Happy Birthday Susan O’Neill!!
Susan O’Neill (AUS)
Honor Swimmer (2006)
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (200m butterfly); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m butterfly), silver (4x100m medley relay); bronze (4x200m freestyle relay); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m freestyle), silver (200m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay); FOUR WORLD RECORDS: 200m butterfly (1-50m, 3-25m); 1993 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (100m butterfly), silver (200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle), bronze (4x100m medley); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze (100m, 200m butterfly); 1995 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (200m butterfly, 4x100m medley), silver (200m freestyle, 100m butterfly), bronze (4x200m freestyle); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m butterfly), silver (4x100m medley), bronze (4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); 1990 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: silver (100m butterfly); 1994 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (200m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); silver (100m butterfly); 1998 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 400m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, silver (100m butterfly); 1999 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m freestyle, 200m butterfly), silver (100m butterfly); 35 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.
Just as fellow Australian Dawn Fraser was known in 1956 as the woman who broke Willy den Ouden’s (NED) 20 year old, 100m freestyle world record, so is Susie O’Neill known as the woman who broke Mary T. Meagher’s (USA) 19 year old, 200m butterfly world record. Susie broke the record at the 2000 Australian Olympic Trials. At the 2000 Sydney Games, she tried to equal the gold medal swim she had in this event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, but won the silver medal behind Misty Hyman (USA). After the water settled, Susie still maintained a hold on the world record and held it for another two years. Being the competitor she was, she won the 200m freestyle gold medal in Sydney.
Having never lost a butterfly race between Olympic Games (1996-2000), she took on Mary T’s nickname of Madame Butterfly. Could there be two Madame Butterflies? Susie and Mary T. were from two different eras, two different times, each distinct just as when Eva Szekeley of Hungary, the first Madame Butterfly, received her nickname in 1952.
Susie has 35 Australian Championships to her name, breaking Hall of Famer Sir Frank Beaurepaire’s long standing record from 100 years earlier. Her outstanding Commonwealth Games performance gives her the most medals won by a female swimmer (ten gold, five silver) in Commonwealth history. Six of the gold medals were won at one Commonwealth Games (1998 Kuala Lumpur), a record equaled only by swimmer Ian Thorpe.
Happy Birthday Gail Neall!!
Gail Neall (AUS)
Honor Swimmer (1996)
FOR THE RECORD: 1972 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (400m I.M.), 7th (200m butterfly); ONE WORLD RECORD: 400m I.M.; 1970 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: silver (400m I.M.); 1974 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: bronze (200m butterfly; THREE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS; SEVEN NATIONAL RECORDS; THREE CANADIAN OPEN RECORDS.
At age eight, her coach, Queensland’s Marlene Towne, couldn’t get her to take her foot off the bottom of the pool, but once she did Gail Neall swam like a bullet spun out of its barrel.
The local swim coach said she was not good enough to join the swim team, so she joined up with coach Arthur Cusack until which time her family moved to Sydney where Gail, at age ten, got her first treat of swimming for the legendary coach Forbes Carlile.
With good coaching, success came quickly for Gail. At age eleven, she won her first age group New South Wales Championship in the 100m backstroke. At age twelve she entered her first Australian National Championship and competed for eight years at this meet, winning three National Championships.
By 1970 she had qualified for the Commonwealth Games of Edinburgh as the youngest member of the Aussie team and weighing only 111 pounds. She won the silver medal which gave her the incentive to aim for the Olympic Games of 1972.
She sought the tutelage of Commonwealth Games coach Don Talbot who, as a master motivator, prepared her for her biggest challenge: the Olympic Games of 1972. Qualifying at the Olympic Trials in Brisbane, Gail competed in three grueling events in Munich – the 200m individual medley, 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley. In her strong event, the 400m individual medley, she qualified sixth after the preliminaries but in the finals she surprised the world by dropping an incredible nine seconds from her heat time and winning the gold medal for Australia, breaking Claudia Kolbs’ four year world record. Gail became the last swimmer to hold the 400m individual medley world record before the East German swimmers set the record 21 out of the last 23 years.
In 1974, Gail retired from swimming and on a teaching scholarship attended Kuring Gai College of Advanced Education. She married Ross Yeo and moved to Mendooran, where they now live on a farm with their four children. She does some casual teaching and tries to swim for exercise, difficult to do as she lives about as far away from water as you can get.
Gail Neall visits schools talking to children about doing their best and striving to reach their goals. She was the best in the world – she went as far as a swimmer can go, the Olympic Championship. Now her championship attitude to life strive to make champions of us all.
Wacky Wednesday: A laugh for you today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPkVY2Lrum0&t=5s
BUY your ISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremony Tickets (September 30, 2023) now available via our beautiful new venue: The Parker Playhouse!
BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE:
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 Resort and Spa
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 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: Norman 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
**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
Watch WORLD AQUATICS “Legends of Fukuoka”
World Championships, Day Eight Finals: United States Breaks Through With Dominant Men’s Medley Relay Win
American backstroker Ryan Murphy — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
30 July 2023, 05:55am
World Championships, Day Eight Finals: United States Breaks Through With Dominant Men’s Medley Relay Win
The top of the podium has proved elusive for the United States thus far at the World Championships. The Americans have won a substantial share of medals, tying the second-most-prolific performance in the pool in Worlds history in terms of overall count, but they had won only four gold medals entering the meet’s final day. Significantly, they had missed winning all previous relays, earning silver or bronze on each occasion despite solid performances.
But the U.S. foursome in the men’s 400 medley relay broke that pattern in dramatic fashion, with some California Golden Bear and New Jersey flair. Poised to face a challenge from upstart China, fueled by triple breaststroke gold medalist Qin Haiyang handling that stroke, the U.S. team never trailed.
On backstroke, Ryan Murphy jumped out to a lead of more than one second. He touched in 52.04, ahead of his winning time of 52.22 from the individual 100-meter final. In comparison, China’s Xu Jiayu, likely fatigued after earning bronze in the 50 back final earlier in the evening, swam a time of 53.39 that was three-quarters of a second behind his time from the individual final, where he placed fourth in 52.64.
Qin went to work on breaststroke to close the gap on American Nic Fink, but the 30-year-old who finished in a three-way tie for silver in the 100 breast did not yield. He split 58.03, the quickest mark of his career, so Qin only narrowed the margin by seven tenths with his 57.43 split. The Americans owned an eight-tenth lead at the halfway point, giving way to a pair of rookies, both New Jersey-natives like Fink and both representing Cal, Murphy’s alma mater, in collegiate competition. Both men were finishing off extremely impressive senior international debuts this week in Fukuoka.
In his first international relay final one day after claiming bronze in the individual 100 fly, Dare Rose shined on his leg with a 50.13 split. A pair of swimmers surpassed Rose on that leg, with France’s Maxime Grousset blasting a 49.27 that only Caeleb Dressel has ever surpassed and Australia’s Matt Temple went 50.10. But butterfly was China’s weakest leg, with Wang Changhao splitting 51.56, allowing Rose to give the Americans a lead of more than one second.
“It was super special,” Rose said of his swim and the entire race. “I knew we had two veterans on the team, so obviously didn’t want to let them down. Obviously wanted to do something special at the same time. I just put my head down at the wall, made sure I touched.”
As Jack Alexy entered the pool to anchor, the U.S. team was in an ideal spot. Alexy broke out in Fukuoka with a pair of unexpected individual silver medals in the 100 free and 50 free along with a relay silver and bronze entering the final day, and Alexy would not be caught here, splitting 47.00 to bring the Americans home with a convincing victory.
The final time for the Americans was 3:27.20, the second-fastest relay performance ever, behind only the Americans’ world record of 3:26.78 set at the Tokyo Olympics. They beat the championship record of 3:27.28 set by the U.S. during the polyurethane-suit World Championships in 2009.
The win was the first world title for the Americans in this event since 2017 after a pair of dramatic finishes left the U.S. with silver. Last year, Italy rode a strong front half to a world title (before surprisingly failing to make the final this year) while Great Britain was victorious in 2019 thanks to Adam Peaty’s breaststroke brilliance and Duncan Scott posting the second-quickest freestyle split ever.
“I love finishing that way. Going into that race, we take a lot of pride in racing for the U.S. and really having great swimmers over all four strokes, that gives us a lot of confidence behind the blocks,” Murphy said. “I think it’s a really resilient group. Coming out of the meet, we all know that there’s room to improve for next year, and I think everyone’s leaving this meet really hungry and really motivated. At the same time, it’s nice to have that little confidence boost at the end of the meet and we can take that excitement and build on it.”
Fink added that even though Rose and Alexy were each swimming in this position for the first time, he believed in their capabilities to secure this gold medal based on their track records of performance throughout the week.
“I think they were confident enough. They’re good enough to where they stepped up big this week,” Fink said. “I don’t think they were relying on us to get them a big lead. They knew what they had to do and we knew what we had to do. In that sense, we were all going into it knowing we had a job to do, and we were able to accomplish the job.”
China, with Pan Zhanle anchoring with the field’s quickest split at 46.62, grabbed silver in 3:29.00. The achievement was China’s first-ever medal in the men’s 400 medley relay. Australia ended up earning bronze as Kyle Chalmers came home in 46.62, joining Bradley Woodward, Zac Stubblety-Cook and Temple to swim a time of 3:29.62. The men’s medley was seemingly Australia’s weakest relay, but this foursome got onto the podium to ensure a podium finish in all four events.
France, with Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Leon Marchand and Hadrian Salvan joining Grousset, placed fourth in 3:29.88, while Great Britain ended up fifth in 3:30.16 after a strong 46.93 anchor leg from Matt Richards.
World Championships, Day Eight Finals: Team USA Delivers Golden Finale In Women’s 400 Medley Relay
GOLDEN START: Regan Smith gave the USA a gold medal start in the 4x100m medley relay. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick.
Editorial content for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships is sponsored by FINIS, a longtime partner of Swimming World and leading innovator of suits, goggles and equipment.
by IAN HANSON – OCEANIA CORRESPONDENT
30 July 2023,
World Championships, Day Eight Finals: Team USA Delivers Golden Finale In Women’s 400 Medley Relay
Team USA has finished the 20th World Championships on a golden high, winning the women’s 4x100m medley relay for the ninth time since 1978 and its fourth straight crown in six years – as the Americans enjoyed its best night of the week winning three gold.
The US girls – Regan Smith (backstroke), Lilly King (breaststroke), Gretchen Walsh (butterfly) and Katie Douglas (freestyle) put on a show to lead from the opening leg to touch first in 3:52.08.
Australia with Kaylee McKeown, Abbey Harkin, Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan chased the US home to take the silver in 3:53.37 with the Canadian quartet Kylie Masse, Sophie Angus, Maggie McNeil and Summer McIntosh holding on for a brave bronze in 3:54.12.
Former 100m backstroke world record holder, Smith, gave the Americans the best possible start, beating Australian nemesis McKeown for the first time in a final this week with an opening split of 57.68 – just 0.23 off McKeown’s world mark – and the US were never headed.
Smith gave Lilly King clear water and the breaststroke queen delivered like she has in every relay since 2017, touching in a stunning 1:04.93 and followed by Walsh who hung tough in 57.06 before the versatile Douglas delivered the gold on a platter, splitting 52.41.
King has been the one constant over the last four world championship wins and Smith, who set her first world record leading off in the team’s 2019 victory has stood on the podium alongside King for the last three in Gwangju, Budapest and now Fukuoka.
They will now set themselves to wrest the Olympic title back from the Australians who surged to the gold in Tokyo in 2021 but who were no match for the Americans today.
For the Aussies, it was triple backstroke world champion here, McKeown touching in second in 57.91, followed by Harkin holding third with a breaststroke split of 1.07.07, with McKeon touching fourth in the fly in 56.44.
Two-time 100 and 200m world champion here, Mollie O’Callaghan taking the Dolphins into the silver medal position with the fastest freestyle split of the day, touching in 51.95.
The Canadians were in second place for the first three legs, led off by the Masse in 58.74, followed by Angus in 1:06.21, Olympic butterfly champion McNeill in the second fastest time of the day in 55.69 before McIntosh finished in 53.48 to put the Canucks on the podium.
Sarah Sjostrom Looking at Return to 100 Butterfly for 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
31 July 2023, 03:40am
Sarah Sjostrom Looking at Return to 100 Butterfly for 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
Meeting with reporters on the final night of the World Championships, Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom indicated that a return to the 100-meter butterfly is likely for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. Sjostrom managed a scaled-back program in Fukuoka, contesting only the 50-meter butterfly and 50 freestyle on an individual basis.
Sjostrom certainly maximized her events, as she won a fifth consecutive world crown in the 50 fly and posted the fastest-two times in history in the 50 freestyle. In the semifinals of the 50 free, Sjostrom rocketed to a time of 21.61. She followed that effort with a clocking of 21.62 for the gold medal, the record 21st individual medal of her World Champs career.
China’s former world no. 1 Feng Shanshan retires from professional golf
A different schedule will be embraced by Sjostrom when the Olympics are held in the French capital. Sjostrom told media in Fukuoka that she would compete in the 50 and 100 freestyle and was likely to compete in the 100 butterfly. The 100 fly put Sjostrom on the international map when she won the world championship and set a world record in the event at the 2009 World Championships in Rome.
Sjostrom is the world-record holder in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
World Championships: Leon Marchand, Kaylee McKeown Named Swimmers of the Meet
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
30 July 2023, 06:28am
World Championships: Leon Marchand, Kaylee McKeown Named Swimmers of the Meet
On the strength of three individual titles each, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and France’s Leon Marchand were named World Aquatics’ Swimmers of the Meet at the World Championships in Fukuoka. The recognition is based on power points accumulated in individual events throughout the eight-day competition.
Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
As Australia led the gold-medal count, McKeown swept the backstroke events – winning over 50, 100 and 200 meters. The meet got off to a rough start for the 22-year-old, as she was disqualified for an illegal turn in the semifinals of the 200 individual medley. McKeown obviously bounced back. The 50 backstroke was won in an Oceania record of 27.08 while she set a championship record of 57.53 in the 100 back.
Marchand flourished from the start, setting a world record of 4:02.50 in the 400 individual medley on the opening day of the meet. That performance broke the nearly 15-year-old standard of Michael Phelps from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Marchand followed by claiming gold in the 200 butterfly (1:52.43) and 200 individual medley (1:54.82), both events making him the No. 3 performer in history.
While McKeown and Marchand left Japan with Swimmer of the Meet recognition, there were other candidates for the honor. Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan (100 freestyle/200 freestyle), Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom (50 freestyle/50 butterfly) and Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte (50 breaststroke/100 breaststroke) each won a pair of individual events and set a world record. O’Callaghan broke her global standard in the 200 freestyle while Sjostrom lowered the world record in the 50 free. Meilutyte first tied the world record in the 50 breaststroke, and then lowered it.
American Katie Ledecky (800 freestyle/1500 freestyle) and Canadian Summer McIntosh (200 butterfly/400 individual medley) each posted two victories while Ariarne Titmus of Australia set a world record in the 400 freestyle, was the silver medalist in the 200 free in the No. 3 time in history and earned bronze in the 800 free.
On the men’s side, Marchand was joined as triple-event champion by China’s Qin Haiyang, who swept the breaststroke events. Qin set a world record in the 200 breaststroke and became the No. 2 performer of all-time in the 50 breaststroke and 100 breaststroke.
Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui also warrants recognition. Hafnaoui was the gold medalist in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle and the silver medalist in the 400 free.
Happy Birthday Ingrid Kramer!!
Ingrid Kramer (GDR)
Honor Diver (1975)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1960 gold (3m springboard, 10m platform); 1964 gold (springboard), silver (platform); 1968 5th (springboard); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1962 gold (springboard).
In the 1958 European Championships a pert blonde 15-year-old Dresden doll named Ingrid Kramer was fourth off the springboard and eighth off the tower. Ten years later at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, 25-year-old Frau Ingrid Gulbin-Kramer finished 5th in springboard diving. In between, the Deutscher Democratic Republic’s first great aquatics star was the world’s top diver and under three different names. In 1960 Fraulein Kramer became the first non-American woman in forty years to win an Olympic diving gold medal. She did it twice, winning both the 3-meter springboard and the 10-meter platform. Again at Tokyo in 1964, Miss Kramer, now Mrs. Engel-Kramer (Engel was a wrestler) sniffed gold and won the springboard, although second to American Leslie Bush off the tower. In Mexico she was Frau Gulbin-Kramer and again an Olympic finalist.
Rated off numbers of Olympic golds and length of time at the top, only the USA’s Pat McCormick a double winner at Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956, is ahead of Ingrid Kramer on the all-time women’s diver list. Paula Jean Meyers, USA, in three Olympics was bridesmaid to both McCormick and Kramer. Juno Stover, USA, was in more Olympics (4) but did not finish so high so often (one silver and one bronze).
Perhaps Ingrid Kramer’s greatest diving was not in any of her three Olympics but at the 1962 European Championships where she won the springboard by 14.79 points and the tower by 12.04. She is the first East German honored at the International Swimming Hall of Fame.