Tom Daley Retires After Olympic Career Spanning 16 Years & A Full Set Of Medals
Tom Daley & Noah Williams: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia
by Liz Byrnes – Europe Correspondent
12 August 2024
Tom Daley Retires After Olympic Career Spanning 16 Years & A Full Set Of Medals
Tom Daley has retired from diving after a senior international career that spanned 16 years and brought Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles.
The 30-year-old has been winning national titles since 2007 and in March 2008, Daley became the youngest person to win gold at the European Championships in Eindhoven when he claimed the 10m platform title aged 13.
He made his Olympic debut later that year before becoming world champion aged 15 in Rome in July 2009.
Tom Daley: Photo Courtesy: Jim Thurston
Since then, Daley amassed a further three world titles among seven medals, four more European golds and as many Commonwealth titles.
With his appearance at Paris 2024, Daley became the first diver from Great Britain to compete at five Olympics.
There he won silver alongside Noah Williams in the men’s 10m synchro as he claimed his fifth Olympic medal.
The pair replicated their finish at the World Championships in Doha where Daley also won gold as part of the team event.
Olympic Roll Call
Gold: 10m synchro, Tokyo 2021
Silver: 10m synchro, Paris 2024
Bronze: 10m platform, London 2012
Bronze: 10m synchro, Rio 2016
Bronze: 10m platform, Tokyo 2021
Daley has now brought his career to a close, telling Vogue that he’d already made his decision ahead of the Games: “It was emotional at the end, up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive. But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time. It’s the right time to call it a day.”
He also posted to social media, saying: “Thank you, diving ❤️ over and out ❤️”
Passages: The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66
by Swimming World Editorial Staff
10 August 2024
The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66
By CHUCK WARNER
Legendary United States distance swimmer and coach Casey Converse lost his battle to cancer earlier this week at the age of 66. Here is a tribute to Casey, written by Chuck Warner.
Are you a swimmer or coach with an attitude of gratitude? You might take a moment to consider appreciating the incredible gift that the life of Casey Converse has brought to all of us.
If the sport of swimming’s greatest aspiration is for someone to be able to work their way from nothing to something, from no name to know name, from entrant to champion, then Casey Converse is one example of what we can all aspire to. Growing up in Mobile, Alabama swimming for the Chandler YMCA, in his junior year of high school, he took the big leap out to California to join, enhance and invigorate the “Animal Lane” at the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Beloved by his teammates, he worked hard, improving the practice environment for everyone around him. Occasionally it was tough to get out of bed in the morning to get to practice. His coach Mark Schubert rewarded him with recording a “20,000 for time” and a lesson to meet his commitments. Casey completed the distance with no malice, accepting his responsibility as a team member.
On a winter holiday training trip to Hawaii, he was one of the first to crow joyously over the rainbows spanning the mountains, the racing between the lane lines and the laughter in the locker room. He described a 5000 for time racing in and around “the animals,” as “the most fun a teenager could ever have.” The skinny kid from the south etched himself into the team and became bold enough to begin another training session by pointing the groups minds toward their goal, when he bellowed, “I declare the Olympic Games of Montreal OPEN!”
Photo Courtesy: Air Force Academy
Casey climbed onto the 1976 Olympic team back before the USA was punished for its Olympic domination and three swimmers could qualify in each swimming event—just as is still the case in track today. In Montreal Casey didn’t medal, or even make the finals of the 400 freestyle, but he was the kind of “glue guy” that helped make that team the best Olympic men’s swimming team there has ever been.
You know Casey’s type? Every team has them. Teammates that make going to practice not only a physical workout but a social celebration. Some teammates you tolerate, others you delight in. Casey’s love and kindness for his teammates generated the same emotion back to him, forging a permanent bond.
We met in 1985 when I became the head coach of the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlins. I inherited his help as an assistant coach on the CPM staff. For me, a slow swimmer and coach from Connecticut, I had never been around an Olympian. Just like he’s done with so many colleagues, Casey quickly made it clear how he saw our relationship. We were standing by the “weight room” at the Keating Natatorium which was 50 plus meters, a stairway and a balcony away from our office. Casey said to me, “I want to clarify our relationship. If your pencil breaks, I will run up to the office and get you a new one.” He went on, “If it breaks again, I will run and get you another one.” His forthright humbleness launched a wonderful coaching rapport and friendship. And reenforced in me what kind of qualities a human is capable of.
Two years later my swimmers helped me become an assistant coach on the USA Pan Am Games staff. Skip Kenney was the head coach. Eddie Reese and Jonty Skinner, were assistant coaches with me. At our first staff meeting I told Skip that I wanted to make my relationship clear with him. I said if his pencil broke and there was a sharp one on the tenth floor of the hotel, I would run and get it for him. Other coaches echoed my sentiments.
In part, because of Casey’s example, our staff and team gelled into an egoless unit representing the USA with every ounce of emotional swimming or cheering we could give. Because of that, we were inspired to sing “America The Beautiful” together when we met our competition goals (okay, a self-conscious Eddie Reese just hummed the words).
The American Swimming Team is much more than Olympic finalists and medal winners. Our big broad tapestry of clubs, coaches, swimmers and national teams that make our sport’s flag wave with grace and pride, needs people that are seamstresses to sew our varied individual interests, backgrounds, or fabrics if you will, together.
Casey Converse was a seamstress to all who swam and coached on our team. Casey brought people together because of his love for the sport, and most especially, the people like you, that are in it.
Casey was a barrier breaker doing things others couldn’t and wouldn’t do. In his freshman year at Alabama, he became the first human to swim faster than 15:00 in the 1650. Ten years after becoming the head men and women’s coach at the US Air Force Academy, the school moved from Division II to Division I competition. It also decided to split the men and women’s programs with a head coach for each. It was much easier to recruit male national class swimmers to Air Force than women. Coach Converse was given his choice and elected to coach the women. He explained in a private moment then, “I wanted to do the most good for the most people I could.” In a recent phone call, he went further,
“Once we went into Division I, I knew that, overall, our women’s team wouldn’t be able to compete at the NCAAs. In many ways it was going to be harder to coach the women’s team. But those ladies had the same values to develop that the guys did from their experience in the sport of swimming. I wanted to help them do that.”
Courtesy: Rosie Converse-Soriano
About 2014, well into his cancer diagnosis he decided to give again by writing the book Munich To Montreal, because of the way he felt our women had been cheated by the East German systematic doping of their swimmers leading into Montreal. Casey wanted the women on his 1976 team to be recognized for what they had earned but had been denied. Wanting to fully vet his story, he flew to East Germany to interview some of the DDR women. The book helped support USA Swimming’s superb documentary “The Last Gold” about the 400-meter freestyle relay in Montreal for which he served as a consultant.
Casey was the waiter in a restaurant full of stars and egos, that provided each table the most timely, meaningful, satisfying and loving experience most could dream of. Casey Converse helped make us, The American Swimming Team, or more likely, showed us what role we could play: as a teammate, as a coach and, for those lucky enough, as a friend. Even more importantly he set an example as a father, a grandfather and husband.
Always on the search for a way to give to others, his life on earth was a gift to all who knew him, but also to every member of the swimming community that didn’t because his kindness and service reverberates throughout the sport he loved.
What a gift the life of Casey Converse has been.
Paris Olympics: In and Out of Pool, Katie Ledecky Brought Power and Grace to Latest Games
by JOHN LOHN – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
15 August 2024, 06:10am
Paris Olympics: In and Out of Pool, Katie Ledecky Brought Power and Grace to Latest Games
At both the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Katie Ledecky faced the media at a press conference and let her emotions pour out. She spoke of the sport’s meaning in her life, and expressed appreciation for those who played a critical role in her ascension to future Hall of Famer. Tears flowed. Her voice cracked.
Typically stoic and businesslike in her approach to the sport, Ledecky’s openness at the end of a quadrennial serves as an important reminder. She is beautifully human. Vulnerable. Not a machine, despite the power with which she moves through the water. And the mental and physical toll of Olympic preparation is something only a miniscule percentage of athletes can truly understand.
At the recently concluded Olympic Games in Paris, the Ledecky scene played out again. This time, it followed Day One of competition at La Defense Arena. But the crux of the press conference was the same.
“Yeah, I love this sport so much,” she said. “I get emotional about it. I love those people (teammates and coaches), and that’s what carries me through, keeps me going.”
Ledecky kept her Olympic momentum rolling at the Paris Games. The upstart who first represented Team USA at the 2012 Olympics is now a four-time Olympian, more medals collected than any other female swimmer.
Another chapter written.
SHINING IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS
Katie Ledecky is familiar with the attention that accompanies global championships and is magnified at the Olympic Games. A four-event program guaranteed significant attention over the nine-day meet in Paris, and the 400-meter freestyle wasted no time thrusting the American into the spotlight.
The event was held on the first day of the meet and featured a clash between the last three world-record holders – Ledecky, Australian Ariarne Titmus and Canadian Summer McIntosh. The showdown was dubbed The Race of the Century II, nicknamed as the successor to the 2004 Race of the Century, when Ian Thorpe, Pieter van den Hoogenband and Michael Phelps battled in the 200 freestyle at the Athens Games.
Retaining her title, Titmus recorded a wire-to-wire triumph over McIntosh, who occupied the silver-medal position throughout the race. A bronze medal for Ledecky gave her a complete set of medals from the event, complementing her gold from the 2016 Olympics and a silver from the 2020 Games.
“It’s awesome for the sport and awesome for women’s swimming,” Ledecky said of the event’s drama. “It’s a testament to Ariarne and Summer and the performances they’ve had over the last few years. And I’d like to think that I contributed a little bit to the buildup around that race.”
The 400 freestyle is no longer Ledecky’s domain, but she continues to dominate in the longer freestyle events. Sandwiching a United States silver medal in the 800 freestyle relay, in which she handled the third leg, Ledecky added additional Olympic gold in the 1500 freestyle and 800 freestyle. The 30-lap discipline was a rout, with Ledecky repeating and setting an Olympic record of 15:30.02 and prevailing by more than 10 seconds. The effort handed Ledecky the 20-fastest performances of all-time.
The 800 freestyle required a bit more work, but Ledecky eventually broke free of Titmus and got to the wall in 8:11.04, more than a second clear of her rival. By winning the 800 freestyle, Ledecky joined Michael Phelps as the only other swimmer to claim gold in the same event at four consecutive Games. Ledecky won her first title in the event as a 15-year-old in 2012. Phelps achieved the feat in the 200 individual medley from 2004-2016.
“Coming into the 800, I just felt a lot of pressure from myself, just from my history (in the event),” Ledecky said. “And I knew going into it that it was going to be a really tough race and that everyone in the field was going to throw everything they had at me.”
The gold medal in the 800 freestyle was the ninth of Ledecky’s stellar career, moving her into a six-way tie for second in Olympic history. While Phelps leads with 23 gold medals, Ledecky is tied for the No. 2 spot with fellow sporting legends Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Caeleb Dressel, Larisa Latynina and Paavo Nurmi.
The four-peat also raised Ledecky’s career-medal count to 14, making her the most-decorated female swimmer in Olympic history, that honor shared with Australian Emma McKeon. In addition to her nine gold medals, Ledecky owns four silver medals and a bronze medal.
The greatness is not lost on Ledecky’s competitors.
“She’s just a champ,” Titmus said of Ledecky. “I have the most respect for her of any athlete I’ve ever competed against. I know how hard it is to go back-to-back and (for her) to be on top of the world in the same event for over 12 years is just remarkable. I feel so honored to be part of her story and hopefully it’s made me a better athlete as well.”
A CLASS ACT
If Ledecky never wins another Olympic medal, her legacy is firmly established. She is the greatest female swimmer in history. Plain and simple. Yet, what further elevates Ledecky’s status as a sporting icon is how she carries herself. She’s the first to praise her foes. She heaps recognition on her teammates. She repeatedly acknowledges her coaches, family and friends. It’s all from the heart. Pure.
On the final day of swimming action, Ledecky watched the final of the men’s 1500 freestyle from the stands. From the starting beep, American Bobby Finke – a training partner of Ledecky – attacked the race and was under world-record pace. With each stroke, Ledecky enthusiastically cheered her friend. When Finke ultimately broke the world record, no one in the building was more thrilled than Ledecky.
There’s a reason she was selected as a Team USA captain for Paris. There’s a reason she was chosen as a United States flag bearer – along with rower Nick Mead – for the Closing Ceremony of the 2024 Games. It’s called respect.
Heck, when Ledecky surged up the all-time medals lists in the French capital, speaking about herself was not the approach. Rather, she took a moment to cast praise elsewhere.
“I try not to think about history very much,” she said. “I know those names, those people that I’m up there with. They’re swimmers that I looked up to when I first started swimming. It’s an honor to be named among them. I’m grateful to them for inspiring me and so many great swimmers over the years in the U.S. that have helped me get to this moment.”
AHEAD TO LOS ANGELES
In the days after a Games concludes, most athletes beam over their upcoming break from the physical and mental demands of training. It is an opportunity to recharge and prepare for the future. For some, that might be life’s next chapter, as retirement calls. For others, detachment from that familiar black line on the bottom of the pool is a welcome split, if only to ensure the reunion will be free of resentment.
Ledecky does not operate in this sense. She has always enjoyed the demands of training, gaining satisfaction from completing countless laps and grinding sets. The pool is an escape for the 27-year-old, and her unique relationship with the sport – one that is organic and cannot be faked – offers further insight into her longevity and greatness.
So, it isn’t a shock that Ledecky plans to swim on – races inside SoFi Stadium at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles part of her long-term plan. She’ll be 31 when the Summer Olympics return to the United States for the first time since 1996, more than twice as old as when she made her Games debut. If she earns the chance to compete in L.A. and defend her crowns in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, it will require the same dedication Ledecky has exhibited for more than a decade.
And that is just fine.
“I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in the sport yet,” Ledecky said in Paris. “I’d love to continue on and just seeing the kind of support that the French athletes are getting here, I think all the U.S. athletes are thinking about how cool that could be in Los Angeles having the home crowd. So that would be amazing to be able to compete there.”
Paris Olympics: The Fingerprints of Bob Bowman Detected All Over Games
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
13 August 2024, 05:28am
Paris Olympics: The Fingerprints of Bob Bowman Detected All Over Games
For the sixth straight Olympics, Bob Bowman sported red, white and blue gear on deck. But after previously only representing the United States, it happened to be in support of the home nation’s tricolor at the Paris La Défense Arena, coaching France’s biggest star of the Games in any sport.
What the American found in Paris was something vaster, something befitting the aspirations of a coach whose reputation has long since been cemented by mentoring the greatest swimmer in history. The United States of Bob Bowman, were it so constructed out of the pupils he’s overseen at Arizona State and now the University of Texas, would’ve walked away from the Paris Olympics as the story of the pool competition.
Led by Leon Marchand’s four gold medals, freed of much of the baggage of the underperforming American men, with a Hubert Kos here and a Regan Smith there, Bowman’s contingent performed like few others in Paris. In doing so, the pro group he’s led since the Tokyo Olympics lived up to Bowman’s coaching credo in this second chapter of his career, after North Baltimore Aquatic Club and the University of Michigan with a swimmer of some renown named Michael Phelps.
Fast swimmers are what Bowman seeks out. Turning good swimmers into great ones and greats into legends is his guiding principle, whatever flag may adorn their caps and suits. Paris marked a celebration of unparalleled success.
“I think as a coach, it’s always amazing to bring forward your swimmers, whoever they are,” Bowman said. “… For me, I’m here trying to help everyone do their best. And if they do, I feel good about it.”
Leading Leon
For the adoring French public, Bowman will be as synonymous with Marchand’s performance there as he long has been with Phelps in America. Once a promising youth swimmer born in Toulouse to Olympian parents, Marchand has grown into a world-beater thanks to his time in Tempe with Bowman. There, he’s built upon an excellent technical foundation from long-course swimming in his youth with the speed work and underwater proficiency required of short-course yards competition. A busy racing schedule in the NCAA has forced Marchand to develop toughness that eludes many European swimmers, especially in their early 20s.
Most importantly, for a swimmer whose talent and aspirations exceed all but the elitest of echelons, finding the man who navigated Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals was a vital piece of the puzzle. In doing so, Marchand joined Phelps (twice), Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto as the only swimmers to win four individual gold medals at the same Olympics.
Bowman is under no illusions as to his role in Marchand’s journey. It’s as a sagacious presence just off stage, advising and extracting the best while Marchand laps up the limelight his swims have earned. Bowman didn’t discover Marchand, who made an Olympic final in Tokyo before he’d started in Arizona. But he has helped Marchand bring out the best in himself.
“This whole meet is about me fulfilling a promise I made to a kid three years ago,” Bowman said. “And that I can come through and deliver because not only was it a challenge for him, it was a huge challenge for me. So to put it together, see it come to fruition, it’s incredibly satisfying, and to be able to help him meet this moment, ready for it, it’s amazing.”
Marchand fulfilled the promise in the pool, not Bowman. He began the Games by dominating the men’s 400 individual medley, the event in which he took down Phelps’ last remaining world record in 2023. Marchand added the Olympic record, under Phelps’ former world mark from his eight-for-eight golden performance in Beijing, and a winning margin of nearly six seconds over the field.
He added a golden double on the fifth night of the meet that exceeded anything even Phelps had ever done. He outdueled reigning 200 butterfly champion Kristof Milak by a half-second, rallying on the final lap, then dominated the 200 breaststroke to deny Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook a second straight gold. Both were Olympic records.
He made no mistakes in the 200 IM to become the first man since Phelps in 2008 to complete the IM double, then shared the French glory by helping the country win its first ever medal in the men’s medley relay (the event dates to the 1960 Games) with bronze.
A Stacked Stable
Were Marchand Bowman’s only star in Paris, the credit may have been due solely to the Frenchman’s brilliance. But swimmers of all flags lined up to testify as to Bowman’s influence.
It was felt among the American delegation, which counted Bowman as an assistant coach in Tokyo. Veterans like Paige Madden and Simone Manuel have rebuilt their careers working with Bowman. Regan Smith, who won three individual silvers and two relay golds, has taken her undeniable talent to new levels after working with Bowman, on the physical and mental aspects of the sport. Bowman guided Drew Kibler in his final push toward making a second Olympic team in the 800 freestyle relay, and Kibler played a key role in returning the U.S. to the podium in that event.
“Bob and Eric (Posegay) really pushed me and held me to the highest standard as well as my teammates,” said Madden, whose shock bronze in the women’s 800 free was the result of a best time by nearly eight seconds and one of the best moments of the meet for Team USA. “I train with the best people in the world. Regan Smith has pushed me every single day, and shout out to her for that. I’m so thankful for that. And I think I had a few breakthroughs in training that in turn, made me believe in myself.”
“I think it’s taught me a lot and it’s helped me definitely strengthen things on the mental side, because I think I’ve always had it physically,” Smith said after setting the world record at U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 backstroke. “I just for a long time didn’t have it mentally. But I’ve worked really, really hard with Bob, and a lot of my teammates, and I’ve learned a lot from all of them. And I think that’s really helped what culminated a great swim tonight.”
With Bowman in charge, Arizona State became a haven for international swimmers, too. Ilya Kharun, who trained primarily with Bowman’s assistant and new ASU head man Herbie Behm, netted bronze medals in both butterfly events for Canada. Hubert Kos, who exploded into a world champion in the 200 back last year summer, parlayed that into Olympic gold this year.
“Without him I’d probably be like 15th in the 2IM right now,” Kos said. “It’s been an incredible journey with him, and I’m just to happy be part of a team like that. The magic touch is the work. He doesn’t let us be second best. He doesn’t let us stoop down to a level he doesn’t want from us. That brings out the best in us.”
Those swimmers have also brought out the best in Bowman, in a way. Bowman’s ability to help Phelps reach transcendent status was singular, in both Phelps’ greatness and the complexity and length of their relationship. Phelps was never Bowman’s only student, and the success of Allison Schmitt, Chase Kalisz and many others spoke to Bowman’s pedigree as stemming from more than just Phelps.
But in guiding the swimmer who could come as close as any since Phelps as warranting a place in the same breath as the greatest of all time, Bowman is also adding new chapters to his legacy.
Dale Neuburger to join ISHOF Class of 2024 as Honor Contributor
Dale Neuburger has spent a lifetime in service to aquatic sports and Olympic ideals. He was elected as Vice President of FINA on five occasions (2000, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017) representing the 45 National Federations of the Americas. In 2021, he was elected as FINA Treasurer, and, in 2023, he was elected as World Aquatics Treasurer for a term ending in 2027.
Since 2005, he has served as the Bureau Liaison to the FINA/World Aquatics Technical Swimming Committee and Chairman of the FINA Technical Swimming Commission, overseeing all FINA/World Aquatics swimming competitions.
Mr. Neuburger has been appointed by FINA/World Aquatics and the International Olympic Committee to be the Technical Delegate for the swimming competition for five Olympic Games: 2008 Beijing, through 2024 Paris. The technical delegate roles encompass competition director duties, as well as general oversight of all venue-related issues.
Since its creation in 2009, Mr. Neuburger has been the Chairman of the FINA Development Commission, appointed by FINA President Julio C. Maglione. In this role, he has helped to create its extensive Athlete Scholarship Program, implement the Swim for All/Swim for Life Program and Pools for All Program, and created five global training centers for athletes from developing countries.
In 2015, Mr. Neuburger was elected as President of UANA (now known as Pan Am Aquatics), the Continental Association for aquatics serving the 45 National Federations of the Americas. Simultaneously, he was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of ACODEPA, the council of continental sport organizations that oversees sport competition in the Pan American Games. In 2019, he was elected First Vice President of ACODEPA, and he retained a position on its Executive Committee in the run-up to the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago (CHL) and served as Technical Delegate for Swimming at the Games.
Mr. Neuburger was a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Olympic Committee for eight years, from 1994 to 2002, and a member of its Executive Committee from 1996 to 2000. In recognition of his prominence within the USOC structure, Mr. Neuburger was designated to serve as Deputy Chef de Mission of the 531-member United States delegation for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games that won 101 medals, topping the medals standings.
If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation.
To make a donation, click here: https://ishof.org/donate/
This year’s International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees include:
Honor Swimmers:
Lars Frölander (SWE)
Daniel Gyurta (HUN)
Dana Vollmer (USA)
1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Gold Medal Relay Team (USA)
(Includes Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton*, Jill Sterkel)
Honor Divers:
Alexandre Despatie (CAN)
Yulia Pakhalina (RUS)
Wu Minxia (CHN) 2023
Honor Artistic Swimmer:
Virginie Dedieu (FRA)
Honor Water Polo Players:
Carmela “Lilli” Allucci (ITA)
Vladimir Akimov* (USSR)
Honor Coach:
Dennis Pursley (USA)
Honor Contributor:
Dale Neuburger (USA)
ISHOF 59th Annual Honoree Induction weekend
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Host Hotel: Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa
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321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 467-1111. Special ISHOF Guest Rate of $219 per night,
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 – $199 per night
~ TICKET INFORMATION ~
Friday, October 4, 2024: Includes:
The Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) Induction Ceremony
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and
The ISHOF Specialty Awards
Click here to purchase tickets: MISHOF/AWARDS
Saturday, October 5, 2024: Includes
The 59th Annual International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony
The Al Schoenfield Media Award and
The 2024 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
Click here to purchase tickets: INDUCTION
#ISHOF #WorldAquatics #CityofFortLauderdale #USASwimming #AquaCal #Olympics #SwimmingHallofFame #SwimmingWorld #2024Paris
Paris Olympics: Top 10 Performances From Swimming Competition
Bobby Finke — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
08 August 2024, 05:29am
Paris Olympics: Top-10 Performances From Swimming Competition
Thirty-five gold medals were awarded over nine days of swimming at La Défense Arena, and despite significant struggles by the U.S. men, the American team emerged with the most gold medals (eight) and most overall medals (28) while accounting for three of the four world records set. With the competition concluded, we can assess which swimmers impressed the most on the sport’s biggest stage.
Below are our picks, with a heavy emphasis on record-breaking swims and those in which an athlete used a clutch performance or came from behind to secure gold.
Paris 2024 Olympics: Day six highlights
1. Bobby Finke (USA), Men’s 1500 Freestyle
The man who never led at any point of his first two Olympic-gold-medal-winning swims in 2021 took a different approach this time. The rest of the world, most notably, Ireland’s Dan Wiffen, had figured out his strategy of coming from nowhere on the final length, so Finke went out hard and swam under world-record pace for all 30 laps. Unlike the final at last year’s World Championships, when Australia’s Sam Short served as the pace-setting rabbit and Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui swam with Finke all the way, Finke had to set his own standard this time.
The strategy worked, with Wiffen and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri never able to make up the deficit. Moreover, Finke managed to knock off the world record, the 14:31.02 set by China’s Sun Yang that had lasted since the London Olympics. He built enough of a gap ahead of record pace to hold on despite Sun’s legendary final 100 meters and take down one of the oldest records on the books.
2. Pan Zhanle (China), Men’s 100 Freestyle
Pan Zhanle — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
The global pace in the men’s 100 free had been largely stagnant since the banning of full-body polyurethane suits in 2009. The world record had only dropped by 11-hundredths during that time, with David Popovici and Pan Zhanle coming through for new marks after James Magnussen, Cameron McEvoy, Caeleb Dressel, Kyle Chalmers and others all made runs before falling just short of Cesar Cielo’s global standard that stood for 13 years.
Then, Pan blasted the record by four tenths while winning gold over a stacked heat by more than a second. Pan, a few days shy of his 20th birthday, put together the perfect 100 free swimmers had been striving for, going out in 22.28 and returning in 24.12, both splits well ahead of the field. That secured him individual gold, and h would add another gold medal later in the week when he anchored China’s 400 medley relay to the top spot in 45.92, the fastest relay split ever.
3. United States, Mixed 400 Medley Relay
The first relay world record came from the Americans in the mixed medley relay, the same event in which they had finished fifth three years earlier in Tokyo after deploying a faulty lineup. No such problems this time, but even the perfect strategy required perfect execution to emerge with a tight victory over China.
The two returning members from the Tokyo group got redemption: Ryan Murphy, who had missed the final of the 200 back three days earlier, put together his best race of the meet on the leadoff leg, while Torri Huske, who had handled the butterfly leg at the last Olympics, swam a 51.88 relay split, by far the fastest of her career, to take down Chinese anchor Yang Junxuan and secure the win. On the middle legs, Nic Fink and Gretchen Walsh were both nearly perfect.
4. United States, Women’s 400 Medley Relay
One day after the mixed relay triumph, the American women finished the meet with a dominant 400 medley relay performance, with Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske returning from the mixed relay to comprise the back-half of the team after Regan Smith and Lilly King. This one was not remotely close, with the Americans crushing the field by three-and-a-half seconds, but the team made history by becoming the first to ever break 3:50.
Three individual world-record holders swam for the U.S. Sunday evening, with Smith, King and Walsh, and they all produced. Smith had the second-fastest 100 back mark ever on the leadoff leg. King, who had largely struggled previously in Paris, was the only swimmer to break 1:05 on the breaststroke leg. And Walsh recorded the fastest butterfly split ever, allowing Huske to cruise home to a new record.
5. Leon Marchand (France), Men’s 200 Butterfly & Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Leon Marchand — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
No world record here, but what Leon Marchand achieved Wednesday evening was one of the all-time great performances in the sport’s history. Michael Phelps captured two gold medals in one night on three different occasions in his legendary career, each time, one of those golds came in relays. In Paris, Marchand won both the 200 fly and 200 breast, defeating the defending champions on both occasions.
There was a dramatic final turn in the 200 fly final that allowed Marchand to run down Hungary’s Kristof Milak, his final split an absurd 28.97 that beat everyone else in the field by more than six tenths. He came in at 1:51.21 to break the Olympic record and swim faster than Phelps ever did. Two hours later, Marchand never trailed in the 200 breast final, and he did not allow Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook to close the gap down the stretch. Once again, his final time of 2:05.95 was a new Olympic record, and it made him the second-fastest man ever.
6. Summer McIntosh (Canada), Women’s 200 Butterfly
She did not break a world record in this one, but when the mark at question is a 15-year-old standard from the polyurethane suit era that no one has ever approached, the second-fastest time ever is pretty darn good. Summer McIntosh had already won gold in the 400 IM, cruising by more than five-and-a-half seconds in that race, but the 200 fly would be much tougher as American Regan Smith was swimming well and not backing down. McIntosh turned eight tenths ahead of Smith at the final turn, but Smith’s dynamite underwater kicks nearly caught the Canadian teenager.
McIntosh would reassert herself, and even as Smith swam a time of 2:03.84, breaking her own American record, McIntosh would blast a personal-best mark by more than a second, her time of 2:03.03 a new Olympic record. The 2:01.81 established by Liu Zige in 2009 remains way out there, but McIntosh could reach 2:02-territory soon enough.
7. Leon Marchand (France), Men’s 200 IM
More Leon Marchand? You bet. The man won four individual Olympic gold medals, a feat only Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps ever accomplished beforehand. He did not break any world records in Paris, but each of his finals swims were the second or third-fastest times in history in his respective events. Two days after his historic gold-medal double, Marchand completed his individual program in the 200 IM, and he came up just short of an 11-year-old world record held by Ryan Lochte.
The 22-year-old Frenchman was facing a strong field that included the gold and silver medalists from the Tokyo Games, Wang Shun and Duncan Scott, respectively, but as usual, Marchand pulled well clear of the field on the breaststroke leg. He moved under world-record pace heading into the last 50 before finishing in 1:54.06, six hundredths shy of Lochte’s world record, leaving the pursuit of 1:53 until next year.
8. Kaylee McKeown (Australia), Women’s 100 Backstroke
Only two other Australian women, Dawn Fraser and Ariarne Titmus, have ever successfully defended an Olympic gold medal in swimming. McKeown has done it twice, overcoming tough fields in the 100 and 200 back in Tokyo to bring her total of Olympic gold medals to five and become one of the most successful Aussie Olympians in history.
McKeown makes the list here for the 100 back as she overcame the loss of her world record to American Regan Smith in June to run down Smith in the Olympic final. McKeown trailed Smith halfway down the final lap, but her finishing speed has become legendary, and McKeown is always ready with her best form in the biggest moment. She finished the race in 57.33, tying her best time that had been the world record while finishing three tenths ahead of Smith.
9. Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden), Women’s 100 Freestyle
Sarah Sjostrom — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
She has owned the world record in the event for seven years, but Sarah Sjostrom had never won an Olympic or World Championships gold medal in the 100 free before Paris, despite collecting has collected 14 world titles in her career in the 50 free and the butterfly events and an Olympic gold in the 100 fly in 2016. Her accomplishments in the 100 free include four Worlds silvers and one bronze, plus 2016 Olympic bronze the still-standing world record of 51.71 Sjostrom clocked on a relay leadoff at the 2017 World Championships.
Sjostrom originally planned on only swimming the 50 free in Paris, but she opted to add the 100-meter race back to her lineup because she would have two days of rest before the one-lapper, in which she entered as heavy favorite. And she ended up shocking the field with a gold medal, overcoming two-time world champion Mollie O’Callaghan, No. 3 all-time performer Siobhan Haughey and surging American Torri Huske.
10. Kristof Milak (Hungary), Men’s 100 Butterfly
Returning to the international level after missing the 2023 World Championships, Kristof Milak could not defend his gold medal in the 200 fly thanks to the magic of Leon Marchand. Entering the 100-meter race, where Milak is the second-fastest performer in history, he was somewhat overshadowed thanks to the exploits of Josh Liendo, Maxime Grousset, Noe Ponti and others plus the return of Caeleb Dressel, the man who beat Milak for Tokyo gold in world-record time.
But Milak sparkled with a 50.19 prelims time, and he led the event through semifinals as well. Milak lacks the speed of many rivals in the 100 fly, but after turning fourth at the halfway point, the 24-year-old picked off his rivals and won a tight finish with Canada’s Josh Liendo, 49.90 to 49.99, to win the second individual gold of his career.
Olympic Women’s Water Polo: Australia Tops U.S. in Shootout to End Four-Peat Quest
Gabriella Palm of Australia faces a shot from the United States’ Maddie Musselman during a women’s water polo semifinal match on Thursday; Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by MATTHEW DE GEORGE – SENIOR WRITER
08 August 2024, 11:57am
Olympic Women’s Water Polo: Australia Tops U.S. in Shootout to End Four-Peat Quest
The American quest for four straight gold medals in women’s water polo is over.
Gabriella Palm stopped Maddie Musselman in the sixth round of the penalty shootout at the Paris La Defense Arena Thursday, sending Australia to a 14-13 win in the semifinals.
The Aussies will face Spain, which survived a 19-18 decision with the Netherlands in penalties in the earlier semifinal, for gold. The Dutch and Americans will faceoff for bronze.
The first 11 shooters converted in penalties, with Zoe Arancini beating Ashleigh Johnson for a second time in the sixth round. Palm, who had been subbed out after the first three penalties, came back in and denied Musselman’s attempt to her right to set off the green-and-gold celebrations.
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Arancini and Bronte Halligan scored three times each for Australia. Abby Andrews led the way with five goals on a day where Alice Williams, the tournament’s leading scorer, was held scoreless after picking up three exclusion fouls. Palm was one better than Johnson on the day, with 13 saves. Johnson had 12.
It was a dour ending for Musselman, who was excellent with three goals and two assists. Jenna Flynn scored three times for the U.S.
The Americans, coming off a 5-4 win over Hungary in the quarterfinals, tried to keep it low-scoring again. They led 5-2 at the half, thanks in large part to six saves from Johnson.
Musselman scored two of the game’s first four goals, one on a five-meter penalty.
The Aussies were playing most of the way without Williams, who picked up two exclusion fouls on the same possession in the first quarter. She committed her third just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, drawn by a dogged Musselman.
The American youth gave it some breathing room late in the second quarter. After Palm turned aside Ryann Neushul, Jovana Sekulic was first to the ball at two meters and deposited the rebound. A block of an Arancini shot with 25 seconds left led to a Jewel Roemer outlet that found Emily Ausmus, who took her space and beat Palm in close to set the halftime edge.
Australia respond out of the break, Andrews taking the lead. She scored four times in the third quarter, ripping home a pair of goals in the first two minutes to get Australia within one. Johnson got her hand to the last one and briefly stemmed the tide with a save on Halligan on the next possession. But Andrews tied the game at 5 with a rip from distance, then when Flynn scored off a Jordan Raney dish, Andrews took a Sienna Hearn feed and picked out a corner on the power play to knot it at 6.
Maggie Steffens, vying to become the first individual to win four straight gold medals, scored her first goal of the game off a Musselman feed to make it 7-6 at the end of the third, but the Americans’ offensive execution abandoned them in the fourth, with five turnovers.
Musselman set up Fattal to make it 8-6 early in the fourth, but Halligan got it right back. Halligan tied the game at 2:54, and two saves by Johnson got the game to the shootout, with Palm denying Musselman with 2:30 to play and Raney hitting the crossbar late on.
Rowdy Gaines Reveals 2028 Olympics Will Be His Last as NBC Sports Color Commentator
Rowdy Gaines — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
by DAVID RIEDER – SENIOR WRITER
08 August 2024, 07:59am
Rowdy Gaines Reveals 2028 Olympics Will Be His Last as NBC Sports Color Commentator
For generations, Rowdy Gaines has been the voice of swimming in the United States, the excitable analyst joining Dan Hicks in the NBC Sports broadcast both for every Olympic Games going back to 1996 in Atlanta. Hicks and Gaines have called all the Olympic races for Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and every other star for the past three decades.
Gaines has also been the color commentator for nearly every other national and international-level meet, including the World Championships, national championships, NCAA Championships, conference championship meets and Pro Swim Series meets.
But that run will be done after the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Following the conclusion of nine days of action in the pool at the Paris Games, Gaines revealed on social media this week that he will leave his roles after calling a ninth Games alongside Hicks four years from now. Gaines chose LA as his final Games because he will be returning to the city where he won three Olympic gold medals, including in the 100 freestyle, at the 1984 Games.
Perhaps the most memorable call the excitable Gaines offered the world came at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing during the men’s 400 freestyle relay. With American anchor Jason Lezak trailing France’s Alain Bernard, Gaines told the world, “I don’t think he can do it, Dan,” but when Lezak began closing the gap in the final 25 meters, Gaines screamed, “There’s no doubt that he’s tightening up!” That gave way to Hicks’ call of perhaps the greatest comeback in the sport’s history.
In recent Games, NBC Sports has set up a “Rowdy Cam” so fans can see Gaines’ enthusiasm during the races and his nerves as American swimmers battle for Olympic gold. Most recently, NBC revealed the “Rowdy Cam” footage of the mixed 400 medley relay Olympic final, when the U.S. team edged out China down the stretch.
Olympic Men’s Water Polo: Greece, Spain Win Groups; U.S. Tops Croatia for Third
Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
by Matthew De George – Senior Writer
06 August 2024
Olympic Men’s Water Polo: Greece, Spain Win Groups; U.S. Tops Croatia for Third
Greece and Spain wrapped up their groups in the final round-robin day of Olympic men’s water polo play Monday, while the U.S. scored a 14-11 win over Croatia to finish third in its group.
Quarterfinals are set for Wednesday, with Croatia taking on Spain and Greece taking on Serbia. The U.S. will battle with Australia – which lost a shocker, 14-13, to Japan to wrap up the group – and Ital will take on Hungary in the nightcap.
The U.S. roared out to a 10-5 lead at half to get the better of Croatia. It shot 14-for-24 (58 percent) from the field. Hannes Daube scored three goals to go with three assists. Max Irving had three goals and two helpers, and Ryder Dodd and Alex Bowen had two goals and one assist each. Adrian Weinberg had nine saves.
Croatia got as close as two goals in the final 90 seconds, but Bowen scored with 1:10 left to restore a three-goal lead and put the game away.
Konstantin Kharkov led Croatia with five goals. Loren Fatovic had three goals and one assist.
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Spain ended France’s chances of a medal with a 10-8 win, Spain scoring the first three goals of the fourth quarter to break a 7-7 tie.
Bernat Sanahuja had one of those, part of a hat trick. Alberto Munarriz scored three times, and Alvaro Granados paired two goals with two assists. Unai Aguirre was sensational with 17 saves.
Ugo Crousillat tallied a hat trick for France. Thomas Vernoux paired a goal with four assists. Hugo Fontani stopped 11 shots. France was held to just 4-for-26 (15 percent) on action shots.
Hungary won a wild one with Serbia, 17-13, thanks to a 13-5 edge in the middle two quarters. Gergo Zalanki and Gergo Fekete scored four times each. Vince Vigvari paired a goal with three assists. Denes Varga had two and three. Fourteen of the 17 goals were assisted.
Dusan Mandic scored five times for Serbia. Milos Cuk paired three goals with two assists.
Vlado Popadic had six assists plus a goal to lead Serbia to a 10-7 win over Romania. Marko Mrsic scored three times. Tudor-Andrei Fulea had three goals for Romania.
A goal by Seiya Adachi with 11 seconds left gave Japan a consolation win over Australia despite missing the quarterfinals. Adachi scored three times. Yusuke Inaba dominated with six goals and three assists. Taiyo Watanabe had a goal and five assists. Kastuyuki Tanamura stopped nine shots.
Milos Maksimovic had a hat trick for the Aussies.
A power-play goal by Ioannis Fountoulis with 2:56 left was the difference in Greece’s 9-8 win over Italy in what could well be a medal preview. Fountoulis scored twice. Stylianos Argyropoulos led the way with four goals and two assists. Emmanouil Zerdevas tallied 12 saves.
Lorenzo Bruni and Francesco Condemi had three goals each for Italy.
Paris Olympics: China Finishes 1-2 in Dominating Women’s 10-Meter Diving
Hongchan Quan of China competes in the Diving Women’s 10m Platform Semifinal during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Aquatics Centre in Paris (France), August 05, 2024.
by Dan D’Addona — Swimming World Managing Editor
06 August 2024, 09:07am
Paris Olympics: China Finishes 1-2 in Dominating Women’s 10-Meter Diving
China continued its diving dominance at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 1-2 finish in the women’s 10-meter platform competition.
The gold medal went to Quan Hongchan, who finished with a score of 425.60, leading from start to finish in the competition.
Teammate Chen Yuxi took the silver medal with a score of 420.70. She was second behind Quan in the preliminaries and semifinals and was the only other diver within striking distance of the top spot.
The bronze medal at the Paris Olympics went to Korea’s Mi Rae Kim, who used a late rise to earn the third spot. After preliminaries, she was 10th only to rise to fourth after semifinals and finish third with a score of 372.10.
Canada’s Caeli McKey just missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish of 364.50.
Mexico’s Gabriella Agundez took fifth with a score or 350.40 and teammate Alejandra Orozco Loza took eighth with a 320.60, giving Mexico two in the top eight.
Great Britain’s Andrea Spendolini Sirieix took sixth with a score of 345.50 and Australia’s Ellie Cole was seventh with a 333.30.
There were 29 divers in the field at the Olympics, which was narrowed to 18 for the semifinals, then 12 in the finals.
USA’s Delaney Schnell finished 15th (270.95) and teammate Daryn Wright took 19th, just missing the semis.