Jackie Robinson Paved Way For All Sports When He Broke Baseball’s Color Barrier 75 Years
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
Photo Courtesy: Public Domain Photo
Seventy-five years ago, the most significant moment in the history of all modern sports took place when Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Robinson, who played mostly second base in his career, played first base on April 15, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
It was the start of a long struggle for integration in all sports and the start of a long battle Robinson endured, with years or racial slurs, threats on his life and pitchers throwing at his head. But it was a fight he was willing to endure, and do so without fighting back, which made the “Great Experiment” as it was called, work.
Robinson went on to transform the game, bringing the electric base running of the Negro Leagues to the majors, quickly becoming one of the game’s greatest stars. He won Rookie of the Year in 1947, then the MVP in 1949, transforming the Dodgers into a perennial World Series contender.
But more importantly, it transformed the game.
Within a few years, other black stars — some of the game’s greatest players in history — would join him in the majors. It was a baseball revolution, which within five years saw baseball legends like Willie Mays, Monte Irvin, Roy Campanella, Minnie Minoso and Satchel Paige follow Robinson to the majors. Just a few years later, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, Bob Gibson and Ernie Banks followed, ushering in the Golden Era of baseball.
But Jackie Robinson’s legacy goes far beyond baseball.
Sure, his baseball exploits gave him a platform, but it was what he did with that platform that transcended baseball.
His heroics on the field led to other sports becoming integrated. In fact, once at Ebbets Field, Robinson spoke to a group of teenagers from Canada who had earned a trip to New York. A young Willie O’Ree was just 13 but told Robinson he wanted to integrate the NHL just as Robinson had done with MLB. A few years later, O’Ree was the first black hockey player in the NHL.
Jackie Robinson was outspoken, which also gave a rise to a generation of black athletes like Althea Gibson (tennis), Arthur Ashe (tennis), Bill Russell (basketball), Jim Brown (football) and a little later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (basketball) and Muhammad Ali (boxing).
These athletes revolutionized their sports and became role models for kids of all backgrounds.
Swimming has had several barrier breakers:
Enith Brigitha
Enith Brigitha was one of the first Black swimmers to reach the top of the sport. She was fittingly born on April 15 — Jackie Robinson Day — and born in the year that Robinson led Brooklyn to its only World Series title (1955).
Brigitha, who was born in Curacao and represented the Netherlands, became the first Black swimmer to earn a swimming medal at the Olympics. She won the bronze medal in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
She finished behind two East German swimmers in both events and with the controversial doping that took place by the East Germans, she very well could have been the first Black swimmer to earn a gold
medal.
.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H.Bick
Anthony Nesty
Anthony Nesty made his impact in swimming long before taking over as coach of the University of Florida. Nesty won the gold medal in the 100 butterfly at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul while competing for Suriname.
He was the first Black male swimmer to earn a medal and the first to win gold and just the second gold medal winner to ever come from a South American nation. He won the bronze in the same event in 1992 in Barcelona.
He is now one of the few Black coaches in college swimming.
Anthony Ervin; Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Anthony Ervin
In 2000, Anthony Ervin became the first African-American swimmer to earn a gold medal in Olympic swimming.
He won the gold in the 50 freestyle, tying teammate Gary Hall Jr. Ervin was just the second swimmer of African decent, following Nesty, to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Ervin is of African-American and Jewish descent.
He wasn’t done.
Ervin won gold in the 50 freestyle 16 years later in 2016 at the age of 35, becoming the oldest individual Olympic swimming champion. He won three golds and a silver during his Olympic career, which spanned three Games.
Maritza Correia McClendon
Maritza Correia McClendon was a Black swimmer from Puerto Rico who became the first Puerto Rican of African decent to be on the U.S. Olympic team, competing at the 2004 Games in Athens.
She earned the silver medal on the 400 freestyle relay and was the first Black female swimmer to set an American and world record in swimming.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Cullen Jones
In 2008, Cullen Jones joined Nesty and Ervin as Olympic gold medalists. As part of the 400 freestyle relay, Jones won gold in Beijing and was also the first African-American male to hold a world record, as the U.S. relay squad set the mark.
He also broke the American record in the 50 freestyle (21.59) at the Olympic Trials.
But the relay was a huge moment for Jones and swimming and was heightened by the fact that this was one of the most exciting events in swimming history as Jason Lezak chased down France’s Alain Bernard in the anchor leg to give the U.S. gold and preserve the record-setting 8-for-8 gold performance by Michael Phelps.
Jones returned to the Olympics in 2012 and won gold in the 400 medley relay and claimed silver in the 50 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay. Jones was part of the historic 2012 U.S. Olympic team that was the first to have more than one African-American swimmer on the team. Jones was joined by Ervin and Lia Neal in 2012.
Simone Manuel. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Simone Manuel
In 2016, Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming, as well as set an Olympic record and American record. She and Canada’s Penny Oleksiak tied for the gold in the 100 freestyle and broke the Olympic record in the event. Manuel is also a three-time world record relay swimmer.
At Stanford, she was a six-time individual NCAA champion, leading an historic 1-2-3 finish with Lia Neal and Natalie Hinds, the first 1-2-3 sweep by African-American swimmers in NCAA history.
These swimmers have led the way into a sport that continues to diversify. African-Americans Lia Neal and Natalie Hinds have become Olympians. Reece Whitley has excelled in the breaststroke and Giles Smith was named captain of an International Swimming League (ISL) team. David Curtiss broke a national high school record and became an international medalist.
Today, we remember Robinson who got the ball rolling by breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Join The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Get Swimming World Magazine
A International Swimming Hall of Fame membership now includes Swimming World Magazine
Swimming World now comes with your tax-deductible membership to the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). You Can Still Order a $39.95 Digital Only Subscription at SwimmingWorld.com/Renew, but a print subscription comes with a Family or Legacy ISHOF Membership.
$100.00 ISHOF Single Membership: Monthly digital subscription to Swimming World, Swimming World Biweekly and Swimming Technique publications downloaded from the Swimming World Vault, free ISHOF museum admission for one-person, ISHOF pin, patch, newsletter and annual yearbook, and 10% off all swim shop purchases. Visit SwimmingWorld.com/Renew to Renew
$150.00 ISHOF Family Membership: 12 print issues of Swimming World Magazine and a monthly digital subscription to Swimming World, Swimming World Biweekly and Swimming Technique publications downloaded from the Swimming World Vault, free ISHOF museum family admission, discounted ISHOF event tickets, ISHOF newsletter and annual yearbook, ISHOF t-shirt, pin and patch, and 10% off all swim shop purchases. Visit SwimmingWorld.com/Renew to Renew
$300.00 ISHOF Legacy Membership: 12 print issues of Swimming World Magazine, download issues back to 1960 including Swimming World Biweekly and Swimming Technique, free museum group admission, discounted ISHOF event tickets, ISHOF newsletter and annual yearbook, ISHOF polo shirt, pin and patch, and 10% off all swim shop purchases. Visit SwimmingWorld.com/Renew to Renew
Questions: Subscriptions@SwimmingWorld.com or Memberships@ISHOF.org 1-800-511-3029
Event Changes Likely as Paris 2024 Moves to Nine-Day Schedule of Finals
by DAVID RIEDER
Event Changes Likely as Paris 2024 Moves to Nine-Day Schedule of Finals
For the first time, Olympic swimming will take place over nine days of finals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The organizing committee for the Games recently released the full competition schedule by sport for the Games, which will take place from Wednesday, July 24 through Sunday, August 11, 2024. As usual, swimming will be held over the first week of the Games beginning the day after the Opening Ceremony, but there will be one additional day of finals.
The swimming competition will take place at Paris La Defense Arena, and for eight days stretching from Saturday, July 27 through Saturday, August 3, competition will include prelims from 11 a.m. through 1 p.m. local time and finals from 8:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. Paris is six hours ahead of the United States, so that would mean a start time of 2:30 p.m. for those watching from the U.S. east coast. The schedule also includes a finals session from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 4.
FINA confirmed to Swimming World that this schedule is accurate. Swimming will return to evening finals in Paris after medals were awarded in the morning for the Tokyo Games, a move designed to accommodate prime-time viewing in the United States. But the schedule of events could change completely after it remained almost identical for the last five Olympics, with seven sessions of prelims and eight sessions of finals. Aside from moving finals to the morning in Tokyo (and previously at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing), the only recent change was the addition of the women’s 1500 freestyle, the men’s 800 freestyle and the mixed 400 medley relay to bring the total number of medal events up from 32 to 35.
Now, the schedule will spread out over eight prelims and nine finals. The move will likely be welcome news to female and male sprinters who had to navigate the 50 freestyle, mixed 400 medley relay and single-gender 400 medley relays over the final two days of racing in Tokyo.
FINA revealed that the competition schedule for Paris is still being developed in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee and the organizing committee for the Paris Games.
USA Swimming confirms Indy will host 2024 Swimming Olympic Trials….
by DAN D’ADDONA — SWIMMING WORLD MANAGING EDITOR
USA Swimming has confirmed the report that the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials are headed to Indianapolis.
The official announcement was made by USA Swimming and Indiana Sports Corp, that the event will take place in Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
“From day one, I truly believed that there was no bigger, more exciting, everything-on-the-line Olympic event in this country than the Swimming Trials and envisioned the heights that we could take it to,” USA Swimming President & CEO Tim Hinchey III said. “Given their track record, we are incredibly confident and excited in Indianapolis’ ability to conduct a technically flawless competition and to stage a world-class event. We are also proud of Indiana Sports Corp’s commitment to partnering with us in giving back to the local community and leaving a legacy far beyond our nine-day meet.”
Omaha has hosted the past four U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.
Traditionally aking place every four years, the Olympic Trials rank as the most prestigious swimming event in the United States. The 2024 Olympic Trials will serve as the sole selection meet for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team, which will represent Team USA in the pool competition in Paris, France. While Indianapolis last hosted the swimming Trials in 2000, 2024 will mark the 100-year anniversary since Indianapolis hosted the Olympic Swimming Trials for the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.
“We are honored to be selected as host to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming,” Indiana Sports Corp President Ryan Vaughn said. “The sports strategy in Indianapolis was built on a foundation of Olympic sports and we look forward to elevating the sport of swimming and Indy’s reputation as the city where champions are crowned through this event. This is a tremendous opportunity to engage our community beyond the competition venue and we look forward to providing a top-tier experience to all involved.”
Three temporary pools, two 50-meter and one 25-meter, will be installed over the field in Lucas Oil Stadium, which is a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue that has hosted such prestigious events as the National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball Championship games, the College Football Playoff National Championship, and many others. The Indiana Convention Center, connected to the stadium, will feature USA Swimming’s Toyota Aqua Zone, a can’t-miss fan activation area. The USA Swimming House, a vibrant hospitality hub, will also make its anticipated return and USA Swimming and the Indiana Sports Corp expect to create a city-wide festival throughout the course of the event to celebrate the sport of swimming.
“Indianapolis continues to solidify its place as the top host city in the country,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. “One hundred years after the road to swimming in the Paris Summer Olympics went through our city, we’re looking forward to once again highlighting the top athletes in the country. Thanks to the partnership with USA Swimming and Indiana Sports Corp, as well as the team at Lucas Oil Stadium for making this innovative event happen right here in Indianapolis.”
As part of the hosting partnership, USA Swimming and the Indiana Sports Corp will commit a total of $400,000 to Legacy Projects to ensure increased access to water for children in underserved areas of the Indianapolis region. The entities will work with programs and facilities in need of financial and programmatic assistance, with the ultimate goals of promoting the sport of swimming and the life-saving skills of water safety.
Prior to the pandemic, the 2016 Olympic Trials eclipsed all previous attendance marks with nearly 200,000 spectators across 15 sold-out sessions – in a 14,500-seat venue – and a 30 percent increase in tickets sold over 2012. More than 36 million television viewers watched live primetime coverage from the eight nights of Trials on NBC, and the event generated more than $74 million in economic impact for the city of Omaha.
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for all sports is a collaborative, three-way partnership between the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the National Governing Bodies (NGB) and the local organizing committees.
Coach Sally Hansell is ONE IN A THOUSAND!
Sally Hansell has been a longtime friend, visitor, supporter and contributor to ISHOF, but over the last year, she became a member of ISHOF’s One in A Thousand program. It’s people like Sally that help make ISHOF what it is today, help it continue to grow, as they help us with our mission and continue to support ISHOF financially.
Here is Sally Hansell’s story:
Sally Hansell, a Cooper City resident, is best known for her love of all aquatic sports, but diving is in her blood. She moved to Florida in the ninth grade and competed in swimming and diving, each year qualifying for the Florida State High School Championships. She began her coaching career when she was severely injured while training for diving on a trampoline and was unable to complete.
Sally began her career as head diving coach at Lakewood High School and St. Petersburg Catholic High School (St. Petersburg, Florida). In 1980, she moved to Broward County and became head diving coach, assistant swim coach and head water polo coach at Cooper City High School, where she remained until 2004. Hansell has been the head diving coach at University School of Nova Southeastern, and has also served as the director of the swimming & diving there, where she still remains today.
Hansell has coached over 100 diving and swimming athletes to the medal stand at the FHSAA State Championships. Seven of her divers completed their seasons undefeated in all competitions including the State Championships. She serves on the Florida Gold Coast Diving Association Board of Directors as president and has been a FHSAA-certified referee for over 20 years. She has been the recipient of “Coach of the Year” in 2011 at University School of Nova Southeastern, and two-time recipient of “BCAA All Star Water Polo Coach,” and “NJCAA Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year,” as well as a selection committee member for the NISCA High School All American divers. In 2017, Sally was inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame, right here in Fort Lauderdale, along with other greats in their own respective sports, like Miami Dolphins great, Jason Taylor, Football, Miami Marlin’s Cliff Floyd, baseball and Glenn Kaye, swimming, to name a few……
Induction into Broward County Sports Hall of Fame
Photo courtesy: sunny.org
Sally has been attending meets and bringing her athletes to the Hall of Fame since the 1980’s and has seen the many changes since that time.
“I love the museum, and the entire venue, and knowing it’s in Fort Lauderdale helps me show my friends it’s acknowledgement to athletes and how it showcases what they can and have achieved. I also advocate that they go visit the world of Aquatics” said Sally recently.
When asked why she donates to ISHOF, Sally went ISHOF highlights, it allows me to have a place I call home for something I participated in, and still coach and teach in.
I will always give to this institution in any way I can”.
Thank you Sally Hansell for always being a part of ISHOF, and this year for becoming “One in A Thousand”.
Join Sally and become a member of the One in a Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or one-time basis.
$10 Monthly Commitment$25 Monthly Commitment$50 Monthly CommitmentMake a One-Time Commitment
For larger corporate sponsorships and estate-planning donations, please contact us at customerservice@ishof.org.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to know if you are one in a thousand? We think you are! Show how special you are and become a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club. Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of support to show how special you are and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to water sports. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
PBS to Air Documentary Feature on “Ambassador of Aloha” Duke Kahanamoku (Video Trailer)
PBS to Air Documentary Feature on “Ambassador of Aloha” Duke Kahanamoku
PBS has produced a feature documentary titled, “American Masters: Waterman — Duke: Ambassador of Aloha,” a new look at a groundbreaking figure in American swimming.
The documentary is narrated by Jason Momoa. It features rare archival footage and interviews with world famous surfers Laird Hamilton, Kelly Slater and Carissa Moore as well as musician Jack Johnson. It will premiere May 10 at 9 p.m.
Kahanamoku was born in 1890 in Hawaii, long before it became an American state. He is credited as an innovator in both the sports of swimming and surfing, pivotal in helping both develop into their modern versions. As a dark-skinned Pacific Islander, he did all that while enduring prejudice throughout his life, with a story that was little appreciated outside of the Hawaiian islands. Kahanamoku was a 1965 inductee to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
In the pool, he was a star at a time when swimming was just establishing itself. He won gold in the men’s 100-meter freestyle at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics to go with a relay silver. After a brief retirement around the cancellation of the 1916 Olympics due to World War I, he returned to repeat in the 100 free and add relay gold in Antwerp in 1920. At age 33, then ancient for an athlete, he won silver in the 100 free at the 1924 Paris Games.
Kahanamoku’s swimming prowess stemmed from his exertions on a surfboard. He helped popularize traditional long boards, one of which he used in 1925 to help save eight fishermen when their boat capsized off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif. He also seeded the surfing booms in both California and Australia with visits there in the 1910s.
Kahanamoku lived until age 77, long enough to watch Hawaii become a state and see some of his achievements memorialized. He dabbled in acting roles in Hollywood in the 1920s, a popular pathway for Olympic swimmers, and became known as the “Ambassador of Aloha” as a vital supporter of Hawaii’s tourist industry.
The award-winning American Masters, now in its 36th season, “illuminates the lives and creative journeys of our nation’s most enduring artistic giants — those who have left an indelible impression on our cultural landscape — through compelling, unvarnished stories.”
“American Masters: Waterman — Duke: Ambassador of Aloha” is available on broadcast or to stream on PBS.org, the PBS Video App or through the PBS Passport program. The documentary is a production of Sidewinder Films, a division of The Foundation for Global Sports Development and Ungerleider-Ulich Productions in association with American Masters Pictures. Directed by Isaac Halasima. Produced by David Ulich and Dr. Steven Ungerleider. Michael Cascio is executive producer. Chet Thomas is Co-Producer. Michael Kantor is executive producer of American Masters.
For more information, visit the American Masters show page.
There Are Now NEW Ways to Donate to ISHOF
The International Swimming Hall of Fame would not exist without the generosity of generations of donors, which means the future of ISHOF rests on your shoulders. From small denominations to big dollars, every gift matters, and your participation sends a message that you understand, are grateful for and want to be part of the history of swimming.
In addition to its One in A Thousand program, monthly, and one-time donations, ISHOF now has Planned Giving options for donations.
Planned Giving works in a variety of ways.
Gifts from Your Will or Trust
How It Works
Include a gift to The International Swimming Hall of Fame in your will or trust.Make your bequest unrestricted or direct it to a specific purpose.Indicate a specific amount or a percentage of the balance remaining in your estate or trust.Tell us about your gift so we may celebrate your generosity now!
Gifts That Pay You Income
Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity is a simple agreement between you and The International Swimming Hall of Fame. In exchange for a gift of cash or appreciated assets, you receive fixed payments for life
How It Works
You transfer cash or securities to The International Swimming Hall of Fame. Our minimum suggested gift requirement is $100,000.The International Swimming Hall of Fame pays you, yourself and a spouse, or any two beneficiaries you name, fixed payments for life.Beneficiaries are recommended to be at least 60 years of age at the time of the gift.The remaining balance passes to ISHOF when the contract ends.
Gifts of Life Insurance
How It Works
You transfer ownership of a paid-up life insurance policy to The International Swimming Hall of Fame.ISHOF elects to cash in the policy now or hold it.Consider naming The International Swimming Hall of Fame in your long-term plans. It’s simple.
Gifts from your Retirement Plans
Here is a tax-smart way to make an impact on ISHOF using your traditional or inherited IRA. The IRA charitable rollover (also called the Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD) is a great way to make a tax-free gift to ISHOF and satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). If you are not required to take an RMD but no longer itemize your deductions, then a QCD may be right for you as well.
How It Works
Name or designate The International Swimming Hall of Fame as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other qualified retirement plan.Pass the balance of your retirement assets to The International Swimming Hall of Fame by contacting your plan administrator.Important! Tell ISHOF about your gift. Your plan administrator is not obligated to notify us, so if you don’t tell us, we may not know.
For more information contact the International Swimming Hall of Fame here, to answer all of your donation questions.
Post Office honor for French Jackson passes hurdle with Sasse support…..
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
United States Senator Ben Sasse has offered the support needed for a bill to rename a post office for World War II hero Charles Jackson French.
The senator from Nebraska on Monday, the day before the deadline, wrote a letter of support to a bill before the Senate Homeland Security and General Affairs Committee. The bill, H.R. 4168, would rename a post office in French’s native Omaha in his honor.
“Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French is an American hero,” Sasse wrote in the letter. “Should the Committee consider and favorably report H.R. 4168, I intend to support it if it is presented to the full Senate, including by supporting unanimous consent requests to expedite its consideration as needed.”
French served in the Navy in World War II. During the battle of Guadalcanal in 1942, the ship on which French was serving as a mess attendant, the U.S.S. Gregory, was sunk by Japanese forces. French saved the lives of 15 sailors by swimming them to safety through shark-infested waters.
Honors for French, who died in 1956, have been delayed. But the post office honors and the naming of a Naval training pool in San Diego, where French lived later in life, in his honor are among the delayed recognition for his heroism. The post office that would bear his name sits at 63rd and Maple Streets in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha.
The drive to name the post office for French was led by Sen. Deb Fischer and Rep. Don Bacon, the latter of whom is a retired Air Force brigadier general. Bacon’s House bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith.
“I’m hoping Ben will decide to support,” Bacon told the Nebraska Examiner last week. “It is right for Omaha and the French family. It is important to remember our legacy and honor our heroes.”
The effort required a largely perfunctory signoff from Sasse, since the rest of the state’s congressional delegation was on board. Sasse had held a policy of not sponsoring bills to rename post offices, but relented in this instance.
Members of French’s family last week urged Sasse to sign for the significance to the greater community.
“What it would do is, it would show that a person of color, what he achieved, it’s on the post office building,” French’s nephew, Chester French, said. “It would be something where if young adults, old adults might be within the Benson area, if they knew a little about the history of him, they would think that this would be quite an achievement.”
Dick Roth -the Story of Olympic Glory
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 13 March 2022
At ISHOF, Appendix Is Piece of Memorabilia That Tells the Story of Dick Roth & Olympic Glory
Walking through the International Swimming Hall of Fame, any number of artifacts or pieces of memorabilia will catch the eye. Olympic medals. Warmups of legends. Suits. Caps. And…internal body parts.
Wait, what?
A packup process at ISHOF is currently underway, with every piece of memorabilia set to go into storage while a new facility – gorgeous in nature – is built in Fort Lauderdale. But before everything is boxed, a medical cup caught my attention during a recent visit. Could that possibly be a urine sample? No joke, that was the first thought that crossed my mind. And then I found out what was inside was even more stunning.
The first time the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo, there was no shortage of iconic moments. Dawn Fraser captured her third consecutive title in the 100-meter freestyle. Don Schollander doubled in the 100 freestyle and 400 freestyle. Donna de Varona was golden in the women’s 400 individual medley, leading an American sweep of the podium.
Also in Tokyo, a 17-year-old American captured the gold medal in the men’s 400 individual medley – major medical problems be damned. In what was a touch-and-go situation for a handful of days, Dick Roth battled through a bout of appendicitis, was given a green light to compete and delivered the performance of his career – and one of the gutsiest efforts in the history of the sport.
Photo Courtesy:
Heading into the Tokyo Games, Roth was pegged as the favorite for gold in the 400 I.M., having set a world record in the event just a few months earlier. It was the first time an individual-medley event was contested on the Olympic stage, with the 200 medley, in which Roth was also the world-record holder, added to the program for the first time in 1968.
Just before Roth was scheduled to step onto the blocks for the preliminaries of his go-to event, he was plagued by stomach pain. And it wasn’t minor discomfort from a bad meal or due to a virus. This pain was piercing and led to Roth being taken to a U.S. Army hospital.
“The diagnosis was acute appendicitis, but I said ‘no way I’m having surgery,’” Roth said during a 2012 interview with InMenlo. “Being just 17, I didn’t have the final say. I was kept in the hospital and prepped for surgery. They brought in someone from the Olympic committee and went looking for my parents, who were enjoying a day of sightseeing before the competition. By the time they found my parents, it was six or eight hours later. There I sat, fully prepped for surgery on the gurney. But by that time, things had stabilized. I begged them to let me swim. My parents wanted to give me the chance to swim. My mother was particularly strong-willed, shall we say. They called Dr. Robert Jamplis at Stanford. Jamp advised monitoring my white blood count and putting me on antibiotics. On a logical level, it must have been an incredibly difficult decision for my parents, but they let me swim.”
More than a half century after his ordeal, the fact that Roth was given a thumbs-up to compete is difficult to comprehend. Eating only Jello, not only were there risks of additional medical complications, Roth hardly seemed positioned to have an impact. And based on the way he performed during the preliminary heats, the teenager looked nothing like a medal contender.
Racing to a time of 5:01.3 during prelims, Roth was the fourth-fastest qualifier into the final and sat nine seconds off the leading pace of fellow American Carl Robie, who touched the wall in 4:52.0. More, Roth was 13 seconds slower than his world record. Although the final was not scheduled for two days later, an obvious question existed: While fighting appendicitis, how could Roth possibly get himself in contention?
A combination of factors enabled Roth to enter the final in considerably better form than prelims. For one, the antibiotics he was given had a major effect on his condition. More, Roth adopted an ahead-of-its-time approach and relied on visualization to mentally prepare for the race.
“I did what’s commonplace today,” Roth said of the downtime between prelims and finals. “I started to swim the race over and over in my mind. I also got progressively better. The finals were two days after the trial and that gave me time to recuperate physically and psychologically.”
In the final, Roth was a much different swimmer than the one who trudged through prelims. Putting his multi-stroke talent on display, Roth stormed to a world record of 4:45.4 to secure gold and finish ahead of American teammate Roy Saari (4:47.1) and Germany’s Gerhard Hetz (4:51.0), with Robie placing fourth in 4:51.4. Roth never led the race until the freestyle leg, when he overhauled Saari.
“Winning the gold medal (changed) my life,” Roth said. “It led to absolutely amazing, wonderful things. But being only 17, I couldn’t help but think, ‘what’s next.’ It informed my life a lot. The drive I had to win gold has always been there to call on. But sometimes self-expectations are high.”
Photo Courtesy:
For Roth, the gold medal was the obvious pinnacle of his career, which came to an end at 19, when Roth announced his retirement. Eventually, the future Hall of Famer was beset by another bout of appendicitis, this time requiring the removal of the unnecessary, but troublesome organ. Given the appendix by doctors after his operation, Roth eventually had an idea for its future. According to historian extraordinaire and former ISHOF CEO Bruce Wigo, when Roth was approached by ISHOF head Buck Dawson for a memorabilia donation to coincide with his Hall of Fame induction, Roth had a legendary option.
Roth isn’t the only American swimmer with an appendix-focused story. In 1960, just six days after undergoing an appendectomy, Jeff Farrell qualified to represent the United States at the Olympics in Rome. At the Games, Farrell was a member of two golden relays.
As strange as it might seem that an appendix is part of ISHOF’s memorabilia collection, its presence speaks to the depth and history of the museum. It also represents a unique moment in history – when toughness and guts prevailed.
Related
Every day brings new excitement at the Hall of Fame Aquatic Center in Fort Lauderdale!
Photo Credit: Maren Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale Beach
Every day you arrive at the ISHOF / Ft. Lauderdale Aquatic Center complex, something new has happened! I should clarify, we are not opened to the public yet, but we, who work here, still come to work everyday and get to see the daily changes…. (well I get to come in everyday for the three weeks I am in town, so it is a bit more exciting for me!)
Yesterday, I arrived to a new, cleaned up, blacktopped parking lot, with newly planted beautiful palm trees. As I walked down the complex, surprised that much of the machinery was not crowding the lot, I was able to really see an end in sight. It was marvelous!
Next, upon walking to the end of the complex, there was another GIANT SURPRISE!!!!!
The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Centersign was up!!!!! (Excuse the port-a-potties)
What a great way to start the day! It made going to work extra special….but that wasn’t the end of the excitement….On the was home, we all stayed a bit late, running around and on the way out, we took a look out the window……
DURAFLEX IS IN THE HOUSE!!!!! Thanks to Honoree, Ray Rude!
The springboards have been put in place! Both the 1- and 3- meter boards!
Needless to say, they got a lot of the finishing touches completed yesterday and it was a very exciting day around here in Fort Lauderdale! Stay tuned!
Who knows what will happen tomorrow!