Happy Birthday Anita Lonsbrough!!
Anita Lonsbrough (GBR)
Honor Swimmer (1983)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1960 gold (200m breaststroke); 1964 British Tokyo Olympic team (individual medley; relay); WORLD RECORDS: 6 (100m, 200m breaststroke; medley relay); COMMONWEALTH GAMES: 1958 gold (220yd breaststroke; medley relay); 1962 gold (110yd, 220yd breaststroke; 440yd individual medley), silver (medley relay); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: 1962 gold (200m breaststroke), silver 9400m individual medley), bronze (medley relay); ASA BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS: 8 (1958-1962: 220yd breaststroke; 1963: 220yd freestyle; 1963-1964: 440yd individual medley).
Anita Lonsbrough dominated British swimming over a 7-year period (1958-64) during which she won 7 gold medals, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals in the three major International Games available to her. She set World Records in the Olympics, British Commonwealth, European and her A.S.A. National Championships. Her titles were in breaststroke, individual medley and freestyle. A definite “P.M.’r” she had to get up at 4:00 a.m. in order to be ready for preliminaries at 10:00 a.m.. In 1960, after beating the World Record holder Wiltrud Urselmann for the breaststroke Olympic gold in a new World Record, Anita was named the Daily Express (British) “Sportswoman of the Year”, and British Sportswriters’ “Sports Woman of the Year”, honors which she repeated in 1962 after her 3 gold Commonwealth Games. She was the first woman to receive the B.B.C.-TV “Sports Personality of the Year”, and the following year, won the distinguished M.B.E. for services to swimming. In Tokyo 1964, she was the first woman to carry the Union Jack in the Opening Ceremonies Olympic parade. In 1965, she married Hugh Porter, an Olympic cyclist, who went on to win the World’s Professional 5,000m pursuit, (the only man to win this title four time).
Happy Birthday Jesse Vassallo!!
Jesse Vassallo (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1997)
FOR THE RECORD: 1980 US OLYMPIC TEAM: Boycott; 1984 US OLYMPIC TEAM: 4th (400m IM); WORLD RECORDS (3): 200m IM, 400m IM; 1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m backstroke, 400m IM): silver (200m IM); 1979 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (200m IM, 400m IM), silver (200m backstroke); US NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES (17): 7 short course (200yd backstroke, 200yd, 400yd IM, 400yd medley relay), 10 long course (200m backstroke, 200m 400m IM); NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE: (400yd IM); 1978 WORLD SWIMMER OF THE YEAR.
He began his swimming career at Club Deportivo de Ponce and became the most successful swimmer ever from the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. Given the name Jesus David, dubbed Cheyenne by his mother, Daise, but known throughout the world as Jesse, this young swimmer, at an early age, became the hero to many a younger competitor. During his six year international career, Jesse Vassallo set three world records in the individual medley, lasting a combined five years.
Because his father wanted better and faster training for Jesse and Jesse’s four brothers, and also to improve upon their English, the family moved from Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Miami, where, at age 11, in 1974, Jesse began swimming with the Hurricane Swim Club. Soon he won his first national record at age 13 in the 200m backstroke. At that point, his father, a successful businessman and professional basketball player, knew his son had what it took to be a champion. That year became a pivotal year for Jesse and the family as they moved to California to train under the famed Mission Viejo coach, Mark Schubert.
Under Schubert’s cautious guidance, Jesse improved enough to compete in his first National Championship meet (1976) and win his first National Championship race (1977) at Kelly Pool in Philadelphia.
In 1978, as a 17 year old “Gold Fish,” Jesse got gold fever at the Berlin World Championships, winning both the 200m and the 400m individual medleys and setting a world record in the 400m individual medley, a record he broke once more and held for four years; all while he was still in high school.
In 1979, Vassallo claimed five more US National Championships and prepared for his first swim in his native Puerto Rico since his family had left seven years previously. “I was a little nervous about swimming at the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico, a little unsure how the people would like me having gone to the United States to train. But they were great. Once I got there, I knew I wanted to swim super fast for the people and for my family,” Vassallo said. And super fast he swam, winning the 200m IM in world record time (2:03.29) and the 400m IM, and taking the silver in the 200m backstroke. Friends and relatives, all sporting yellow “Vassallo” t-shirts led the crowd in “Viva Vassallo” cheers.
Jesse Vassallo was the Kid of the IM; world record holder in both the 200m and 400m IM, World Championship gold medalist in the 400m IM, and Pan American Games gold medalist in both the 200m and 400m IM. Swimming World magazine selected him as World Swimmer of the Year and the European press chose him as one of the world’s top ten athletes, among major sports stars as Mohammed Ali, Bjorn Borg and Mario Andretti.
But hardships fell upon Jesse. He was riding high to compete at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Like many other athletes, his dreams were shattered with the Olympic boycott. His father was struck by a car on the road and never recovered, and during his illustrious career as a student athlete at the University of Miami swimming under Coach Bill Diaz, Jesse seriously damaged his left knee ligaments, requiring surgery and almost two years of recovery, keeping him out of the 1982 Guayaquil World Championships. “You don’t know what you’ve got until you don’t have it anymore. Now I want it back,” said Jesse.
Propelled by his passion for sports he inherited from his father, and the relentless spirit of a true champion, his comeback in 1984 included another national title in the 200m backstroke and another spot on the US Olympic Team where he managed a fourth place in the 400m IM race at Los Angeles.
The recovery time before the Olympics was not quite long enough to fully heal and prepare for international competition.
After 14 years, following the 1984 Games, he announced his retirement from competitive swimming. Since then, he has conducted swimming clinics in the US, Puerto Rico and Central and South America and currently coaches the swim team in his hometown. He and his brothers have established a successful manufacturing operation. Jesse lives with his wife Bethsabee and their three children Jess, Victor and Alejandro, in Puerto Rico.
Happy Birthday YOSHI OYAKAWA !!!
YOSHI OYAKAWA (USA)
1973 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1952 gold (100m backstroke); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 7 gold; NATIONAL AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 9 gold; BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 6; WORLD RECORDS: (100yd, 100m backstroke).
Hawaiian Yoshi Oyakawa won 23 major titles in his remarkable career as the last of the great straight-armed backstrokers. He won the 1952 Olympic backstroke crown at Helsinki in 1:05.4 finally breaking Adolph Kiefer’s Olympic record of 1:05.9 set in 1936. Oyakawa won 6 Big Ten, 7 NCAA and 9 NAAU gold medals during his distinguished career under coaches Sparky Kawamoto, Hilo, Hawaii, and Mike Peppe (Ohio State).
Oyakawa started competitive swimming late (15), turned over on his back at 16, and was on his way to the Olympics at 18. Yoshi went to his second Olympics (1956 Melbourne) as an Air Force Second Lieutenant, finishing 8th after breaking his 1952 Olympic record in the prelims. Neither time was as good as his 1:04.7 to win the U.S. Olympic trials in Detroit.
After 2 years active duty this great backstroker and his Ohio State Sweetheart Mariko Yamane settled in Cincinnati where they have raised four daughters and a son and enough good swimmers at Oak Hills High School for Yoshi Oyakawa to be named Ohio High School Coach of the year for 1972.
Others have bettered Oyakawa’s 100 yd. and 100m world records but none since Oyakawa have done it going straight. The newer bent arm techniques have left his records intact, as the fastest ever straight-armed backstroker.
Oyakawa marked the ending of at least one other era, the domination of world swimming by the Hawaiian Islands. Their last Olympic champions were Oyakawa and Ford Konno in 1952. Not since the six Hawaiians (including Oyakawa) swam in the 1956 Games, has one of the islanders made a U.S. Olympic team.
Yoshi Oyakawa (USA)
2017 Honor Masters Swimmer
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS (SWIMMER): World Points-634, Pre 1986 Points- 11, Total Points-645; Since 1974, he has competed in 9 age groups (40-44 through 80-84). 27 FINA MASTERS WORLD RECORDS.
Yoshinobu Oyakawa, born on the Kona side of the big island of Hawai’i, was a swimming stand-out at Hilo High School. He continued his career of swimming though his college years at the Ohio State University under the great Hall of Fame Coach, Mike Peppe. While Oyakawa was attending Ohio State, he made his first Olympic team at the age of 19. He represented the United States of America, when he travelled to Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Yoshi did not disappoint. He won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke.
In 1956, Oyakawa again made the Olympic team, where, along with Ford Konno, he was elected co-captain of the US team. At that time, he was also a 2nd Lt. in the United States Air Force.
Yoshi is considered to be the last of the great “straight-arm-pull” backstrokers, and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer in 1973. Now, 44 years later, Yoshi is again being recognized by ISHOF, but this time, for his career in Masters swimming.
Swimming has always been a big part of Oyakawa’s life. Growing up in Hawaii, Yoshi says, the ocean, the rivers and the pool at the Naval Air Station made swimming an everyday occurrence for him. So, when Ransom Arthur started Masters Swimming in the 1970’s, Yoshi says he was first in line!
Even though Oyakawa started swimming Masters in the early 1970’s, he didn’t seriously pursue it until 1985. He has been in the Top Ten for a total of 28 times. He has set a total of 27 FINA Masters world records, 13 long course and 14 short course meters, all of them in the backstroke. He has competed in three FINA Masters World Championships, winning eight gold, two silver and one bronze medal in the backstroke and freestyle events.
Yoshi says that Buster Crabbe once told him many years ago that swimming was the BEST SPORT and the people involved became your BEST FRIENDS! HOW TRUE, Yoshi says!!
Did you see Katie Ledecky visit Kaitlin Collins on CNN last night? She was great!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=324440093274005
Katie Ledecky was on CNN last night, Monday, August 7, 2023, visiting and chatting with Kaitlin Collins. Katie is so poised, gracious and well spoken, and such a great representative of USA Swimming and our young athletes. We should all be so proud of her.
If you missed the interview we have posted it here; so enjoy, and watch what an amazing well-adjusted young woman of 26 looks and sounds like!
We have much to be proud of! Go Katie!!!!
USA Swimming Announces 2024 Schedule around Olympic Trials
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
07 August 2023,
USA Swimming Announces 2024 Schedule around Olympic Trials
USA Swimming on Monday announced its schedule of events for 2024, the tentpole of which is U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June.
The year will start with three TYR Pro Swim Series dates – in Knoxville, Tenn., Jan. 10-13; Westmont, Ill., March 6-9; and San Antonio, Texas, April 10-13.
Open water championships will be held in Sarasota, Fla., May 3-5. It all builds up to Olympics Trials in Indianapolis from June 15-23, selecting the team for the Paris Olympic Games.
While swimmers are away in Paris, the Speedo Summer Champs will be held in Irvine, Calif., from July 23-27. The senior and junior championships will be combined at that event.
The Toyota U.S. Open will be held Dec. 4-7 at a site to be determined.
New to the schedule is the Club Excellence Challenge Series, in which USA Swimming has partnered with three existing meets as a last tune-up for Trials. From the press release: “Prize money will be awarded by USA Swimming to the top three finishers in each event determined from combined results across all three meets, with a leaderboard posted on usaswimming.org.”
2024 USA Swimming Calendar
Jan. 10-13: TYR Pro Swim Series, Knoxville, Tenn.
March 6-9: TYR Pro Swim Series, Westmont, Ill.
April 10-13: TYR Pro Swim Series, San Antonio, Texas
May 3-5: Open Water National and Junior National Championships Sarasota, Fla.
May 1-5: 18&U Spring Cups at Elkhart, Ind; Mesa, Ariz; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
May 15-18: Club Excellence Challenge Series, Irvine, Calif. (Speedo Grand Challenge); Atlanta, Ga. (Atlanta Classic); and Austin, Texas (Longhorn Elite Invite)
June 15-23: U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Indianapolis, Ind.
July 23-27: Speedo Summer Champs (senior and junior), Irvine, Calif.
July 24-28: Futures Meet in Huntsville, Ala.; Austin, Texas; Minneapolis, Minn.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Richmond, Va.
Dec. 4-7: Toyota U.S. Open (25y), site TBA
Dec. 11-14: Speedo Winter Juniors East and West, sites TBA
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PAN AM Aquatics Artistic Championship, August 10-13 at Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center
by: Laura Voet
Date: August 7, 2023
USA Artistic Swimming will host the 2023 Pan Am Aquatics Artistic Swimming Championship & Athletes with Disability Invitational at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center August 10th – 13th.
It will be the first artistic swimming event hosted at the new facility. Participating countries include Aruba, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Peru, Mexico and the United States of America. Over 250 athletes ranging in age from 11 to 22 years old will participate in four days of competition at the facility. The athletes represent both national federation teams as well as international and domestic clubs.
The USA will be represented by club routines that earned invitations to compete through domestic championships. In addition to the Pan Am Aquatics Championship, there will also be an invitational hosted for athletes with disabilities. Fifteen AWD athletes from three countries will participate. Tickets for spectators will be available on the USA Artistic Swimming website.
Happy Birthday Gianni Lonzi!!
Gianni Lonzi (ITA)
Honor Water Polo (2009)
FOR THE RECORD: ATHLETE: 1960 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold;1964 OLYMPIC GAMES: 4th; 1968 OLYMPIC GAMES: 4th; 1963 MEDITERRANEAN GAMES:gold; 1967, 1968 ITALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; COACH: 1976 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver; 1975 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze; 1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 1977 MEDITERRANEAN GAMES: gold; 1977 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; ADMINISTRATOR: 1988 to Present: VICE CHAIRMAN LEN EUROPEAN WATER POLO COMMITTEE; FINA TECHNICAL WATER POLO COMMITTEE: MEMBER SINCE 1992, CHAIRMAN SINCE 1996.
He was born in Florence in 1938, just steps away from the famous swimming club, Rari Nantes Firenze. On his first visit to the club, the legendary water polo figure Giordano Goggioli, threw him into the river Arno, saying: “Now you have to swim”.
He excelled in swimming and at the age of fifteen won a national title in the backstroke, but Gianni Lonzi could not resist the fascination of the ball and the cage of Water Polo. In 1953, he made his debut in the 1st Division of the Italian Water Polo league, where he proved to be an all around and tenacious player. He played for RN Firenze from 1953 to 1963 combining the roles of player, captain and coach. In 1964, he moved to Camogli assisting his team to its promotion to the 1st division. In 1967 and 1968 he played for Pro Recco, winning two National Championships. He played on the National team from 1958 up to the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games, winning the gold medal at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games and then participated in Tokyo 1964 and Mexico 1968.
After he concluded his career as an athlete in 1968,Hall of Famer Mario Majoni, the National team’s coach, called on him to coach the National Junior team. In a few years he replaced Majoni and led Italy to a bronze medal at the1975 World Championships, silver at the 1976 Olympic Games and the gold at the 1978 World Championships. During this time he also coached the 1977 and 1982 junior teams to gold medals. If that wasn’t enough, he became the Vice Chairman of the LEN water polo committee in 1988, was appointed to the FINA Technical Water Polo Committee (TWPC) in 1992 and became Chair of the TWPC in 1996 – a position he will continue through 2012.
Among his many achievements as Chairman of the committee that sets the agenda for world water polo, are the addition of women’s water polo to the Olympic program and the establishment of the FINA World Water Polo Leagues for both men and women.
Kosuke Kitajima joins the most famous names in Japanese swimming: Tsuruta, Furukawa, Furuhashi, Kiyokawa and Kitamura as he will be inducted into ISHOF as an Honor Swimmer, September 30 ~
Kosuke Kitajima becomes the twentieth Honor Swimmer from Japan to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Japan is a small country but dominated the world of swimming in the 1920’s and 1930’s with stars like Yoshiyuki Tsuruta, Masaru Furukawa, Hironoshin Furuhashi, Masaji Kiyokawa and Kuoso Kitamura.
There was a lapse after the war and it took many years for them to regain the power they once had. In 1972 Nobutaka Taguchi won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and Mayumi Aoki won gold in the 100-meter butterfly. Taguchi also won bronze in the 200 breaststroke, but it was very sporatic before and after that point.
But after Daichi Suzuki won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke, in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, it once again gave the Japanese hope and slowly things started to change. After Suzuki’s victory, the world start seeing more Japanese in the Olympic Games. Suzuki is now the President of the Japanese Swimming Federation, and Japanese names are now frequently in the finals of those Games. Names like Kusoke Kitajima. Kitajima specialized in the breaststroke. In his first Olympic Games in 2004, he captured gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke and then took bronze, swimming the breaststroke leg of the 4 x 100 medley relay representing his homeland. During the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he did an exact repeat of the 2004 Games, winning the gold medal in the 100 and 200m breaststroke, while also breaking the world record in the 100, in a time of 58.91. By winning back-to-back medals in 2004 and 2008, Kitajima became the first and only swimmer ever to sweep the breaststroke at consecutive Olympic Games. He and his team also won the bronze again in 2008 in the medley relay, and again in 2012, Kitajima and the relay team bettered it in London by winning silver. In the end, Kitajima won four gold, one silver and two bronze medals in Olympic competition.
Kitajima’s most significant rival was American and ISHOF Honoree, Brendan Hansen. The two men dueled it out at all the major events, such as the FINA World Championships and the Olympic Games. Kitajima set world records in both the 100 and 200m breaststroke, finishing his career by breaking seven world records. In all, Kitajima has competed in six (long course) World Championships. At the 2013 World Championships, he won bronze in the medley relay, extending his national record to 12, three gold, four silver and five bronze. He is a 16-time medalist at the FINA World Cup events, winning four gold, nine silver and three bronze.
Come join Kitajima-san and this year’s spectacular class of 2023 in Ft. Lauderdale. If you cannot join us, consider making a donation. To make a donation, click here: https://ishof.org/donate/
Purchase your tickets here to the ISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremony (Saturday, September 30, 2023) via Ticketmaster:
Class of 2023 Honorees
Bob Bowman (USA) / Honor Coach
Chris Carver (USA) / Honor Coach
Cesar Cielo (BRA) / Honor Swimmer
Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) / Honor Swimmer
Missy Franklin (USA / Honor Swimmer
Natalia Ischenko (RUS) / Honor Synchronized Swimmer
Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) / Honor Swimmer
Heather Petri (USA) / Honor Water Polo Player
Michael Phelps (USA) / Honor Swimmer
Wu Minxia (CHN / Honor Diver
Sam Ramsamy (RSA) / Honor Contributor
Stephane Lecat (FRA) / Honor Open Water Swimmer
Trischa Zorn (USA) / Honor Paralympic Swimmer
Friday, September 29, 2023
2023 ISHOF Aquatic Awards – Presented by AquaCal(Formerly the Paragon Awards)
2023 ISHOF Specialty Awards
Purchase Friday Night Tickets Here
Friday, September 29th Schedule:
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 Caribbean BallroomFort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach8:30 – Dinner on own
ISHOF Aquatic Awards Presented by AquaCal
Swimming: Mike Unger (USA)Diving: Ellie Smart (USA)Water Polo: Mark Koganov (AZB)Synchro: Maria Jose Brunel (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 Gawthrope
Sammy Lee Award: TBA
Duraflex Award: TBA
**All ticket sales are final unless event is canceled**
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
Happy Birthday Shelley Taylor-Smith!!
2022 Poseidon Award Winner
Shelley Taylor-Smith was one of the top elite swimmers of her generation. She won 7 majors (marathon world championships), set world speed records, beat all the men in 9 races and scored 51 victories in National, Regional and International races.
Shelley was the Honorary Secretary of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and had oversight of the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit, the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix series, the FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships, the 10km Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games.
She has been an active coach since 2009, and her swimmers have been successful in 9 solos and 2 relays across the 33 km English Channel and more than 700 solos and relays across the 19.75 km Rottnest Channel.
Finally, Shelley was on the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) Board of Directors from 2011 to 2014 and was one of the most dedicated Honorees in attending the Induction and Awards Ceremonies in 2011 (New York, USA), 2012 (Los Angeles, USA) and 2014 (Bute, Scotland). Her involvement helped IMSHOF establish a successful ceremony tradition.
She was inducted as an Honor Swimmer in IMSHOF in 1990. In 2008 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and also received The Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award.
Happy Birthday Monique Wildschut!!
Monique Wildschut (NED)
Honor Open Water Swimmer (2016)
FOR THE RECORD: Dominated Women’s Professional Races from the middle 1980’s to early 1990’s; SIX TIME WORLD PROFESSIONAL MARATHON SWIMMING ASSOCIATION CHAMPION: 1983–1988; English Channel Crossings: 1982, 1984.
Before turning professional, Monique Wildschut was a five-time Dutch Open Water Champion from 1978 through 1982. She was also a Dutch National Champion in the pool, holding records in the 800-meter freestyle and the 400 medley relay.
In her debut on the professional marathon circuit, she was the first woman to cross the finish line in Atlantic City, 1983. She continued her success that year with the fastest time in the crossing of the Traversee Internationale du Lac St. Jean in Canada, and then set a new women’s record at the Lake Magog Swim in Quebec.
Between the years of 1983 and 1988, Monique swam in the cold Canadian waters to the warm, even hot waters of Egypt and Argentina, and was a six-time World Professional Marathon Swimming Association Champion.
As a marathon swimmer, swimming the English Channel is a must if you truly want to be respected. Monique swam the English Channel twice, once in 1982 and again in 1984. Her first swim she began at night. Mental toughness is something Monique believes is critical in marathon swimming. During the Channel swim, she was seasick and the waves were quite rough, but the worst part Monique said was the fact that she was afraid the people on the boat were going to lose her. Still she continued on and finished the channel in a time of 8 hours and 44 minutes, a fast time for those conditions. For the second channel swim, she decided to go for the record of 7 hours and 40 seconds. Unfortunately, the currents do not always cooperate. The currents were stronger than the calculations. Although Monique ended up with the season record for both men and women, she missed her goal by 39 minutes.
Today Monique helps people who have problems with communication , like children and adults with autism, severe speech and language impedements, or concentration and learning disabilities to break through their blockages. She has also started M4ce Mental Mastery for More Medals, helping top athletes with breaking through their mental blockage and to balance their mental state optimally for top rankings. She has also just written a book, Hardships of a Marathon Swimmer.