselfish act in 1912 that would have certainly seen him win that individual Olympic gold.
As an elite young swimmer, as a resident of Manly on Sydney’s northern beaches, where Healy once lived, and as a noted swimming historian, Devitt became engrossed in the Healy legend, writing the labour of love on his hero’s life.
BIG THREE: Murray Rose, Jon Henricks and John Devitt. Photo Courtesy: Swimming NSW
Cecil Healy and John Devitt are both honorees in the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale.
IOC Vice President and former long serving AOC president John Coates, knew John Devitt well, serving together on the AOC Executive and on many teams, paying this tribute.
“I know of no other Olympic Champion who cared for his sport and the Olympic movement like John,” said Coates.
“And no other sports administrator with the integrity and high principles that were John’s hallmark.
“John Devitt was my most loyal Vice President and Deputy Chef de Mission and so highly regarded by his swimmers and the other athletes who were always his focus.
“But above all was John’s commitment and love for his his family. Nothing was more important in his life.
“My thoughts and prayers are with Wendy and the family at this most difficult time.”
Amongst a litany of recognition for his services to Swimming and The Olympics, John is also the recipient of the Olympic Order, bestowed by the International Olympic Committee; the Fina (World Aquatics) Prize, For Outstanding Contribution to Swimming; A Life Member of the Australian Olympic Committee and Swimming Australia; Also Inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame and Appointed a Member of Order of Australia (AM).
John Devitt AM – true champion both in sport and in life.
ATHENS OLYMPIC SWIM TEAM: Swimming Australia president John Devitt with the 2004 Australian Olympic Swim Team. Photo Courtesy: Hanson Media.
Today in History: ISHOF 2023 Honor Swimmer Kosuke Kitajima (of Japan) wraps up the 100/200m breaststroke double at the Athens Olympics when he wins the 200m in 2:09.44, an Olympic record
Come see KOSUKE KITAJIMA LIVE and IN PERSON as he is officially inducted with other great Aquatic Athletes, like MICHAEL PHELPS, MISSY FRANKLIN, CESAR CIELO and KIRSTY COVENTRY into the INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME in Fort Lauderdale on September 30, 2023. Seats are Limited, buy your tickets NOW!
58th Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction CeremonyHosted By Dara TorresSaturday, September 30, 2023The Parker Playhouse707 NE 8th Street, Fort Lauderdale, 33304954.462.0222
Purchase Saturday Night Tickets Here
Class of 2023 Honorees
Bob Bowman (USA) / Honor CoachChris Carver (USA) / Honor CoachCesar Cielo (BRA) / Honor SwimmerKirsty Coventry (ZIM) / Honor SwimmerMissy Franklin (USA) / Honor SwimmerNatalia Ischenko (RUS) / Honor Synchronized SwimmerKosuke Kitajima (JPN) / Honor SwimmerHeather Petri (USA) / Honor Water Polo PlayerMichael Phelps (USA) / Honor SwimmerWu Minxia (CHN) / Honor DiverSam Ramsamy (RSA) / Honor ContributorStephane Lecat (FRA) / Honor Open Water SwimmerTrischa Zorn (USA) / Honor Paralympic Swimmer
2023 ISHOF Aquatic Awards &ISHOF Specialty AwardsPresented by AquaCal
Friday, September 29, 2023
Purchase Friday Night Tickets Here
ISHOF Aquatic AwardsCompetitive Swimming: Mike Unger (USA)Competitive Diving: Ellie Smart (USA)Water Polo: Mark Koganov (AZB)Artistic Swimming: Maria Jose Bilbao (ESP)Aquatic Safety: Cullen Jones (USA)Recreational Swimming: Sofia Forte (USA)
ISHOF Specialty Awards John K. Williams Jr. Award: Gail M. Dummer (USA)Judge Martin Award: Norm Taplin (USA)ISHOF Service Award: Laura Voet (USA)Buck Dawson Author’s Award: Elaine K. Howley (USA)Buck Dawson Author’s Award: Tom Gompf (USA)Al Schoenfield Media Award: John Lohn Virginia Hunt Newman Award: Amanda GawthropeSammy Lee Award: USA Diving/Duraflex
5:00 – Cocktails and hors d’oeuvresOceanview Veranda Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach, 3030 Holiday Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 954.525.40006:00 – Awards Ceremony Grand Ballroom – Salon EFort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach8:30 – Dinner on own
HOTEL INFORMATION
Host Hotel: Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa
The Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, (3030, Harbor Drive, Fort Lauderdale, 33316, 954. 525.4000) site of the Friday night awards ceremony is our host hotel. The hotel has given us a special rate of $229 per room night. Please make your reservations through the link below prior to August 29.
(Be sure to say you do not want the resort fee or you will be charged $259)
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50527236
Upscale retreat with private beach access, two pools, four restaurants, full-service spa and oceanside bar. Location of the Friday evening awards ceremony.
¼ mile south of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
($30 Resort fee – Guests can opt out if not interested in resort amenities)
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach, 440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
(954) 524-8733.
Click Here: Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $189 per night
Honoree Ceremony September 29-30, 2023: Last Day to Book: Friday, August 31, 2023.