Masters Divers are headed to Fort Lauderdale!
2023 Masters Spring National Championship in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Masters Divers vying the chance at National Titles
Fort Lauderdale, FL— April 28, 2023 — USA Masters Diving is excited to hold the2023 USA Masters National Championships at the newly renovated Fort Lauderdale AquaticComplex from Friday, April 28 – Sunday, April 30, 2023.
Talented Field of Athletes
The very best springboard and platform divers from around the country, as well asnumerous international competitors, aged 21 to 89 will gather to determine the USA MastersNational Champions in the 1 meter, 3 meter and platform events. Many decorated competitorswill be comprising the field, including past Masters Nationals Champions, Masters PanAmerican Champions, and Master World Champions.
Competition begins Friday morning.
MISHOF Honoree John Denninger
MISHOF Honoree Jennifer Mangum
MISHOF Honoree Felix Grossman
The divers will begin competition on Friday and will continue through Sunday, beginning eachday at 9:00 AM. Spectators are welcome to witness these amazing athletes’ talents throughout theweekend. Competition will not only include individual diving events, but also synchronized diving.Come out to watch all the action at The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex at 501 Seabreeze Blvd, FortLauderdale, FL 33316.
For more information, press only:Heather Carrano – Chair, USA Masters Divinginfo@mastersdiving.org
For more information on USA Masters Diving:http://mastersdiving.org/
Happy, Happy Birthday! Today we celebrate Honorees Marco D’Altrui (ITA~2010), Milena Duchkova (CZE~1983) and Tom Stock (USA~1989)
Marco D’Altrui (ITA)
Honor Water Polo Player (2010)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 1984, 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: 7th; FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1994, gold; 1986, silver; FINA CUPS: 1983-bronze; 1985, 1987-5th, 1989-silver; 1993-gold; 1983 MEDITERRANEAN GAMES: bronze; 1987, 1990 MEDITERRANEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 1983 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 6th; 1985 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4th; 1987, 1989 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: bronze; 1993 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold.
For the first time in history, the International Swimming Hall of Fame is recognizing a father and son as one, jointly in the same year. This honor goes to three-time Olympic water polo players Giuseppe and Marco D’Altrui of Italy.
Giuseppe “Geppino” D’Altrui was born in Naples on April 7, 1934. He played in over 300 Series A games, from 1952 through 1964. Coached by Hall of Famer Mario Majoni, Giuseppe competed in 75 Italian National Team games from 1954 to 1964. He was a member of the 1956 Italian Olympic Team that competed in Melbourne finishing fourth, but as the Captain of the 1960 Olympic Team, he helped to lead his team to a gold medal victory in front of a home-town crowd at the Rome Olympic Games. He was also Captain of the 1964 Olympic Team that just finished out of the medal count.
Giuseppe’s love for the game flowed naturally from his love of being in the water. “I can say that I have spent more time in the water than on earth and for me is never enough!”
Following in the footsteps of famous fathers can be a difficult burden for young athletes and few are the ones who achieve the same level of success. But for Marco, who was born on April 24, 1964, following in the wake of his father came as naturally as learning to swim, which he did before he was three years of age. “For me to stay in the water was a game, fun, a hobby. I was diving and played with the ball in full freedom from the time I was three,” says Marco.
Milena Duchkova (CZE)
Honor Diver (1983)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1968 gold (platform), 1972 silver (platform); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1970 gold (platform); EUROPEAN CUP: 1967, 1971 gold (platform); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 silver (platform); CZECHOSLOVAKIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 62 (1965-1977); ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3; EAST GERMAN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3; SWEDISH CUP: 1; Swimming World magazine’s World’s most outstanding female “Platform Diver of the Year”: 1968, 1970.
Milena Duchkova won Czechoslovakia’s first, second and only Olympic medals in any aquatic sport and she was the first female tower diver from any country to score more than 100 total points in the Olympics. This courageous little (5′ 2 1/2″) tower diver with the big eyes and the cute button nose started diving at age 12 and won the Olympics at 16, in 1968, although she wasn’t sure until two weeks before the Olympics that she would be allowed to go to Mexico for the competition. Her country was occupied by the Russians at that time, and she had to cross a bridge guarded by Soviet guards each day to train. She came back to win the silver medal in 1972 and competed (without medaling) in 1976 after she had shoulder surgery 8 weeks before the Games. She received the Czechoslovakian “President’s Award of Distinction” in 1972. Milena was a member of the Czech Olympic Committee and official medical doctor for the Czech diving team in 1978-1979. She began coaching in Prague 1978-1980 and in 1980 moved to Canada as head diving coach for the Newfoundland diving team, acting also as a coach and consultant to the Canadian National diving team. A brilliant student as well as athlete, Milena is fluent in 6 languages, won her Master of Sport ’66. Meritorious Master of Sport ’68, and coaching certificate also ’68. She graduated as an M.D. in 1977 into the faculty of medicine with a specialty in dental surgery. On immigrating to Canada, she worked her way through dental school at the University of Manitoba in two years and is presently on the faculty while still coaching the Pan Am Diving Club in Winnipeg. Her coach was Marie Cermakova throughout her diving career.
From his father’s example Marco learned to love the water and the dedication, commitment and time management skills that make a champion. He played in over 700 Series A matches as a member of Recco and Pescara and like his father before him was a member of the national team for ten years. In 1984 and 1988 he was on the Olympic teams that finished 7th in Los Angeles and Seoul. Then, playing for Hall of Fame coach Ratko Rudic, at the 1992 Olympic Games, Marco and the Settebello once again won the gold, 32 years after his father. As a great defensive player, Marco helped to keep his opponents from scoring, resulting in a grand slam of the Italian National Team from 1992-1994 (Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships) and a grand slam of European Cups (Euro League Cup, Winners Cup, LEN Cup and LEN Super Cup).
“When athletes are young,” says Marco, “certainly the most credit goes to parents for their commitment both in terms of organization of management of daily life. I have no regrets at the sacrifices and am delighted to have followed in the footsteps of my father. Perhaps the best thing about the gold medal won in Barcelona was just to see the joy and emotion of my parents when I got off the plane with the medal around my neck. To win the Olympics was a dream that I’ve always had and it has accompanied me since I played with a small ball in the shallow water. I always wanted to imitate my father, who had won the gold medal at the Olympics in Rome. It goes to show that if you dream it, and work hard, you can do it.”
Tom Stock (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1989)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: WORLD RECORDS: 10 (100m, 200m, 220yd backstroke; relays); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 11 (100m, 200m, 220yd backstroke; relays; AMERICAN RECORDS: 14 (200yd, 220 yd, 100m, 200m backstroke; relays).
Tom Stock may just be the greatest backstroker who never swam in the Olympics, due to prolonged illness before the 1964 Olympic Games. He may have been the smallest backstroker to hold a world record. He weighed in at 130 lbs. and set 10 world records. When he was in his second month of competition at Indiana University, Stock became the first man in history to swim the 200 yard backstroke under 2 minutes. This was a performance that caused his coach, “Doc” Counsilman to put a sign on the locker room door which said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
This desire and an amazing feel of the water, long arms and a powerful kick, made Tom Stock great in the opinion of his famous coach. To the spectators he looked like he was riding on top of the water from the waist up. This unique buoyancy, plus the fastest arm turnover yet seen in backstroke, took him to 11 National championships, 14 American records and five world records in the 100 meter, 200 meter, 110 yard, 220 yard backstroke and the 400 meter medley relay. For four years he was the World Record holder and “King” of the 200 meter backstroke.
It started just after the Rome Olympics and finished just before Tokyo in 1964. In between, he victoriously represented the USA in Japan, South America, and Europe and was The American Swimmer of the Year in 1962. Stock had only two coaches, Dave Stacy at Bloomington, Illinois and “Doc” Counsilman at Bloomington, Indiana. He missed making the 1960 U.S. Olympic team by a judge’s decision. They took only two and not three as chosen in previous Olympics.
#ISHOF #Honorees #Birthdays #Swimming #Diving #Waterpolo #USA #Italy #Czech Republic #FortLauderdale #Olympics #ISHOFMuseum #FortLauderdaleAquaticCenter
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to XU YIMING !! THE GREAT CHINESE DIVING COACH ~
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: Head Diving Coach (men, women); Coach of OLYMPIC DIVERS: winning 15 gold medals, 4 silver medals, 1 bronze medal; NATIONAL TEAM HEAD COACH: 1985-2000; 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994, 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Head Diving Coach (men, women); Coach of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DIVERS: winning 10 gold medals, 7 silver medals, 4 bronze medals; Served Four Terms on FINA TECHNICAL DIVING COMMITTEE 1984-2000.
Born in 1942 in Guang Dong Province, China, Xu Yiming was destined to lead his country to world dominance in the sport of diving. He began as an eight-year-old diver, diving for Coaches Lui Chen Hai (1950-1960) and then Chen Kuan Xian (1960-1973). But it was not until age 30, in 1972, that he won the 10-meter platform event at the China National Games. The next year, Xu took the step from competitor to coach and started a dynasty of World and Olympic Champions.
From his coaching debut in 1973, Xu rapidly ascended in coaching success. With a strong sense of responsibility, he felt ill-at-ease about China’s slow progress in diving. He was convinced that the Chinese divers would some day do as well as any great divers in the world, provided that they broke away from conventional training methods and tried something new. Trainees used to practice basic somersault skills on a trampoline while a complete dive had to be tried over the pool at the risk of getting whopped by the water. With his diving experience, Xu knew only too well what a belly-flop was like. After carefully studying the training methods used by other coaches, he invented a new device for trampoline exercise. With two pulleys fixed on the ceiling and a belt attached to the waist of the trainee, he was able to increase the height of flight and the speed of somersaults to lengthen the time of descent so that the trainee could take his time in completing a sophisticated dive with his eyes open in the air.
It was with this new method of training that, at the 1974, 7th Asian Games in Teheran, the Chinese Diving Team swept all four gold medals. His first star pupil, Li Kongzhen, then only 15, was a victor.
Xu became five-times Olympic Diving Coach (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000) and from 1984-2000, coached divers to 15 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 1 bronze medal in Olympic competition, winning more than one-half of the available gold medals in those five Olympiads. In his 16 years as National Team Head Coach, Xu’s Olympic and World Championship medal winners include: Li Conejeng (platform 1984 Olympic bronze, 1986 World Championships silver); Tan Liangde (3m springboard 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic silver); Zhou Jihong (platform 1984 Olympic gold); Chen Lin (platform 1986 World Championships gold); Xu Yanmei (platform 1988 Olympic gold); Gao Min (3m springboard 1988 and 1992 Olympic gold); Sun Shuwei (platform 1992 Olympic gold); Fu Mingxia (platform 1992 Olympic gold, 3m springboard and platform 1996 Olympic gold, 3m springboard 2000 Olympic gold); Xiong Ni (3m springboard 1996, 2000 Olympic gold); Tiao Liang (platform 2000 Olympic gold); Xiong Ni / Xiao Hailiang (3m springboard synchro 2000 Olympic gold); Tian Liang / Hu Jia (10m platform synchro 2000 Olympic silver); Guo Jingjing / Fu Mingxia (3m springboard synchro 2000 Olympic gold); and Li Na / Sang Xue (10m platform synchro 2000 Olympic gold).
Xu was also “coaching” the coaches to advance their level of technique. Eighty percent of all diving coaches attended his two- to four-month long seminars held throughout the provinces.
From 1984-2000 Xu served four terms on the FINA Technical Diving Committee. In 1996, he offered and edited Basic Diving Coaching Manual, a 412-page publication presented by FINA to the world diving community. Printed in multiple languages, it describes his training methods used from 1973-1995 and includes new, innovative dryland equipment he introduced.
In 2000, FINA appointed Xu to produce a 10-volume video series on diving coaching which includes material from his first publication as well as new methods used from 1995-2002.
Xu is engaged to establish an international diving training center with all amenities and has designed competitive stadiums throughout China including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as well as at TsingHua University in Beijing. New dryland training facilities are designed with each location.
To Xu, success lies with strict discipline. You can never train too long or too hard. A perfectionist, Xu has an insatiable desire for success. He trains children into world champions.
#ishof #diving #olympics #fortlauderdale #paris2024 #china #usa #honoree #birthday
Have you met the PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC Mascots?
Shared from Paris 2024
Olympic Phryge
The name of the Paris 2024 mascot is Olympic Phryge, based on the traditional small Phrygian hats that the mascots are shaped after. The name and design were chosen as symbols of freedom and to represent allegorical figures of the French republic.
Description
The Olympic Phryge takes the shape and form of a Phrygian cap. As Paris 2024’s vision is to demonstrate that sport can change lives, the mascots will be playing a major role by leading a revolution through sport. The Olympic Phryge is decked out in blue, white and red – the colours of France’s famed tricolor flag – with the golden Paris 2024 logo emblazoned across its chest.
Creator
Paris 2024 Design team
Did you know?
The Phrygian caps the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic mascots are based on have been a symbol of freedom throughout French history. They are a common reference for French people, including in the world of art (as a metaphor for freedom) and as a symbol of the Republic in French institutions. Phrygian caps can be seen sat atop the head of the iconic figure Marianne in every town hall and even feature on everyday objects in France such as coins and stamps. They are also an international symbol of liberty worn by freed slaves in Roman times and appearing on different emblems in North and South America. Also known as the liberty cap, the Phrygian cap has become one of the symbols of the French Republic.
The motto of the Olympic Phryge and Paralympic Phryge is: “Alone we go faster, but together we go further,” representing the ways in which the mascots, and the people of the world, can make each other better by working side-by-side.
THE PHRYGE TRIBE’SGOLDEN DUO:
THE OLYMPIC PHRYGE and THE PARALYMPIC PHRYGE
THE OLYMPICPHRYGEAlways thoughtful and an astute strategist, she embarks on adventures only after carefully weighing up all of the pros and cons. Just like the Olympic athletes, she knows the importance of measuring all the various parameters to achieve her goals. With her sharp mind, she is modest and prefers to hide her emotions. The Olympic Phryge will lead the movement of all those who take part in sport, and believe us, she will give her all to get France moving!
THE PARALYMPICPHRYGE
Did you recognise her with her running prosthetic? With this, she can run lightning speed. Her thing is to blaze a trail, some might say she is fearless, which might be true, but one thing is certain, she hates to be bored and loves trying out new things. No matter which sport, as a team or on her own, she is always game. With her, you will get moving, playing, dancing, sweating! With her mindset as the perfect supporter, she loves promoting the values of sport, celebrating athletes in all arenas and all of the Games venues, and partying to celebrate victories or get over defeats.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS!!!! WE CELEBRATE SWIMMERS ALEX BAUMANN AND RICK DEMONT TODAY
Alex Baumann (CAN)
Honor Swimmer (1992)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1984 gold (200m & 400m individual medley); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1979 bronze (400m individual medley); FINA CUP: 1979 gold (400m individual medley); WORLD RECORDS: 5 (200m individual medley), 5 (400m individual medley); COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold, 2 (200m individual medley), 2 (400m individual medley); CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 34 titles, 32 national records; WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1986 silver ( 200m individual medley), bronze (400m individual medley).
It was in 1912 that Canadian Olympian George Hodgson won gold medals in swimming for Canada. It was not until 72 years later that Alex Baumann of Sudbury, Ontario won the next gold medal for Canada in swimming. Baumann won the 200m and 400m individual medley, establishing world records in both. Bauman joins only two other Canadians to win in a summer Olympics before him–Hodgson and runner Percy Williams in 1928. Teammates Victor Davis and Ann Ottenbrite joined Alex as Olympic champions in 1984, winning the men’s and women’s breaststroke.
From 1978-1987, Baumann won 34 Canadian National Championships, establishing 32 national records in the sprint freestyle as well as both individual medley events. He swam all events: backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. He started as an age group swimmer who reached every young swimmer’s goal–the Olympic gold. Baumann won five golds in Commonwealth Games competition and established a total of three world records in the 200 I.M. and two world records in the 400 I.M.. Undefeated from 1981 through 1986, Alex’s records stood for six years.
Alex, known as Sasa to his family and close friends, was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and came to Canada with his parents as a young boy. He learned how to swim at age five and soon after joining the Laurentian University Swim Club, which he would coach 20 years later, showed talent for the sport. His large hands and feet worked like paddles and his intense training turned swimming into his life.
Through long-term collaboration with his coach of fourteen years, Dr. Jeno Tihanyi, Alex overcame obstacles which would have defeated a lesser champion. He had repeated bouts of tendonitis and shoulder problems which prevented him from competing for most of 1982, including having to miss the World Championships. The deaths of his father and older brother left profound gaps in his life, but Tihanyi played a major role in keeping him focused on his goals. Perhaps his single most admired quality was his disciplined approach to swimming. He always gave 100 percent. Every swim was a race. Nothing was wasted. Alex was a bit of a prankster, but never lost his humbleness and feel for his teammates and others. His self-determination to excel, coupled with a swimming program geared to his style, were the keys to his success.
Following his retirement, Alex became a sports broadcaster for CBC television at the 1988 Olympic Games. Among his many honors, he was the Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year in 1984 and was chosen as the flag bearer at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, 1983 World University Games and the 1984 Olympic Games.
Rick DeMont (USA)Honor Swimmer (1990)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: WORLD RECORDS: 3 (400m, 1500m freestyle; relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 gold (200m freestyle), silver (1500m freestyle); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1975 gold (relay), silver (200m freestyle); AMERICAN RECORDS: 4 (400m, 1500m freestyle; 2 relays); AAU RECORDS: 5 (400m, 1500m freestyle; relays); First under 4 minutes for 400m freestyle.
Rick DeMont was born in San Rafael California, April 21, 1956. It did not take him long to become a record breaker, as seen by his 10 and under age group national record. Rick developed as a dominant middle distance swimmer, leading to his first world mark of 15:52.91 in the 1500 meters freestyle at the age of 16.
Then it was the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. At age 16, Rick DeMont became the youngest male swimmer ever to win the Olympic 400 meter freestyle, and he was favored to win the 1500 meter event too. He had already qualified for the finals. Then, suddenly he was removed form the pool, stripped of his medal and disqualified from any further competition. It seemed grossly unfair at the time, and times have not changed the feeling in most of us. It seems that Rick’s asthma medication included a trace of a substance called ephedrine, which was banned by the Olympic Medical Commission. When he was tested, it showed up in his sample. He made no attempt to hide it, for he had written it on his medical questionnaire form. The U.S. team doctors, not the 16 year old kid, were guilty. There was no way this trace of medication could have affected the outcome of DeMont’s race performance, even though he had been using medication to enable him to exercise with asthma since the age of four. However, the rule was innocently broken, and Rick is still hoping someday his case will be reviewed.
In 1973, at the first World Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, DeMont won the 400 meter freestyle, without the banned substance, beating Brad Cooper, the Australian who had won De Monts’s Olympic gold medal by default. Cooper, who wanted to win it in the pool, was magnificent, but he lost by .52 seconds as Rick won in a new world record of 3:58.18 the first man to break the four minute barrier for the distance. Cooper was also under the four minute barrier, but lost by a touch.
1973 is the same year Rick was voted World Swimmer of the Year.
Today, Rick is an artist living in California. His achievements as the best in the world will always remain.
#ishof #usaswimming #rickdemont #alexbaumann #SwimmingCanada #artist #arizonawildcats #honorees #olympics #worldrecords
WU MINXIA BECOMES 7th FEMALE CHINESE DIVER TO BE INDUCTED INTO ISHOF – BUT NO ONE HAS MORE OLYMPIC MEDALS……SEVEN TOTAL: 5 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE
Wu Minxia is the considered the greatest diver in Chinese history, and that’s pretty impressive since the Chinese produce the greatest divers in the world.
The winner of seven Olympic medals, five of them gold, and 14 World Championship medals, eight of them gold, Wu is the most decorated female athlete in the history of diving. As well as collecting four consecutive Olympic 3-meter synchronized springboard titles in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016 with three different partners, she also won the 3-meter springboard individual gold in London, 2012.
She began her competitive career at the 2001 World Championships, with partner Guo Jingjing, winning the 3-meter synchronized event. She and Jingjing went on to win three more titles, with the exception of 2005 when Jingjing partnered with Li Ting. Wu competed in Athens at the 2004 Games, winning gold again with Jingjing in the synchro event, in addition to winning silver in the 3-meter individual event, behind partner Jingjing. At the 2008 Games, she and Jingjing again won the 3-meter synchro event, but Wu took bronze this time in the 3-meter individual event.
Wu and Partner Guo Jingjing
After the 2008 games, partner Jingjing retired and Wu then partnered with He Zi. This new partnership allowed her to retain the 3-meter synchronized title at the 2011 World Championships. She also won her only World Championship individual title in the 3-meter springboard that same year, 2011. At the 2012 Olympics, Wu’s third Games, she won gold in the 3-meter synchro event along with He, becoming the first woman to win a gold medal in three consecutive Olympic Games. She also won a second gold in the individual 3-meter springboard event. By winning the 3-meter synchronized springboard event at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships, with her (third) new partner Shi Tingmao, Wu became the first person to win seven gold medals in the event. They (Wu and Shi) also won gold medals at the 2014 Asian Games and finally the 2016 Olympic Games.
Wu and Partner Shi Tingmao
No one has won more gold medals in the 3-meter synchronized springboard diving event than Wu Minxia.
Come join Wu 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/
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees include:
International Swimming Hall of Fame 2023 Honorees
Bob Bowman (USA)……………..…….………..….…………….…Honor Coach
Chris Carver (USA)………..…………..………..……………………Honor Coach
Cesar Cielo (BRA)…………..….….………….…..……..………Honor Swimmer
Kirsty Coventry (ZMB)…………….……….……….……….….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
ISHOF 58th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
September 29-30, 2023 – Complete schedule will be forthcoming soon.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Host Hotel: Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa
To make reservations click here: https://book.passkey.com/e/50527236 file:///Users/megkeller-marvin/Downloads/Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort Spa
Upscale retreat with private beach access, two pools, four restaurants, full-service spa and oceanside bar. Location of the Saturday evening induction ceremony. ¼ mile south of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
3030 Holiday Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 525-4000
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $229 per night,
($39 Resort fee – Guests can opt out if not interested in resort amenities)
Additional Hotel Option:
Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach
Book your group rate for Honoree Ceremony
440 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 524-8733
Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $169 – $189 per night
Honoree Ceremony September 29-30, 2023: Last Day to Book: Friday, August 31, 2023
STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SCHEDULE AND TICKETS
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to three HONOREES: JOE BOTTOM, CARIN CONE AND BRENDA VILLA
We’d like to wish three of our Honorees the very happiest of birthdays. Joe Bottom (2006), Carin Cone (1984) Brenda Villa (2018)
Joe Bottom (USA)
Honor Swimmer (2006)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1976 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (100m butterfly); TWO WORLD RECORDS: 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay; 1973 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m medley relay, 4x100m freestyle relay), silver (100m butterfly); 1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay); NINE U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: short course (100y freestyle, 100y butterfly, 4x100y medley relay, 4x100y freestyle relay), long course (50m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay); NINE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 50y freestyle, 100y freestyle, 100y butterfly, 4x100y freestyle relay, 4x100y medley relay.
Since his win at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Mark Spitz’s 100m Butterfly World Record had stood for 10 years when Joe Bottom broke the record of 54.27 setting a new time of 54.18. In the process, he had to beat East Germany’s Roger Pyttel at the DDR-USA Duel meet, also in Germany, this time in Berlin. Bottom had been the silver medalist in the event a year earlier at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
Coached by George Haines at Santa Clara and Peter Daland at USC, Joe stood at 6′ 41/2″ with an easy-going demeanor on land, but as a fierce competitor in the water. He won the 1978 Berlin World Championships 100m Butterfly after taking the silver in the same event at the inaugural 1973 World Championship. Because of the U.S. Olympic Boycott of 1980, he was unable to compete in his prime-time Olympic year.
At USC, he currently holds the sprint 50 yard freestyle school record at 19.70, almost 30 years after he set it in 1977. He has five NCAA individual titles to his name and has the third fastest 100y freestyle and sixth fastest 100y butterfly times in school history. He won nine U.S. National Championships between 1974 and 1980.
Carin Cone (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1984)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1956 silver (100m backstroke); WORLD RECORDS: 7 (100m, 100yd, 220yd backstroke; 1 relay); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1959 gold (100m backstroke; medley relay); AAU NATIONALS: 16 (100yd, 110yd, 200yd, 220yd backstroke); AMERICAN RECORDS (Short Course): 10 (100yd, 150yd, 200yd backstroke); AMERICAN RECORDS (Long Course): 14 (100m, 200m 220m backstroke; 1 relay).
Carin Cone literally came on like a hurricane to win her first Senior National Championship in the 200yd backstroke. It was at Philadelphia in the middle of a hurricane in August, 1955. Two days later she won the 100 back, an event in which she continued undefeated in the Nationals, Indoor & Outdoor, for the next five years. Her moment of greatest triumph and yet disappointment was at the 1956 Olympics where she and Judy Grinham (Great Britain) had identical times, and yet the judges picked Judy first. Carin won 16 Nationals and set four World and 24 American records all in backstroke. This “queen of backstrokers” in her time, like Eleanor Holm and Gloria Callen before her, and Lynne Burke afterwards, was also a cover girl supreme. The four of them, all from the New York area, were on more magazine covers than four full-time models, which all were invited to be. Carin had just two coaches in Marie Giardine at the Women’s Swimming Association in New York and Phill Hansel at the University of Houston. Perhaps Carin Cone’s finest year was 1959 when she began by winning both women’s backstroke titles at the Indoor AAU meet. In July, Carin lowered her own World’s Record in the 220yd backstroke, slicing more than three seconds from her 1956 time. Two months later at the Pan American games in Chicago, Carin won the 100m backstroke title, and also established a world’s record of 1:11.4 on the lead off backstroke leg in the medley relay. She retired from competitive swimming in 1960. In 1962 she married Al Vanderbush–Army’s football co-captain and all-American guard.
Brenda Villa (USA)
Honor Water Polo (2018)
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (team competition); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze; 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver; 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2005: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS silver; 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold; 2003 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold; 2007 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold; 2011 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold; 2002 FINA WORLD CUP: silver; 2010 FINA WORLD CUP: gold; 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 FINA WORLD LEAGUE: gold; 2008 FINA WORLD LEAGUE: silver
Brenda was five years old when her parents, immigrants from northern Mexico, took her to the pool so she wouldn’t be afraid of the water like her mother. After two years on the swim team, they reluctantly allowed her to follow her older brother, Edgar into the rough and tumble sport of water polo. This was before the explosion of girls water polo programs and Brenda practiced with and competed mostly against boys. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she was as good, if not better than most of the boys.
Brenda had to play on the boys team in high school, because there was no girls team, but the competition improved her game and helped her develop the smarts, instincts and toughness that contributed to her becoming one of the best players in the world, male or female.
While Brenda enjoyed water polo and excelled in the classroom, her goal from at least the age of 12, was to attend Stanford University on a swimming scholarship. But that goal changed in the fall of 1993 when Stanford announced it was starting a women’s water polo team.
Following her freshman year in High School, Brenda was selected for the U.S. Junior Women’s National Team. After playing in the 1995 Junior World Championships, where she was selected for the All-World Jr. Team, Women’s National Team Coach Sandy Nitta moved her up to the Senior National Team. Two years later she was the U.S. team’s leading scorer at the 1997 FINA World Cup.
While Brenda enjoyed wearing the red, white and blue and traveling around the world, her top goal was to play water polo for Stanford. In the fall of 1997, during her senior year in high school, the International Olympic Committee announced that Women’s water polo would join the 2000 Olympic program. She reset her goal higher, it was also to win an Olympic gold medal for the USA. She just had no idea then that it would take 14 long years to do it.
When Brenda entered Stanford in the fall of 1998, it was as the nation’s most heralded recruit. To pursue her new goal she had to red-shirt her first two years to prepare for the Olympics, an opportunity that was anything but assured.
There were two chances for teams to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games. When the USA failed to qualify at the FINA World Cup in May of 1999, it came down to a last chance qualification tournament in Palermo, Sicily in April of 2000. In what was a do or die game against Hungary, it was a goal by Brenda that broke a 5-5 tie late in the fourth quarter to earn the USA a ticket to Sydney.
In Sydney, Team USA reached the gold medal match and it came down to last minute heroics again, but it was not to be, as Australia scored a game winner at the buzzer.
Finally, in the spring of 2001, Brenda played her first game for Stanford. During her three years playing for Cardinal, she would twice be named player of the year and led Stanford to its first women’s NCAA title in 2002.
After graduating from Stanford, Brenda played professionally in Europe and coached in the off season as Team USA dominated the world of women’s water polo. In the first decade of the new millennium, the USA won three world championships, seven World League Super Finals and numerous other tournaments. The Olympic Games remained a disappointment, with a bronze medal in Athens and silver again in Beijing.
Then came London. After 17 years on the national team, Brenda, once the youngest player on the team was now the captain. Only Heather Petri, two years older, remained from Sydney. Once again, behind a new coach, Adam Krikorian, and an infusion of new talent, Team USA entered the 2012 Olympic Games as the favorite, and this time they didn’t disappoint. Brenda and Team USA finally got the gold with an 8 to 5 victory over Spain.
Brenda has received numerous awards and recognition over the course of her incredible career, but none mean more to her than the City of Commerce naming the pool she grew up swimming in, the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center.
Today, Brenda and her husband Gino are the proud parents of a baby girl, Gianna. They live in northern California where Brenda continues to share her passion for excellence and love of water polo through coaching, personal appearances and her work with several non-profit foundations.
PARIS PARALYMPICS BEGIN ~ AUGUST 28, 2024
Shared from: Paris 2024
In honor of our first Paralympic Honoree, Trischa Zorn, who we will induct on September 30, 2023, we will be sharing and educating more about the Paralympics and Paralympians…….
In 500 days, France will host an exceptional event, for the first time in its history!
On August 28, 2024, the Paralympic Games will begin with a unique opening ceremony in the heart of Paris.
184 national paralympic committees will parade from the bottom of the Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde, under the eyes of 65,000 spectators from all over the world.
pour 4,400 Paralympic athletes will meet in Paris to shine through top-level performances across more than 22 Paralympic disciplines… Let’s be 549 tests!
The city will be their playground! Exceptional sites will testify to their performances: the Grand Palais for Armchair Fencing, the Esplanade of the Disabled for Para Archery, the Castle of Versailles for Para riding…
changer The Paralympic Games are a unique opportunity to change mindsets and make society more inclusive.
Proof that there is sport for everyone no matter their disability – a way to learn about your body & gain self confidence!
The strength of these athletes deserves your presence!
The emotions felt through their performances will change your whole perception of disability.
The Paralympic box office will open its doors this autumn. Make your appointment for exceptional
Today, on Fran Crippen’s birthday, almost 13 years later, what we have learned from his avoidable death: LET US NEVER FORGET
Story copied from ESPN.com / by: Bonnie D. Ford / first published 10/23/2020
Everyone who knew Fran Crippen remembers where they were when they heard. Word traveled swiftly from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 23, 2010, and it traveled widely. Fran’s personal reach, like his wingspan in the water, was considerable. Sorrow rippled out from his hometown of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, his alma mater, the University of Virginia, and his onetime training base of Mission Viejo, California, and washed over hundreds of athletes and coaches he got to know through national and international competition.
I also remember where I was — alone, driving on a pristine fall day, admiring the brilliant color of the trees flowing by. I stopped, for some reason that escapes me, and looked at my phone.
The news was incomprehensible. Elite swimmers didn’t just drown. They didn’t slip away unseen in a race, with dozens of people around them — fellow competitors, officials, volunteers — on the course. Did they? Fran was 26, a sculpted athlete in his prime.
I called my editor. “There’s something not right here,” I said.
Fran Crippen and I never met. I began to tell his story only after his death. And yet Fran influenced me as a journalist as much or more as any athlete I’ve ever covered, leading me down paths that were both dark and inspiring. He was that compelling of a person. Still is.
There are stories you do out of obligation, and stories you pursue out of passion, and then there are a handful of stories over a career that take you by the shoulders and propel you with no clear idea of where you’re going — and don’t allow you to quit. Fran’s story was all three of those for me.
I’d covered Olympic-level swimming for many years, but back then, I knew next to nothing about Fran’s discipline of marathon, or open-water swimming. Gifted, charismatic and generous, Fran was poised to put his niche sport on the map in the United States. The 10-kilometer event had been elevated to Olympic status in time for the 2008 Beijing Games. Fran won a bronze medal at the world championships the following year and took aim at the 2012 Summer Games in London. The Fujairah event was part of the 10K Grand Prix series that offered one of the only opportunities to compete against other top open-water athletes.
EDITOR’S PICKS
U.S. national swimmer Crippen dies during race
Crippen remembered for humor, love of sport
In the days after his death I spent time at Germantown Academy in suburban Philadelphia, where Fran and his three sisters had all excelled in the pool. The oldest, Maddy, had world-class talent and made an Olympic final in 2000. She raced to her parents’ home in the early-morning hours of Oct. 23 so they wouldn’t be alone. She also acted as the family spokesperson in the immediate aftermath, and met with me in a downtown coffee shop, where I marveled at her fierce composure.
Maddy and Fran
I tracked down other swimmers who had been in the race. They described a nonexistent safety net on a day when the water and ambient air temperature were both dangerously hot, a potentially lethal combination for swimmers churning at race pace for two hours or more. Bravely, with controlled anger and resolve, his U.S. teammate Alex Meyer took me through the day minute-by-minute and made me feel the horror of seeing his friend’s lifeless body recovered after an inexcusably delayed search.
The tragedy became the subject of two investigations, an independent probe commissioned by USA Swimming and a separate one by FINA, swimming’s international governing body. Both concluded that Fran died because of a confluence of factors, extreme heat and organizer negligence being primary among them.
Inexplicably, there was no upper temperature ceiling in place for events at the time. There is now, but the standard (31 degrees Celsius, or 87.8 degrees Fahrenheit) is still vulnerable to manipulation by officials who measure it two hours before the start time and are often reluctant to call a halt to racing.
The Olympic test event at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo came under scrutiny late last year due to the water conditions. Jae C. Hong/AP
In more than one major event in recent years, the onus has fallen on swimmers to withdraw when they feel conditions are unsafe, rather than having organizers make the right decision. The issue arose again at the August 2019 Olympic 10K test event in Tokyo Bay.
Fran’s mother, Pat Crippen, put it better than I ever could in an email to me this week:
“While considerable progress has been made since 10/23/10 and I am very grateful for that, I wish I could say Fran’s death has changed the course of OW swimming with total focus on the safety of the athlete, but when I hear of races still being held under questionable conditions, when I hear it’s up to swimmers to pull out of races because of unacceptable conditions, I am disheartened.”
What Fran’s death did make immutable was the presence of adequate safety personnel on the course — or in the sport’s shorthand, “eyes on swimmers.” There’s no way to eliminate risk from a sport where dozens of variables can come into play on any given day, or predict when an athlete might become ill or suffer a serious cardiac or respiratory problem. Getting to swimmers within seconds of the first sign of trouble is crucial. The typical field in an elite open-water race is small enough to keep eyes on every athlete.
As I reported on those investigations and reform efforts throughout 2011 and the lead-up to London 2012, I kept stumbling across reports of amateur triathletes dying in the swim portion of events. That, too, brought me up short — why were fatalities happening at the beginning of an endurance event, rather than the end?
The knowledge and conviction I had developed in covering Fran’s story led me to do a yearlong investigation of those deaths, compiling my own database and doing dozens of interviews. I felt driven by Fran’s memory the entire time, and for that, I feel indebted. I hope my work had a lasting effect on how the industry approaches water safety and how participants prepare for events.
“Sometimes lack of oversight can endanger grown athletes as well, as it did in the completely avoidable tragedy in Fujairah 10 years ago, where 50 swimmers survived conditions unsuitable for racing, and one did not.”Bonnie D. Ford
Fran’s story taught me to be even more vigilant and professionally skeptical about the relationship of Olympic sport federations and athletes, and not to take for granted that leaders in those sports always act in the athletes’ best interests. I used to presume that officials would adhere to a basic duty of care, if only to protect themselves. I was wrong.
When a sport is included in the Olympics, it dramatically ups the stakes and desire for young men and women who will single-mindedly chase glory, sometimes at their own peril. The message in many sports boils down to: Trust us with your kids. We’ll take care of them. But sports entities don’t always hold up their end of the bargain. We’ve seen that play out in an extreme way in sexual abuse cases in youth sports, where the power imbalance is stark. But sometimes lack of oversight can endanger grown athletes as well, as it did in the completely avoidable tragedy in Fujairah 10 years ago, where 50 swimmers survived slipshod organization and conditions unsuitable for racing, and one did not.
The day of Fran’s funeral, people who had loved and admired him went to pools, lakes and shorelines wherever they were and cast flowers on the water. Currents carried the blossoms away, but Fran has stayed present for many. This week, I received a message — unsolicited — from Belgian swimmer Brian Ryckeman, who finished third in the race where Fran perished.
“Fran was a big inspiration to me and had a big impact on my swimming career and still in my life. Even after 10 years I still think about him very often. And I hope swimmers from this generation will hear all about his story and his life. I’m the father now of a beautiful daughter. Fran and I have the same age. I was talking to my wife last week, we wondered how his life would have been. I think it’s important for all of us, and for the sport, that we learn from this. I’m coaching now and all my kids, age 8 to 20, know about this story.”
Fran was not the only member of his family imbued with staying power. The Crippens have continued their dignified, classy, and very real journey without their beloved son and brother mainly in private. But they also established a foundation in his name — the Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation — that advocates for water safety and awards grants to athletes who channel his spirit.
His mother, Pat, personally reads the grant applications. This is what she wrote me about the essay authors:
“It’s clear to me that while they did not know Fran personally, they know his story and not just about his tragic death. They wrote about his resilience, his focus, his hard work and determination. This I find heartwarming and mostly what I want them to remember about Fran. I know for certain that Fran would say this is his legacy.”
Through her eyes and those of so many others, I humbly agree.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PENNY & VICKY VILAGOS
The information on this page was written the year of their induction.
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (duet); 1982 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (team); 1985 FINA WORLD CUP: gold (team); 1991 FINA WORLD CUP: silver (team); 1981 PAN-PACIFIC GAMES: gold (team); 1983 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: silver (duet), gold (team); 1980, 1981, 1984, 1991 SWISS OPEN: gold (duet); 1st DUET IN THE WORLD TO RECEIVE A PERFECT ‘10’ IN DUET; SEVEN TIME CANADIAN NATIONAL DUET CHAMPIONS.
A pair of overweight, uncoordinated twins is the way they describe themselves in elementary school. But when they were eight years old they discovered synchronized swimming; they had a natural talent for it and they loved it. It was the perfect sport for identical twins, swimming like mirrored images.
Just like another pair of Hall of Fame synchro twins, Karen and Sarah Josephson, Penny and Vicky Vilagos became inseparable in synchro duet swimming. They competed for National team coach Julie Sauvé at CAMO in Montreal. At age 17, in 1980, they were crowned National Duet Champions and expected to perform at the 1980 Moscow Olympics with synchro as a demonstration sport. When the boycott spoiled those plans, the Swiss Open Championships became their milestone as the pair received the world’s first duet perfect score of “10”, just beating out Hall of Famers, Tracie Ruiz and Candy Costie. Their routines were innovative and creative and over the next three years they were among the world’s top performers.
Then, in 1984, they failed to make the Olympic team. After fourteen years of training and striving, they had to accept that their Olympic dream would remain out of reach. They retired from swimming to finish their university degrees and start their careers.
Then, one day in 1990, while watching a synchro competition, they experienced an unexpected sensation and realized their Olympic dream was still alive. “Si on n’essaie pas, on ne le saura jamai!” they say – “If we don’t try, we’ll never know!”
The challenges were immense. They only had two years to train for the 1992 Olympic Games. In addition, they did not qualify for funding, so they had to try this comeback, while working full time jobs and practicing five hours a day each day after work. They also had to fund all their international travel to events while keeping up their grueling schedule, all the while not knowing if they’d even make the team. But they believed in themselves and with a team of four dedicated coaches to push them to their limits, they achieved an unprecedented comeback at the age of 27 and realized their Olympic dream by winning the duet silver medal in Barcelona. This is one of the great comeback stories in FINA history.