Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center Celebrates Official Grand Opening in Style with Ribbon Cutting and Dive Challenge
Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center Celebrates Official Grand Opening In Style With Ribbon Cutting and Dive Challenge
Saturday marked the official Grand Opening of the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, which showcased an exhibition by Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis diving from the highest tower in the United States. Olympians, honorees, city officials, media, and the public came out to be part of this memorable event. It has been 95 years since the Casino pool was first built on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Since that time, the city has hosted thousands of swim meets and many thrilling diving competitions featured on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which made the city famous.
Photo Courtesy: John Parra/Getty Images
Approximately 500 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony that included welcoming remarks by Mayor Dean Trantalis, whose support was integral to the City’s $50 million investment. City Commissioner Steve Glassman spoke about how proud he was to have the state-of-the-art aquatic center and the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) Museum located in his district. Glassman emphasized that the aquatic center will not only serve the recreational pursuits of Fort Lauderdale residents but will be a destination for people from around the world who will compete or watch some of the worlds’ best at the new aquatic complex.
Donna de Varona, who set her first world record at the age of 13, and competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics and captured two gold medals at the 1964 Tokyo Games reminded the audience of those swimming legends that graced the pool decks of the original Casino Pool, including Esther Williams, Buster Crabbe, Johnny Weissmuller and Eleanor Holm. Fondly recalling the history of ISHOF, de Varona credited Buck Dawson, the visionary who made ISHOF what it is and helped make the Fort Lauderdale aquatic facility a reality. Olympic gold medalist and world-record holder Cullen Jones recalled the many times that he trained and raced in the previous Hall of Fame pools and said that Fort Lauderdale “felt like home.”
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) Museum was built in the mid-1960s and located adjacent to the Hall of Fame pool. In January, the Museum was demolished to make way for a future edition that will celebrate the achievements of swimmers and artistic swimmers, divers, water polo players, and lifesavers.
In conjunction with the ribbon cutting, ISHOF hosted a first of its kind Dive Challenge at the spectacular 27-meter dive tower. The City of Fort Lauderdale landmark is the only one in the western hemisphere. Another tower that is remotely similar and perhaps not nearly as grand is located in Zhao Qing, China. The city’s iconic structure is impressive when illuminated at night, but during the day it offers the only training facility in the western hemisphere where athletes can learn the skills of springboard, platform or high diving. Like the ISHOF Museum, the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center will attract athletes and visitors from throughout the world.
Photo Courtesy: John Parra/Getty Images
City officials welcomed an open-house crowd of residents and luminaries, many of whom had a long association with ISHOF and with one or both of the previous Casino and Hall of Fame Pools. Many Olympians turned out to tour the impressive aquatic center and to support ISHOF, including Fort Lauderdale resident Dara Torres. Torres is the first swimmer to represent the USA in five Olympic Games and at age 41, the oldest swimmer to earn a place on the US Olympic team. Torres, in her final Games at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won a silver medal in three events.
World Aquatics Treasurer Dale Neuburger offered his congratulations on behalf of the international federation for aquatics that was previously known as FINA until December of 2022. Neuburger speculated that this new venue would be the host of many developmental and elite competitions in the very near future and was confident that the facilities, the city and the aquatic team were more than up to the task.
After the speeches and the ribbon cutting, the city’s longtime Aquatics Center Manager Laura Voet officially opened the new Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center and its signature high diving tower. The ISHOF Dive Challenge welcomed one of the most legendary divers in Olympic history who was the winner of three NCAA titles representing the University of Miami.
As a 16-year-old, Greg Louganis competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, earning a silver medal in the 10-meter platform. The US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics was a missed opportunity for Louganis. He won four Olympic gold medals, striking gold twice in the 3-meter springboard and again off the 10-meter platform at the 1984 Los Angeles and the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. On Saturday, on the day before his 63rd birthday, Louganis impressed spectators with a flawless inward dive pike off the new 10-meter tower, proving that he’s still got it!
In addition to Louganis, 2016 Olympic silver medalist Sam Dorman demonstrated that his skills and flexibility hadn’t faded since his retirement. Dorman finished second in the Olympic 10-meter synchronized event in Rio seven years ago. On Saturday he decided to try his luck a bit higher, diving off the 15-meter tower, executing a beautiful dive as well. Other high divers in attendance were Ellie Smith, Maya Kelly, Ben Mattera, Braden Rumpit, and James Lichtenstein.
Other aquatic legends included:
Mary Ellen Clark, who dove and called the aquatic center home in the 1990s and won two bronze Olympic medals in 1992 and 1996
Wendy Boglioli, 1976 gold and bronze medalist, of the famous story, “The Last Gold”, and new Florida resident
Ron O’Brien, eight-time USA Olympic diving coach and former head coach of the Fort Lauderdale Diving Team. Olympians coached by O’Brien have won five gold, three silver and five bronze medals.
Tom Gompf, 1964 Olympic bronze medalist on the 10-meter platform, and the author of his memoir “A Life Aloft”.
Clark Koukurek, a professional high diver, was the “top” performer, diving off the 27-meter tower. Just like the end of every Fourth of July fireworks celebration, the best was saved for last. Koukurek was the signal caller from the highest point for the finale. Seven athletes completed a synchronized dive from five different platforms, simultaneously, impressing the crowd just a little bit more and convincing everyone that new pages in history were soon to be written.
ISHOF Calling for Paragon Award Nominations
The International Swimming Hall of Fame announces the call for nominations for the 2023 Paragon Awards to be presented at the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Honoree Induction Weekend September 29-30, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale. Sponsored by Pentair Aquatic Systems, the awards are presented each year for outstanding contributions and leadership in several swimming and aquatic-related categories.
Candidates may be nominated for the Paragon Awards in the following categories:
Competitive Swimming
Competitive Diving
Competitive Artistic Swimming
Competitive Water Polo
Aquatic Safety
Recreational Swimming
Kindly submit your nominees by March 1, 2023. Please include any relevant data to support your nomination, the aquatic category for nomination, as well as a brief biography of each individual and a high-resolution image. Also, please submit contact information for your nominee, including an e-mail and phone number. Nominations submitted without contact information will not be accepted.
Click here, to see information on the award and biographical information on the 2022 Award Winners: https://ishof.org/ishof-hosts-paragon-and-specialty-awards-during-induction-weekend/
Nominations may be sent to:
Meg Keller-MarvinInternational Swimming Hall of Fame1 Hall of Fame DriveFort Lauderdale, FL 33316Phone: 570.594.4367Fax: 954-525-4031Email: meg@ishof.org
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
About the International Swimming Hall of Fame Induction Weekend:
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) Induction Ceremony is shaping up to be a star-studded weekend with multiple events spread out over two days in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Make your plans now to attend the weekend of September 29-30, 2023! Information on purchasing tickets will be forthcoming this Spring! To see how much fun we had at the 2022 Induction, click here: https://ishof.org/highlights-from-the-international-swimming-hall-of-fame-induction-ceremony/
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees will be announced in late winter. Keep checking back for the names of the 2023 Honorees. If you can’t make it but would like to donate to help our honorees, click here: https://internationalswimminghalloffame-bloom.kindful.com/
Or if you would like to become a member of the International Swimming Hall of fame, click here: https://ishof.org/membership/
1982 ISHOF Honoree & South African Olympian Joan Harrison Recovers Stolen Medal
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
An international swimming medal belonging to Joan Harrison that had been feared stolen has been recovered by her family, according to social media posts.
Harrison – now Joan Breetzke – had been keeping a gold medal from the 1954 Commonwealth Games (then, the British Empire Games) at the house of her grandson, Craig Murray, in East London, South Africa. The house was burgled in December, and Murray feared the medal was among those taken. He posted to social media for help recovering the medal.
Tuesday, that medal and another from the same meet were recovered nearby by someone who had seen the post.
The story was first reported by Inside The Games.
“My gran could not stop smiling when we broke the news to her,” Murphy wrote. “She could not believe that it was recovered!”
Harrison, 87, won two golds, a silver and a bronze at the 1954 British Empire Games in Vancouver. (The silver medal is in the 3×100-yard medley relay, before butterfly became its own discipline). She also won gold in the 440-yard freestyle and bronze in the 110-yard free at the 1950 meet in Auckland. She was just 14 years old at the time.
Harrison became the first South African woman to win an Olympic swimming gold medal when the claimed the 100-meter backstroke at the 1952 Games in Helsinki. She retired from swimming at age 17 to focus on her field hockey career, but returned to win national titles in 1956, though she did not qualify for the Olympics that hear. Harrison was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1982.
Joan Harrison at her 1982 ISHOF Induction in Fort Lauderdale
Save the Date! September 29 & 30, ISHOF’s 2023 Honoree Induction Weekend
Mark your calendars now! The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) has selected the dates for the 2023 Honoree Induction Ceremonies and the Paragon/Awards Weekend.
The 58th Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend will be held Friday, September 29th and Saturday, September 30th 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Make your plans now to attend!
The Class of 2023 will be announced sometime in late winter. The Paragon and other award winners will be also honored on the Honoree weekend. Join our E-mail list or keep checking www.ishof.org or www.swimmingworld.com for more information or all the latest aquatic news!
The Induction weekend will begin Friday evening, September 29, 2023 and will celebrate the Paragon Award winners, which typically honor six stellar aquatic men /women from the following categories: competitive swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, recreational swimming and aquatic safety.
The other specialty awards honored on Friday evening include: The Buck Dawson Authors Award, The Virginia Hunt Newman Award, The John K. Williams Jr. Adaptive Aquatics Award, The Judge G. Harold Martin Award, The ISHOF Service Award, and others.
On Saturday, September 30, 2023, ISHOF will host, the 58th Annual Honoree Induction Ceremony and Dinner. The event will once again be hosted at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa, located one quarter mile south of ISHOF on beautiful Fort Lauderdale Beach. The Class of 2023 will be announces sometime in the late winter, so keep checking back for any announcements.
The ISHOF Honoree Induction and Dinner will also host its annual silent auction. If you have anything you might want to donate to this year’s silent auction, please contact Meg at meg@ishof.org
*Ask about our Honoree weekend sponsorship opportunities, email anne@ishof.org for more information“.
Official Unveiling of the City of Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center
The International Swimming Hall of Fame is flipping out over the official unveiling of the City of Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center. Join us for an unforgettable ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a star-studded lineup of elite divers, including the legendary Greg Louganis, Olympian Sam Dorman and more.
There is still time to help support theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame meet it’s Dive Challenge goal!
Click here to donate.
Your generous gift will help to support our continued work in preserving our aquatic collection and memorabilia, ensure that the extraordinary contributions in aquatics will be remembered for generations, and provide underserved youth with quality swim and water safety education.
Monaco’s Princely Family Celebrate Completion of World-Renowned Aquatic Center at International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale
The City of Fort Lauderdale recently welcomed Monaco’s princely family, their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene to celebrate the completion of the City’s world-renowned Aquatic Center located at the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) following a multimillion-dollar revitalization project.
The new center, boasts one of the tallest dive towers in the world and state-of-the-art competition pools for both competitive and public use.
Their Serene Highnesses have a keen interest in Fort Lauderdale’s Aquatic Center and the International Swimming Hall of Fame as H.S.H. Prince Albert II is a 2011 gold medallion ISHOF honoree, and his uncle Jack Kelly Jr. served as the ISHOF president in the 1980s.
H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco shakes hands at the new Fort Lauderdale Aquatics Center
Additionally, H.S.H. Princess Charlene is a former Olympic swimmer and philanthropist who founded the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in 2012 which includes, among its missions, saving children’s lives by teaching them how to swim and educating them on water safety.
For their support, City of Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis presented H.S.H Prince Albert II with the key to the City of Fort Lauderdale and H.S.H. Princess Charlene with a crystal engraved with an image of the dive tower acknowledging her dedication to children’s swim safety. The City of Fort Lauderdale also announced a future partnership with her highness’ foundation.
Along with Mayor Trantalis, new ISHOF CEO Anne Schmidt and local swimmers were on hand for the celebration of the new Aquatic Center.
CAPTION: Monaco’s princely family, their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis with Aquatic Center swimmers at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images for City of Fort Lauderdale )
ISHOF Board Members, David Arluck, Matt McKean, CEO Anne Schmidt, H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco, Mario Caprini, along with guests Eddy Sua and Barrie Lifton.
December visitors to ISHOF……..
The Counsilman Family
Just recently, ISHOF had a very special visit from the daughter of one of our most noteable Honorees, Jill Counsilman Morris and her husband, Mike. They came to the museum to see dad, Dr. James E. “Doc” Counsilman’s display, artifacts and files. Doc Counsilman is one of the most prestigious coaches in swimming history, coaching at Indiana University, for over 30 years, 1957-1990, coaching some of the greatest of all time, including Mark Spitz, Gary Hall, Sr., Jim Montgomery, John Kinsella, Tom Stock, and many, many others. Jill and Mike really enjoyed looking through Doc’s files, seeing photos, some of which Jill had never seen before. Some even brought tears to her eyes, she said. “It’s days like this that make it all worth it”~ said Laurie Marchwinski, ISHOF COO. Laura Voet, former IU alum swimmer, former ISHOF employee and now Ft. Lauderdale Aquatic Center Manager, also enjoyed spending time with the couple as well.
In addition to being one of the greatest coaches of all-time Doc Counsilman, was also the founding President of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, serving from 1965-1969. Doc was also known for his interest in kinesiology, the science dealing with the study of body mechanics and the prescription of exercises for developing specific muscle groups. Doc contributed to every phase competitive swimming. No phase of the sport escaped his attention and was not significantly improved by his influence. His ground-breaking research covered a wide field. In the area of exercise physiology, and conditioning, he published papers on a wide range of topics: interval training, strength training, isokinetic and bio-kinetic exercises, hypoxic training, altitude training, and so on and on.
We could go on and on about the impact Doc had on the sport of swimming, but instead, we will just let you read it in his bio that was written when he was inducted as an Honor Coach in 1976:
https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-dr-james-e-doc-counsilman/
More December Visitors to ISHOF……..
David Reider, Swimming World Magazine and Anne Schmidt, ISHOF CEO
ISHOF recently got a visit from Swimming World Magazine’s Senior Writer, David Reider. We were glad to welcome our fellow Swimming World employee to ISHOF, show him around and introduce him to our new CEO, Anne Schmidt!
New Jersey High School Swim Team makes special trip to ISHOF
The week before Christmas, a High School Swim Team from New Jersey was in South Florida on a winter training trip and made a special trip to Fort Lauderdale Beach just to visit the ISHOF museum. Even though most of our memorabilia is in storage, we still have things to see and all the Honoree panels to view. The team was very excited they came to visit! Thanks for coming by!!!!
We expect more teams to be training at at the Hall of Fame, as well other pools around town, and in South Florida, so we invite all of you to come visitus at ISHOF!
Demolition of Original Building Marks Step Toward New Era for International Swimming Hall of Fame
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
28 December 2022, 10:28am
Demolition Of Original Building Marks Step Toward New Era For International Swimming Hall of Fame
A major step toward a new era of the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) took place on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale when demolition of the original building began. Opened in 1967, the original museum – for more than a half-century – featured and celebrated some of the most iconic artifacts and moments in the history of aquatic sports.
The Hall of Fame has long been the home to treasures such as Olympic medals, warmups and swimsuits worn by legends and biographical celebrations of the athletes who have been enshrined as Hall of Famers. More, the Hall of Fame has paid tribute to special moments in aquatic history, ranging from Gertrude Ederle’s crossing of the English Channel to the eight gold medals won by Michael Phelps at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/1u7koHYzVckhttps://www.youtube.com/embed/1u7koHYzVck
Demolition of the original Hall of Fame building marks a move toward a grand future for the International Swimming Hall of Fame, as a new, state-of-the-art complex is planned. The new complex will house a fully updated and modern display of aquatics sports history; two event spaces with 360° views of the intracoastal, aquatic center and Atlantic Ocean; a café; a restaurant; a library; teaching pool; welcome center; meeting rooms and office space; and on-site parking.
Photo credit: Greg Eggert
Already, the adjacent Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center has undergone renovations. With the 27-meter high dive tower, new pools and spectator viewing, the facility will once again operate as a focal point of competitions and training.
ISHOF loses one of its biggest supporters: John Spannuth, who was there in the very early days of ISHOF…..
On Monday, December 19, 2022, ISHOF lost a great friend. John Spannuth, of Boynton Beach was one of the original men who was there when ISHOF was first founded, back in 1965. He was there from the very beginning, and he was involved with ISHOF in some capacity until the very end. He was involved in aquatics for over 60 years in many capacities, most currently as CEO of United States Water Fitness Association, until his recent retirement.
From his first, full-time job in aquatics in 1956 as Aquatics Director of the Reading, PA, YMCA, he has developed outstanding programs. He has been the Aquatics Director and Head Swimming coach for Phillips Petroleum Co. in Bartlesville, Oklahoma where in seven years he developed one of the best age group swim teams in the country. He was the National Aquatics Administrator for the AAU where, on a national level, he guided all four disciplines plus long distance and Masters swimming. He was the International Director of the Special Olympics in Washington D.C. where he guided the growth of Special Olympics for Eunice Shriver and helped to build it into an internationally recognized program for persons with mental disabilities. He served four years in the Middle East as Aquatics, Sports and Recreation Administrator in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while teaching swimming on all levels, including competitive swimming, to native children of the region.
John, second from right, seen here with Buster Crabbe and other Masters greats at the 1972 Masters Nationals in Bloomington, Indiana
John, is the creator and founder of many innovative programs and conferences including: The World Swimming Coaches Clinic 1969, which has grown into the largest international coaches conference in the world and is run by the American Swimming Coaches Association; Masters Swimming (1970) where he implemented Ransom Arthur’s ideas and decrees to begin a competitive fitness program for adults; Masters Synchronized Swimming (1975); National YMCA Masters Aquatics Championship (1976); Water Walking as a program (1986), which began a water fitness program for individuals who were not great swimmers or who needed water therapy work; National Aquatics Director Certification (1996); National Programs Awards (recognizing the top programs in the country), Top Water Fitness Programs (1990), Top Aquatic Programs (1997); Who’s Who in the Country Aquatics(1997) Water Exercise (1998); and National and State Leadership Awards (1990).
Other national leadership positions have included: Chairperson of the 1998 National Aquatics Summit; President of the American Swimming Coaches Association; Member of the Board of Directors, International Swimming Hall of Fame; NRPA Aquatics Council; Charter member of the AAHPERD Aquatics Council (1968); Chairperson of the National Forum for the Advancement Of Aquatics; Advisory Board, Disability International Foundation.
Spannuth giving a talk at ISHOF
Back in 2011, John formed 13 committees at ISHOF which included: Adapted Aquatics, Aquatic Programs for Wounded Warriors, Every Child a Swimmer, Education, Fund Raising (includes Special Events), Future Visions, Honoree Alumni Committee, Library, Museum (includes Memorabilia, Public Relations, Security, International, and Constitution and By-Laws. He has played an active role on each committee by choosing each committee’s chairperson and helping to organize an agenda.
He has lectured extensively in Egypt, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, Germany and throughout the United States at conferences for over 20 organizations. As the CEO of U. S. Water Fitness, Inc. he has set the guidelines which have developed this organization to be the authority in developing and maintaining standards from which to teach water aerobics and fitness on a recreational level. We will always be thankful to/and for John, for his many years of service to ISHOF as well as dedicating his life to aquatics. He will be missed by so many.
Last Call for Nominations for the ISHOF 2023 Induction Class – submit by January 2, 2023
We are extending the deadline for Honoree nominations until January 2, 2023. We have not gotten a very good response, so we are asking once again for nominations, specifically for athletes from all four disciplines, (must be retired at least one Olympiad or five years). The individuals should have achieved tremendous success in the aquatic disciplines and/or made a significant impact on the sport of aquatics through their lifelong efforts. Nominations must be submitted along with supporting materials by January 2, 2023.
The 2023 Inductees will be honored at ISHOF’s annual Induction Ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA on Saturday September 30, 2023.
Please submit your nomination via this link (below) and upload it to ishof.org
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbWjNJq9cc0r3Jj5RePDhMmc8ToA1HX9fyjqFnNupU2FIAjQ/viewform
Nominations can be made by anyone in any of the following seven categories:
SWIMMER (includes Olympic, Masters, Marathon, Open Water and Pioneer Swimmers)
DIVER (includes Olympic, Masters and Pioneer Divers)
WATER POLO PLAYER (includes Olympic, Masters and Pioneer Water Polo Players)
ARTISTIC SWIMMER (includes Olympic, Masters and Pioneer Synchronized Swimmers)
PARALYMPIAN (includes only athletes at Paralympic Games)
COACH (Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic Swimming, Masters, Open Water & Marathon Swimming)
CONTRIBUTOR (Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic Swimming, Masters, Open Water & Marathon Swimming)
Nomination Forms
Nomination forms can be found on the ISHOF website. You can complete and submit the form online, or print the form and return it via email (meg@ishof.org), fax (954.525.4031) or snail mail (Meg Keller-Marvin, International Swimming Hall of Fame, 1 Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316)
Requirements for Nomination
Each nominee must meet the following minimum criteria to appear on the ballot: (see full list of criteria)
Generally, athletes shall not be chosen unless retired from international competition at least four years, or at least one Olympic quadrennial. “Athletes” refers to swimmers, open water swimmers (FINA), divers, water polo players and artistic (synchronized) swimmers and paralympic swimmers. Masters and Marathon swimmers (Non-FINA) may be nominated without retirement after being inducted in their respective Hall of Fame and will be voted on by the same criteria as all other nominees.
Note that male and female candidates are grouped together, alphabetically. Male and female candidates should be voted upon as one combined group per category.
A coach must have a significant international record and have been coaching at least 25 years.
A contributor must have been in aquatics at least 20 years and have had a significant international impact. Athletic achievement should NOT be considered, contributions are to the overall improvement or development of “international” sport through leadership, journalism, invention or other area of great, outstanding impact.
The pioneer category was created to honor great achievements or advancements in aquatics that have been overlooked. These include special circumstances, such as interruptions caused by war or politics, barrier-breaking moments, societal changing events, etc.
All nominees must exemplify the highest athletic moral and ethical standards. Any past or current violations of the spirit and principles of Olympism, such as doping, DUI’s, domestic violence, drug abuse, accusations of sexual offense etc. have to be disclosed at the time of nomination. If and when ISHOF is presented with substantial or compelling evidence, a criminal charge, conviction or admission of guilt, the ISHOF board of Directors will consider all options within our means and resources that will enable us to ensure the integrity of our Hall of Fame.
Remember the key word – “international”. Emphasis should be placed on the international impact made by the nominee, not just within his or her own country.
Consideration should be given to athletes failing to participate in Olympics because of non-Olympic years due to war (1916, 1940, 1944), boycotts (1980, 1984) injury, career interruptions and non-Olympic events such as the individual medley (I.M.) prior to 1964, etc.
Important: Please provide contact information (email, phone, or address) of the person you are nominating and a high-resolution photo (either a photo you took or a photo that you own the rights to).
For more information please email Meg Keller-Marvin at meg@ishof.org or call 570.594.4367
For an alphabetical list of current inductees, please visit the ISHOF website.
About ISHOF
The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc. (ISHOF), established in 1965, is a not-for-profit educational organization located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It was first recognized by FINA, the International Olympic Committee’s recognized governing body for the aquatic sports, in 1968. ISHOF’s mission is to collaborate with aquatic organizations worldwide to preserve, educate and celebrate history, showcase events, share cultures, and increase participation in aquatic sports.