Happy Birthday Alison Streeter!!
Alison Streeter (GBR)
Honor Open Water Swimmer (2006)
FOR THE RECORD: “QUEEN OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.” 43 CROSSINGS OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL; THREE DOUBLE AND ONE TRIPLE CROSSING OF THE CHANNEL (first time for a woman, 70 miles in 34 hours); YOUNGEST WOMAN AND FIRST BRITISH WOMAN TO SWIM A DOUBLE CROSSING, (49 miles in 21hours 16 minutes) ENGLAND-FRANCE-ENGLAND; COMPETITOR IN 18 INTERNATIONAL RACES. ALSO CATALINA CHANNEL, MANHATTAN ISLAND, 4 PIERS, AROUND JERSEY ISLAND (43 miles), SCOTLAND TO IRELAND (20 miles), THE NORTH CHANNEL (20 miles) and CAPRI-NAPLES (22 miles). FIRST WOMAN TO SWIM THE IRISH SEA. THREE CHANNELS IN FIVE WEEKS LINKING IRELAND-SCOTLAND-ENGLAND-WALES-ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
The King or Queen of the English Channel is the one who holds the most number of crossings at any given time. Hall of Famer Cindy Nicholas had been the “Queen of the Channel” with 19 crossings, but in 1992 Alison Streeter surpassed that number and has gone on to complete 43 crossings by 2005. She may be the English Channel Queen for a long time.
For nearly a quarter of a century, Alison has been swimming the Channel. In 1983, she became the youngest woman and first British woman to swim a double crossing (49 miles in 21 hours 16 minutes) (England-France-England) and repeated it two more times. In 1990, she completed a three-way crossing, the first time for a woman, 70 miles in 34 hours 40 minutes. She is the first to cross the Channel seven times in one year. Along with her English Channel swims, she also has completed the Catalina Channel, Manhattan Island, 4 Piers, around Jersey Island (43 miles), Scotland to Ireland (20 miles), Ireland to Scotland, the North Channel (20 miles) and Capri-Naples (22 miles). She is the first woman to swim the Irish Sea. Alison currently writes for Swimming Times. She was awarded the MBE by the Queen. Most of her swims are tied to fundraising efforts for various charities and to-date she has raised over 120,000 pounds sterling.
Happy Birthday Falk Hoffman!!
Falk Hoffman (GDR)
Honor Diver (1999)
FOR THE RECORD: 1980 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (10m platform); 1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (3m springboard, 10m platform); 1974 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (10m platform); 1977 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (3m springboard), bronze (10m platform).
The German Democratic Republic’s Falk Hoffman became one of the world’s best divers and the greatest male diver to emerge from Germany. What motivates an athlete to go on to such greatness? Many of us will never know.
Falk dove internationally for eleven years (1970 to 1981) during the reign of Hall of Famers Greg Louganis, Klaus Dibiasi and Georgio Cagnotto. In 1973, he gained international notoriety by winning the bronze metal in platform diving behind Dibiasi at the World Championships. In 1978, Falk bettered his World Championship performance by winning silver medals on both three meter springboard and 10 meter platform, this time behind Hall of Famer Phil Boggs and Greg Louganis respectively.
Although Hoffman could perform equally well on both springboard and platform, his greatest success came on the 10 meter platform. Falk’s chance for stardom came at the 1980 Olympics, and he grabbed it, winning the gold on the platform. In bringing home the gold to his native Germany, Falk Hoffman became the first German platform diving gold medalist since Hall of Famer Gattlob Walz in 1906.
Happy Birthday Milivoj Bebic!!
Milivoj Bebic (YUG)
Honor Water Polo (2013)
At the age of ten, Milivoj Bebic joined the Pošk water polo FOR THE RECORD: 1980 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver; 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; FINA WATER POLO PLAYER OF THE YEAR: 1982, 1984, 1985; 1982 FINA CUP: gold; 1984 FINA CUP: gold; 1984 EUROPEAN SUPER CUP: gold; 1983 MEDITERRANIAN CUP: gold; 1985 MEDITERRIANIAN CUP: gold; 1980 YUGOSLAVIAN CUP: gold; 1983 YUGOSLAVIAN CUP: gold; AWARDED ORDER OF CROATIA DANICA AS CROATIA’S BEST ATHLETE: 1999, 2000.
At the age of ten, Milivoj Bebic joined the Pošk water polo club. A prodigy almost from the start, he was asked to join the Yugoslavian national team at the age of 17. It was playing with experienced veterans, like Hall of Famer Ratko Rudic and playing under the legendary coach, Vahlo Orlic, father of the modern Yugoslavian water polo system and Miro Circovic, that Bebić developed the skills that made him one of the greatest offensive water polo players of all time.
From 1979 to 1985 none was better than Milivoj. He helped the Yugoslavian national team and Pošk reach the top of the podium in nearly every tournament they entered. In 1980, at the Moscow Olympics, Yugoslavia won the silver, losing to the Soviet Union by a single goal in the decisive game of the round-robin tournament. Four years later in Los Angeles, Yugoslavia again faced the home team in the deciding match and it looked like history would favor the home team once again, as the Americans held a five to three lead heading into the fourth quarter. But after Deni Lusic brought Yugoslavia to within one, it was Bebic’s goal with three minutes three seconds that tied the score and allowed Yugoslavia to win the gold medal on the basis of Yugoslavia’s better goal differential in the round-robin tournament.
During his career on the Yugoslavian national team, Bebic scored a record 620 goals in just 300 games and in 1982-1984, he was judged by “International Swimming” and “Water Polo Magazine” as the best player in the world. In 1991, he made history by becoming the first water polo player to sign a pro contract in excess of one million Deutsche Mark.
After his competition years, he coached water polo for Club Pošk and in 1996, he was appointed director, guiding the team in winning Croatian team cups and national championships. He was also instrumental in reviving women’s water polo in his country.
He remains an executive in Croatian water polo and is a member of the LEN Technical Water Polo Committee. He has received the highest recognition in Yugoslavia, the “Zlatan Jakuka” and the Medal of Order “Danica Hrvatska” from the President of Croatia.
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.”