A Special Happy Birthday to ISHOF’s Chairman BILL KENT!
Happy Birthday to our fearless leader, Mr. Bill Kent, Chairman of the Board of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Bill’s involvement with the ISHOF dates back to the 1980’s, and without his support, we do not know where we would be today!
In 2025, ISHOF created the Dr. Bill Kent Chairman’s Award which was present to Bill in Singapore. The award write up is below.
2025 WorldAquatics/DBM_Deepbluemedia
“The International Swimming Hall of Fame is proud to introduce The Dr. Bill Kent Chairman’s Award, a prestigious new award that recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, leadership, and service to the Hall of Fame, water safety, and the aquatics world. Awarded only on rare occasions to maintain its distinction, The Chairman’s Award celebrates the lifelong achievements and unparalleled contributions of those who exemplify the values and mission of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
The first recipient of this award is Dr. Bill Kent, whose life’s work has been a beacon of positive transformation for Fort Lauderdale and beyond.
Honoring Dr. William Kent: A Lifetime of Leadership and Service
Dr. Bill Kent’s remarkable career spans over five decades, marked by a visionary dedication to safety, community, and innovation in the aquatic industry.
* A Champion of Youth Safety and Aquatic Education: Dr. Kent’s advocacy for youth drowning prevention has set a new national standard. His groundbreaking Every Child a Swimmer program, which offers free swimming lessons to underserved children, has impacted countless lives. This program, passed by the Florida legislature and now adopted in several other states, aims to make swimming a universal life skill, with over 600 children reached so far and many more to come.
* A Vision for the International Swimming Hall of Fame: Under Dr. Kent’s leadership as Chairman of the Board, ISHOF has embarked on a $221 million renovation, transforming it into a world-class attraction featuring a state-of-the-art aquarium, museum, and public spaces. His vision has ensured that ISHOF will continue to inspire future generations and contribute to Fort Lauderdale’s cultural and economic vitality.
* A Legacy of Recognition: Dr. Kent’s contributions have been celebrated by his community and around the globe. Named Philanthropist of the Year by the Florida Swimming Pool Association and recognized as one of the “10 Most Impactful People” by Swimming World Magazine, Dr. Kent’s dedication to service, innovation, and safety has established a legacy of enduring impact.
Dr. Bill Kent is a model of leadership, philanthropy, and commitment to a better future for all, making him the ideal inaugural recipient of the Dr. Bill Kent Chairman’s Award. His contributions will forever inspire ISHOF and the aquatics community he has so deeply enriched.
As an added note, after this first inaugural presentation, this award will forever be known as the Dr. Bill Kent Chairman’s Award.”
Thank you Bill, for everything you do for us at ISHOF and wishing you the happiest of Birthdays!
ISHOF 2027 Honoree Induction Ceremony Dates Announced: April 9-10, 2027
Photo credit: War Memorial.
ISHOF is proud to announce that we will be back in Fort Lauderdale for the 2027 Honoree Induction Ceremony and the dates will be Friday, April 9 for the ISHOF Aquatic Awards presented by AquaCal and Saturday, April 10 for the 62nd Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremonies.
We will be back at the War Memorial Auditorium once again in 2027, the same venue as 2026 for the induction and we are currently working to secure Friday night’s location. We are hoping to also be at the War Memorial but we have not yet locked it in. Stayed tuned for details!
We will be announcing the Class of 2027 late this week!
A Century Later: Celebrating Trudy Ederle’s Historic Channel Crossing
The International Swimming Hall of Fame was honored to be part of a small but special group invited to Dover and Kingsdown, England, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first successful crossing of the English Channel by a woman: the one and only Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle.
The event was hosted by the Trudy Ederle Foundation https://trudyederlefoundation.org/en/ on August 6, 2026 — 100 years to the day since her historic swim. We began with a visit to the Dover Museum for “Queen of the Waves,” a special exhibition dedicated to Ederle, and our first chance to meet members of the Ederle family in person, along with members of the Foundation.
Mary Ederle Ward, Trudy’s Niece
Our curator and historian, Bruce Wigo, had connected with Mary Ward, Trudy’s niece, after Mary and I spoke by phone earlier in the summer. Bruce then traveled to Mary’s home in New Jersey to personally collect Gertrude Ederle’s 100-year-old scrapbook, and at last, Mary and I were able to meet face to face. The Ederle family came out in force, and it was wonderful to share the day with so many relatives who so clearly adored their Aunt and Great Aunt.
The Ederle Family with The Trudy Ederle Foundation Members, including Rainer Frase, Founder
Imagine our surprise when we ran into 1995 Honoree “The Albatross,” Michael Gross of Germany, and his lovely wife, Ilona, who were in attendance. “Michael was is attendance as he represents something very closely connected to the Trudy Ederle Foundation‘s mission: outstanding achievement in elite sport combined with a successful and meanful second career beyond competitive sport”.
Michael and Ilona Gross
The Dover Museum’s exhibit was a wonderfully thorough tribute to Ederle and to the many remarkable Channel and marathon swimmers who followed her, and the museum itself is a real gem, tucked in the heart of Dover just minutes from the beach.
That evening, a bus carried our group of more than 50 to “The Rising Sun” restaurant just steps from Kingsdown Beach, where Ederle came ashore 100 years earlier. The Foundation had thought of everything. Dinner began around 7:30, and live monitors placed throughout the room were tracking Ederle’s swim in real time, as if she were making her way across the Channel that very night. We always knew exactly where she was and how much farther she had to go — it was a beautiful touch.
Watching Trudy swim 100 years earlier
Before dinner, guests mingled and swapped stories, and I had the pleasure of chatting with two more of our Honorees: Michael Read, inducted in 2011, and Kevin Murphy, inducted in 2009 — both of whom, at different points in their careers, were known as the “King of the English Channel.” The room was full of fascinating people: the High Sheriff of Kent, appointed by King Charles; the youngest swimmer to complete the Oceans Seven at the time of her achievement; Sally Minty-Gravett, an ISHOF Honoree; and so many more.
The two Michael ISHOF Honorees ~ Read and Gross
Friends celebrating Trudy along with Billy Morrison and Kevin Murphy
Dina Levačić, Marathon Swimmers, Sally Minty Gravett, ISHOF Honoree Kevin Murphy
The meal itself was exactly the kind of English fare Trudy would have loved — another lovely touch. My husband, Stu, and I were seated with the Ederle family, so we got all the inside stories. Much of the evening was spent simply telling tales about Trudy, and that was one of the best parts of the night: getting to know someone through the family who truly knew her.
Dinner!
The Trudy Ederle Foundation also presented gifts to a handful of people who had helped make the evening possible, and ISHOF was proud to be included. We received two special one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork and a copy of the new book, Trudy ~ What the Applause Left Behind, by Tobias Kolesnyk, the Foundation’s Director of Strategic Communications, plus lots of other goodies.
ISHOF representative Meg Keller-Marvin accepting award from Ranier Frase and grandson, Phillip.
ISHOF had gathered video tributes from Honorees and swimmers to honor Trudy, and all of them were shown that night. No surprise: Katie Ledecky’s left the whole room starstruck. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed a video — Donna de Varona, Missy Franklin, John Naber, Marcella MacDonald, Katie Ledecky, and Dara Torres.
Watching Katie Ledecky video
The true star of the evening, besides Trudy herself, was Hannah Hubert, Executive Director of the Trudy Ederle Foundation. Hannah was the smiling face behind every detail, crossing every “t” and dotting every “i” to bring this event home with an A+. Her attention to detail was truly one for the ages.
Hannah Hubert, Executive Director of the Trudy Ederle Foundation
After a delightful dinner filled with English fare, stories of Trudy, presentations, thank-you’s, and video tributes, the magic hour of 21:39 was almost upon us. We all made our way outside, where torches awaited — just like they carried 100 years before. We lit them and set off down a path through the residential streets of Kingsdown toward the beach.
Meg Keller-Marvin and Jon of the Dover Museum
As the path opened onto the shore, I was amazed to see more than 100 people already gathered on the beach, chatting and mingling. As it turned out, the townsfolk of Kingsdown had come out too, to celebrate Trudy at the stroke of 21:39 — the exact moment she had come ashore a century earlier. Torches lit up the night sky, and a local woman had even set up a table pouring glasses of champagne for anyone who wanted to partake. A few more speeches followed, and as the countdown began, the whole crowd joined together, cheering for Trudy at the exact moment: “Hip, hip, hooray!”
Celebrating on Kingsdown Beach
It was an unforgettable evening from start to finish, and ISHOF is so grateful to have been included. We loved reconnecting with old friends and meeting so many new ones. A special thank you to Hannah, to Tobias, Rainer and the Ederle family and to the entire Trudy Ederle Foundation for hosting this true once-in-a-lifetime event.
The Gertrude Ederle Trophy
A special thank you to the Trudy Ederle Foundation for the use of some of the their photos and to Hannah Hubert for all her help.
Michelle Ford ~ After the Applause
Honoree Questions for: Michelle Ford ~ Honor Swimmer
You were inducted in 1991. Tell us what you have been up to since then?Since my induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1991, Ihave built an rewarding career in sport, raised two wonderful boys, andcontributed to several important milestones in sport. I was a foundingmember of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, where we advocated for;stronger anti-doping regulations – calling for bans on athletes and theirentourage if found guilty of doping, equal opportunities for women, and theend of the amateur code. It was at the end of the cold war, and our call toaction became a critical turning point in sport and gave athletes a voice,through the creation of the IOC Athletes Commission.
I was director of the university sports program in Switzerland, and createda sports testing unit for sporting clubs and the university. I later returned toSydney, where I served as a Director of National Olympic Committees forthe Sydney 2000 Games. After the Games, I worked with the Oceaniaregion to develop its sports program. I also helped shape Australian sportspolicy through my board work with the Australian government as well asthe board of swimming Australia. Most recently, and something that I amextremely proud of, after 6 years of research and writing, I published mymemoir, ‘Turning the Tide’,
I continue to advocate for athletes and promote healthy lifestyle throughmy coaching.
What do you do for work / as a profession?I have degrees in Business communications and MA in Sports Psychology from the University of Southern California. My professional career began at the helm of the University sports program in Lausanne Switzerland, as Director and I have since held many board positions including the Australian Sport Commission, Swimming Australia, and the World Masters Games. From the organizing committee of the 2000 Sydney Games to help the Oceania region sports programs. and consulted with international Federations, I have enjoyed positions where I have influenced institutional changes and promoted sport programs.
Are you still involved in swimming in any capacity?
I coach adult swimming and still swim regularly
Do you still stay in touch with any swimming friends from your competitiondays, if so, who?
Writing my memoir, I reconnect with many swimming colleagues in Australia and abroad; Shane Gould, Jenny Turrall, Tracey Caulkins, Wendy Boglioli, my USC Colleagues John Naber and Sharron Davis (UK). Recently I initiated andorganized a welcome home and recognition by the Australian Prime Minister for the Australian 1980 Olympic team and their contribution to Australian sport and the Olympic movement. 45 years on it was great to see some familiar faces.
If you have children, do your kids swim, if yes, tell us about them, if no, tellus about what they are involved in (sports, arts, etc.)I have two boys, now working in Private equity, and Hotel development. Theyboth swam and participated in a range of sporting activities. Compared to myupbringing in Australia living in Switzerland, has been more challenging to have a successful career in swimming. Tennis and sailing were their preferred sports.
What is best memory of your days in swimming? The best and proudest memory of my swimming days was to stand on theOlympic podium to receive my Gold medal as the national anthem played andthe Australian flag rose above the East German flag – I became the onlyindividual female swimmer to defeat the GDR.The coolest memory, however, is the incredible comradery amongst team mates and the friends that I made especially from my college days at USC.
Seeing the changes that have occurred in swimming/aquatics now versuswhen you were competing, do you wish you could have competed now, orare you glad you competed when you did and why?Competing today would certainly have had its advantages—five-star hotelsinstead of being billeted out with families or in migrant hostels, along with access to personal coaches, psychologists, physiotherapists, massage therapists, and other support staff. The opportunity for swimmers to earn money today would also have made a significant difference. In my era, none of that was permitted; you could even be considered a professional and be ineligible simply for working as a lifeguard.
Have you written a memoir/book about yourself, if yes, what’s the title andcan our readers purchase it? If not, do you ever plan on written a book?I recently completed my memoir, Turning the Tide. Part memoir and part exposé, it is more than the story of winning Olympic gold. It is the journey of a young swimmer from Sydney whose determination, resilience, and love of the sport led her to become the only female swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal against the might of the East German state-sponsored doping machine. Interwoven with my personal story is the shocking truth behind the GDR’s systematic doping program and how politics, gender inequality, and doping reshaped the Olympic movement and the landscape of international swimming.
Above all, Turning the Tide is a tribute to the values that define our sport—hardwork, integrity, and fair competition—and to the belief that you can triumph even when the odds are stacked against you. It reflects my lifelong fight for clean sport, athletes’ rights, and fairness for women in sport, while reminding us why those causes remain as important today as ever.
Any advice to all the future want-to-be Olympic swimmers out there?Swimming is an amazing and fulfilling sport. Although it is demanding, it is also deeply rewarding. And despite the misconception that swimming is not social or team-oriented, nothing could be further from the truth.
As an Olympian, National Team Member, you travelled all over the world.What was your favorite place you visited, or your favorite meet to attend?My trips to Europe, were always a buzz. Discovering new cultures and walkingcobbled street was new and exciting for me. Until then I had only read about it in books and talked about it at school history and geography lessons.
Something that I must add to this was my first trip behind the ‘iron curtain’ in 1989 for the Spartakiade Games in Moscow – it was definitely an eye-opener, quite austere and mystical.
You can purchase Michelle’s book, Turning the Tide, on Amazon.
USA Swimming Announces Nominees for Golden Goggle Awards
by John Lohn – Editor-in-Chief
26 August 2026, 04:39pm
USA Swimming Announces Nominees for Golden Goggle Awards
Following a 50-medal performance in the pool by the United States at the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, USA Swimming has announced its nominees for the 2026 Golden Goggle Awards. This year’s event takes place September 26 in Denver, Colorado, and will be the 23rd year the celebratory awards show has run.
This year’s ballot features six awards: Female Athlete of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Open Water Swimmer of the Year, Relay Performance of the Year, and Breakout Performer of the Year.
Fans can vote using the online ballot here. Fan voting is open now through Sunday, September 6 at 11:59 p.m. MT.
Proceeds from the Golden Goggle Awards benefit the USA Swimming Foundation, whose mission is to Save Lives, Build Champions, and Impact Communities. In addition to providing learn-to-swim grants and community impact grants to programs across the country, the USA Swimming Foundation supports the U.S. National Team and its development efforts aimed at strengthening the future of USA Swimming’s programs and services.
To purchase a seat at this year’s Golden Goggle Awards, to stay updated with the upcoming online auction, or to see other opportunities to get involved with the event, visit https://www.usaswimming.org/foundation/ways-to-engage/golden-goggle-awards.
2026 Golden Goggle Awards Ballot
Female Athlete of the Year
Katharine Berkoff
Kate Douglass
Katie Ledecky
Gretchen Walsh
Male Athlete of the Year
Jack Alexy
Luke Hobson
Van Mathias
Quintin McCarty
Coach of the Year
Bob Bowman
Todd DeSorbo
Braden Holloway
Ray Looze
Open Water Swimmer of the Year
Josh Brown
Mariah Denigan
Becca Mann
Ivan Puskovitch
Relay Performance of the Year
Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay (Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass)
Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay (Luke Hobson, Aaron Shackell, Patrick Sammon, Gabriel Jett)
Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay (Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, Simone Manuel)
Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay (Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Luca Urlando, Jack Alexy)
Breakout Performer of the Year
Van Mathias
Luka Mijatovic
Anna Moesch
McKenzie Siroky
Isabelle Stadden
The above press release was provided to Swimming World by USA Swimming.
Happy Birthday, Duke Kahanamoku!!
Country: USA
Honoree Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1912 gold (100m freestyle), silver (4x200m freestyle relay); 1920 gold (100m freestyle; 4x200m freestyle relay), 4th (water polo); 1924 silver (100m freestyle); 1932 team member (water polo); WORLD RECORDS: freestyle.
The history of modern swimming started with the English in 1838. It was the breaststroke, and still the breaststroke, when Matthew Webb swam the Channel in 1875; yet, bas-reliefs dating to 880 B.C. taken from the palace of Nimroud (now in the British Nimroud Gallery) show a fugitive escaping from soldiers by swimming a river using a head high overarm crawl. This stroke was evolving painfully in the western world until a bronzed Duke Kahanamoku swam out of the Hawaiian Islands with it in 1911. His world record times no one would believe.
Jam Handy describes The Duke as a superbly conditioned athlete planing and crawling over the top of the water as no one his size and only one smaller man, Perry McGillivry, seemed able to do. Only after ten years in Hollywood did a 42 year old Duke Kahanamoku in 1932 finally fail to make an Olympic team in swimming. He made it in water polo. He made his first Olympic team in 1912. “He still swam well,” says Handy, “but in the water like other mortals, he was no longer in that superb condition needed to get his body planing up on top of the water.” Kahanamoku, the perennial Sheriff of Honolulu, and island king in so many movies, was and is a real Duke by christened surname, as well as in deference to his royal Hawaiian blood. His father, Captain Kahanamoku, born in Princess Ruth’s palace during a visit of the Duke of Edinborough, named him Duke in honor of that occasion.
In swimming, he rates his dukedom by Olympic titles as well as his ambassadorship in first introducing surfing around the world, including Australia where it has become a national sport. Duke’s royal position in swimming took time to be recognized. He first startled the swimming world by shattering both the 50 and 100 yard world records on the anniversary of Hawaiian annexation day, August 2, 1911, just 12 days before his 21st birthday–doing 24 1/5 in the 40 or 1 3/5 seconds better than the record, and 55 2/5 in the 100, 4 3/5 seconds better than the record. Unfortunately the cast was all Hawaiian and the times were so unbelievable that the Amateur Athletic Union, headquartered in New York, refused to recognize them in spite of the careful reports that were compiled showing that the course in Honolulu Harbor had been measured before the race and 3 times after; had been surveyed by a registered surveyor, that the swimmers were swimming against the tide; and that his nearest competitor, Lawrence Cunha, was 30 feet behind.
After considerable correspondence back and forth, President Wahle of the AAU wrote:
“According to my mind, this matter should be treated very carefully and with extreme caution before the 100 yard record is to be accepted as an AAU record. If his 55 2/5 seconds were accepted and he should afterwards compete in the U.S. or Europe and be beaten by swimmers, the correctness of his 55 2/5 seconds would be seriously questioned as well as the good faith of the AAU.
For this reason, I would like to see Kahanamoku beat the fast men first and have the record accepted afterward.”
In the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Longworth of Australia was the favorite but Duke won the Olympic championship in 63 2/5 seconds. Eight years later at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, on his 30th birthday, the Duke had to win his gold medal twice. The Australians protested his first win saying their man had been boxed, so the Duke had to win it again. Australia was fourth with Hawaiians first, second and third.
From the time the King of Sweden presented him with his Olympic gold medal and wreath of olive branches in 1912, the Duke has been an international idol, the first and foremost in a long line of Hawaiian world record holders, national and Olympic champions. These tiny islands dominated world swimming from 1912 until 1956 when the six Hawaiians on the U.S. Olympic team were no match for the Australians. Swimming had gone full cycle for it was the Australians who had been dominant in swimming when Duke swam past them in 1912.
The information on this page was written the year of their induction
Rich Burns Recognized with USMS’ Ransom Arthur Award; Honored for Decades of Service
by John Lohn – Editor-in-Chief
Rich Burns Recognized with USMS’ Ransom Arthur Award; Honored for Decades of Service
Rich Burns couldn’t figure out what was happening.
Several of his teammates in the 1980s would disappear for a few days every September and come back talking about rule changes and national championship locations. He eventually asked where they had gone. Their response: U.S. Masters Swimming’s annual meeting.
Burns attended the next year, in 1986, starting 40 years of volunteer service with USMS. His longtime dedication has led to him being named the recipient of the 2026 Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award, USMS’s most prestigious volunteer award.
“It’s a great sense of satisfaction that I certainly made a contribution—and, hopefully, that I contributed a little bit to making it a better, different organization,” says Burns, 83. “It’s fun to have the recognition. It’s an affirmation that what you’re doing has some value.”
This is the second major recognition this year for the Tamalpais Aquatic Masters member. Burns, who has set nearly 100 AQUA Masters world records and more than 150 USMS records, was also inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in May alongside multiple Olympians that included Nathan Adrian and Ryan Lochte.\
His journey to receiving this year’s Ransom J. Arthur Award—given annually to a volunteer who has done the most to further the objectives of the organization—has been lengthy.
Richard Burns and Laura Val.
Burns recalls trying to learn as much as he could about USMS during his flight to his first annual meeting, which was in Fort Worth, Texas. “The distinction between clubs and teams, associations and zones, LMSCs and MSCs became as rarefied as the air I was flying through,” Burns wrote in a personal note about his deep dive into the organization.
The experience became more confusing once he learned about parliamentary procedure and Robert’s Rules of Order, which govern how the House of Delegates operates at the annual meeting.
But Burns, who also received a USMS Dorothy Donnelly Service Award in 1998 and the 2015 USMS June Krauser Communications Award, soon found his niche working in marketing.
Burns’s educational and professional background is in graphic design, which allowed him to create USMS’s first logo, which was in place for nearly 20 years. Burns also worked to establish SWIM as the official magazine of the organization—SWIMMER took that title in 2005—and created high-gloss calendars that featured members from multiple age groups to highlight both the membership and the fact that swimming can be done for a lifetime.
One of Burns’s novel creations was a personal planner that allowed swimmers to track their workouts. He secured the organization’s first paid sponsorships and advertisements to help launch this member benefit, which has since been replaced by the digital Fitness Logs.
Burns has extensive committee experience with USMS, serving on the now-defunct Marketing Committee from 1989–2003 and on the Recognition and Awards Committee since 2013. Combined with his work on the Ad Hoc ISHOF Nominating Committee from 2000–03, he’s spent 18 years helping others be recognized for their achievements.
He now deserves to be recognized for his efforts, wrote Tamalpais Aquatic Masters member Nancy Ridout, the 1994 recipient of the Ransom J. Arthur Award, and Ian King, chair of the Pacific LMSC, in their letter nominating Burns for his own Ransom J. Arthur Award.
“Through four decades, Rich’s behind-the-scenes contributions have facilitated the growth and influence of USMS not only within our membership, but to those who didn’t know it existed,” they wrote. “He has not sought recognition for his many contributions, and most of our members probably are unaware of who it was that provided them. Rich is quiet, unassuming, talented, and committed to giving back to the sport he loves.
“It’s time to recognize Rich’s impact throughout a 40-year period of continuous contributions to enhancing the vision, values, and programs of U.S. Masters Swimming.”
The above article was provided to Swimming World by U.S. Masters Swimming.
Passages: Masters Honoree Phillip Whitten, Former Editor of Swimming World, Dies at 82; Impacted Sport in Multiple Ways
by John Lohn – Editor-in-Chief
18 August 2026
Passages: Phillip Whitten, Former Editor of Swimming World, Dies at 82
Phillip Whitten, the former Editor-in-Chief of Swimming World, and its sister publications, Swimming Technique and SWIM (Masters), passed away on Saturday, August 15. He was 82. Whitten was a highly respected journalist, having covered the Olympic Games and the top issues in the sport of swimming for years, while guiding Swimming World as both a print magazine and into the digital landscape.
Whitten, who was named Editor of Swimming World in 1992, was an encyclopedia on the sport of swimming, able to discuss pressing topics, current events, achievements, athletes and history with ease. He could easily reach into his deep knowledge and tell a story from the past, or provide analysis of a developing rivalry. As a writer, he was a wordsmith, using his vast vocabulary to craft engaging articles, ranging from columns to features to meet coverage
In the 1990s, Whitten was one of the leading journalists to expose the systematic doping program of East Germany, whose women dominated the sport from the 1970s until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Whitten led Swimming World to publish the Stasi (Secret Police) files related to the GDR’s calculated doping program, and he argued for proper recognition for the athletes whose careers were affected, such as Shirley Babashoff and Enith Brigitha. Whitten also wrote extensively about Chinese doping and Title IX.
An inductee of the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a Masters swimmer, Whitten wasn’t just a standout athlete, but was a steadfast promoter of Masters as a vehicle to health and camaraderie. In the pool, Whitten set numerous records as a Masters swimmer while he was a Masters board member outside of the water. In 1991, he published a study – conducted over more than a decade – that showed Masters swimmers did not experience the typical physiological decline of non-swimmers.
Whitten wrote more than 20 books during his life, between swimming and academia. His “Complete Book of Swimming” was published in 1994.
Whitten was born in Philadelphia and grew up in New York before moving to California when he was 13. He found a talent in the pool as a high school swimmer, particularly in the breaststroke. He attended San Jose State University as an undergrad and was a member of the school’s swim team, and later attended Harvard University, at which he later taught.
Personal Remembrance: Phil first gave me a chance to write for Swimming World in 2000, after I emailed him suggesting a story on Brendan Hansen. While Phil initially declined the proposal, he eventually offered me the chance to write a piece for SW about a group of up-and-coming breaststrokers – Ed Moses, Kyle Salyards, Dave Denniston and Hansen among them. From there, Phil assigned me additional work, and he became a mentor. It was a wonderful moment when he informed my now-wife Dana and I that he was flying in from Arizona to attendour rehearsal dinner and wedding. He held court during those evenings, sharing his typically wonderful tales with our family and friends. Phil, thank you for your guidance, our chats and influence. RIP.
Passages: ISHOF Honoree Kenneth Treadway Dies at 96; Legendary Hall of Famer Was Definition of Service
by John Lohn – Editor-in-Chief
05 August 2026
Passages: Kenneth Treadway Dies at 96; Legendary Hall of Famer Was Definition of Service
Kenneth Treadway, a 1983 inductee into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a contributor for his vast service to the sport, died on July 31 at his home in Lawrence, Kansas. He was 96. Throughout his life, Treadway had an impact on swimming, influencing the sport as a coach, innovator, administrator and advocate. He traveled the world to ensure swimmers and coaches received the support they needed.
Born in Oklahoma, Treadway founded the Phillips 66 Splash Club in 1950 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the club becoming one of the finest in the country. He also helped that the Bartlesville Public Schools establish swimming programs that promoted water safety and opened the doors to children for competitive opportunities. Eventually, Treadway’s reach extended to California as he and legendary coach Don Gambril founded the Phillips 66 Long Beach Aquatic Club that produced Olympians.
Treadway’s professional career in corporate business with Phillips Petroleum led to the company regularly supporting national championships in the United States, with the Phillips 66 sponsorship of USA Swimming becoming the longest continuous sponsorship of an amateur sport in the United States.
Wherever Treadway went, he had his hand in swimming – sometimes as a coach or official, other times in various influential committee roles. More than 60 years ago, he represented the United States when FINA officially recognized the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was also a staff member of three United States Olympic Teams, attending the Games of 1964 (Tokyo), 1968 (Mexico City) and 1972 (Munich).
In addition to his Hall of Fame enshrinement, Treadway was recognized by ISHOF in 2008 with its prestigious President’s Award, which honors an individual whose career is defined by exceptional and extraordinary efforts to promore the organization’s mission. More, Treadway was presented with the 1972 AAU Neptune Award, then recognized as swimming’s highest service award. In 2009, he was inducted into the Bartlesville Sports Commission Hall of Fame.
Treadway will be remembered for his never-ending desire to celebrate and support the sport of swimming.
100 Years ago Today! Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to successfully cross the Channel ~ August 6, 1926
Gertrude Ederle vs. the Channel
The setting for the greatest sports story of the year, to my mind, will be the twenty-two miles of sullen gray Channel water between Cape Gris-Nez and Dover early in August, when Gertrude Ederle makes her second attempt to conquer the elements that beat her last year. Only five men out of the hundreds who have tried have made it and not a single woman.
This is more than a great melodramatic sporting event. The Ederle family is installed at the Hotel of the Lighthouse talking it over and Pa Ederle is planning his celebration in the event of his daughter’s victory. And Gertrude said naïvely, “And I’ll bet all the women in the world will celebrate that night.” That is the keynote of the interest. Swimming the Channel is a supreme test of courage and endurance, requiring a physique which makes victory possible. And a victory for Gertrude Ederle will be one of the greatest feminist stories, as well as one which will appeal to the dullest imagination.
In Paris the gamblers are willing to give heavy odds on the Channel against the young champion of her sex, a girl who is to make the attempt to demonstrate that the members of her sex can possess virtues held previously exclusively by the masculine. She is trying for the second time a feat that only the hardiest and most exceptionally equipped male swimmers have succeeded in accomplishing.
Standing beside Miss Ederle as she sat on one of the rocks near the lighthouse and looked across the gray, sullen water, I’d be inclined to back this girl against the Channel. If there is one woman who can make the swim, it is this girl, with the shoulders and back of Jack Dempsey and the frankest and bravest pair of eyes that ever looked into a face. It is improbable, but not impossible.
At first Miss Ederle gives the impression of being dull, because she is slightly deaf through an injury to her eardrums from swimming and because, like all swimmers, she is a mouth breather. But she is far from dull. She has a sense of humor. She told me of her last attempt, when she swam for an hour on instinct alone, blinded, deaf, and only half conscious. She remembered only the humor of the trip.
She told of the correspondents boarding the tug at Cape Gris-Nez airily waving at her and saying, “See you in Dover.” Then she told in words and pantomime how they crawled off on the English side, wan and seasick, and how one of them said, “This is the last time I make any Channel swims.” She threw back her bobbed head and laughed with the heartiness of a big boy.
“This time,” she said, “I am preparing myself to stay eighteen hours in the water. The last time I was trying for a record. When I start again it will be with the idea of reaching the other side, and I will not quit until I cannot move.”
As she spoke she peered through the chill mists that hid the outlines of the English coast. Below, the Channel was growling as it lashed against the rocks with a constant menace. Behind her was standing the north coast of France.
“All I am going to get for this is a roadster. Pa promised me one if I make the swim this time. So I’ll be seeing nothing but that roadster on the boat while I am making the swim.” A little while later she was cuddling a little baby rabbit, which she had picked up in the fields, against her brown cheek. A strange mixture is this girl, with the simplicity of Shaw’s Joan of Arc and the physique and many attributes of a male giant. To picture what eighteen hours in the Channel might seem you must stand with her on the rocks at Cape Gris-Nez.
Consider the ancestry of this young Amazon. Her grandmother was the mother of twenty-one children and she is still alive and active in Stuttgart, on the edge of the Black Forest in Germany. When this swim is over Gertrude is going to visit her. The swimmer herself is one of a family of twelve—one of the old-fashioned German-American families.
Her training quarters are rougher than those of any prize fighter I have ever visited. In fact, the manager of one of these delicate male athletes would seize his fighter and flee at first sight of the Hotel of the Lighthouse, with beds that sag in the middle and running water that never runs. The diet she eats would shock a trainer. It is the diet of a stenographer mixed with pickles. Yet I have heard third-rate prize fighters complaining that they didn’t get their proper nourishment even when they had their own chefs.
The loneliness would make even an unimaginative prize fighter mad in a few weeks. But this girl keeps her even temper and her sunny good humor, living day by day with a battlefield by her side. This time she is under the charge of the gray-haired William Burgess, who swam the Channel years ago, and a man who has spent his life studying its changes and its cruel moods. The present plan is to have Gertrude Ederle start from the point on the French coast where he finished and have the light of Cape Gris-Nez guide her through the long, weary miles of darkness and silence, broken only by the growl of the waters.
She was at the door of the lighthouse when I left her with her toy phonograph playing a jazz tune. She held out one of the strong brown hands that will beat against the waters of the Channel and said with that boyish smile, “Good-by, good luck.”
I felt that I would sooner be in that tug the day she starts than at the ringside of the greatest fight or at the arena of the greatest game in the world, for this, in my opinion, is to be the greatest sports story in the world.
Written by the New York Daily News, August 1926