Meet one of your 2026 ISHOF Honoree Ceremony Co-Emcees, Sam Dorman
Sam Dorman finished his career with a national championship in the 3M dive / Courtesy JC Ridley / Miami Athletics
Olympic silver medalist diver inducted into UM Athletics Hall of Fame
Shared from by Miami Hurricane
by: Bella Armstrong
May 2, 2026
Sam Dorman post-dive at the 2018 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, credit: Getty Images
After climbing out of the pool at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sam Dorman threw up The U.
A small gesture — easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it — but intentional. That moment before he was crowned an Olympic silver medalist wasn’t just about the enormity of what he had accomplished; it was an honor to everyone and everything that got him to that point.
Now, ten years later, Dorman’s name was etched into the University of Miami Athletics Hall of Fame. It’s a permanent honor for a career built on years of sacrifice for singular moments that never lasted long enough.
Diving, unlike its athletes, doesn’t stretch. It doesn’t linger.
It compresses.
Years of training collapse into seconds in the air and into a single splash that decides everything.
Dorman spent nearly two decades building toward that compression.
At the Olympics, it lasted less than a minute. He earned a silver medal alongside synchro partner Mike Hixon, stood on the podium under the American flag, listened to raucous cheering — but then it was over.
“There’s really no such thing as a professional diver,” Dorman said. “The Olympics is it.”
Unlike other sports, where there are stages of professional leagues that feed into one that will sustain careers for decades, divers don’t have that option. The Olympics are not the beginning of something bigger, nor are they a stepping stone.
The Olympics are the end.
It’s bittersweet. You spend your whole life working towards this competition, and, in turn, it throws cold water on your face to remind you that time’s almost up.
But decades before all of that inevitability, diving didn’t feel like something that would eventually end.
For the Olympian, it started as a game.
Growing up in the Arizona heat, Dorman spent his childhood summers in a family friend’s backyard pool, where the earliest version of diving looked a lot more like play than pursuit. A red ball would be tossed into the water, and Dorman, balanced on someone’s back, would watch the dive before trying it himself.
Sam Dorman throws up The U at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, credit: Miami Athletics via X
No judges, no scores, no consequence for missing.
Just the feeling of cutting cleanly into the water.
Somewhere along the way, that feeling evolved into a hunger for more.
The game became repetition, repetition became expectation and expectation became identity.
That momentum took him all the way to various national and world championships.
While diving for UM, he was crowned the 2015 NCAA champion in the 3-meter springboard with a score of 529.10 points, setting an NCAA record as the first diver to ever exceed the 500-point mark.
At UM, under longtime head coach Randy Abelman and assistant coach Dario di Fazio, who has since taken over the program, diving continued to sharpen into something precise, controlled and demanding.
By this point, diving had long since stopped being something Dorman did. It had become integral to who he was.
And then, abruptly, it wasn’t anymore.
“Post-Olympic depression is real,” Dorman said. “I spent 19, 20 years training for one hour of competition. Once that’s over, what happens next?”
But that’s the cycle every diver finds themselves tumbling through eventually.
There’s no slow fade into the truth — just a finish line you don’t realize you’ve crossed until you’re already standing on the other side of it.
Nearly a decade after his first and only Olympic medal, Dorman laughs when he talks about life after it — what’s changed and what remains. He’s happy, working for a company that manufactures diving springboards and still spending time in the pool — for fun now, rather than pushing the limits of physics in a body that once felt more like weaponry than anything else.
But freedom, without structure, can feel like falling — except this time, there’s no water waiting to catch you.
Which is why being honored for his career carries its own kind of weight.
It’s a strange contradiction. Diving is a sport defined by movements and routines that begin and end in the span of a few seconds, but have the potential to be remembered forever.
There is a timer on every diver’s career. The human body can only handle so much twisting, so much compressing, until it’s time to walk away for good.
Maybe that’s where the meaning of it all settles. The pool is fixed, even if the career that unfolded within it never was.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Dorman said. “If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
The injuries, the pressure, the tears and the heartbreak were worth the joy he found in the deep end of a pool.
He paused. Just for a second.
“I just hope I represented Miami well,” Dorman said. “I owe them a lot.”
Now, with his place in Miami’s legacy secured, those moments no longer live only in recollection.
Some things are meant to be eternal, even in a fleeting sport like diving. That’s what the hall of fame does — it gives permanence to a career built on moments that vanished almost as soon as they happened.
Sam Dorman will be co-hosting the ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend this coming Friday and Saturday, May 15 and 16 with Olympic Swimmer, Elizabeth Beisel. To buy your tickets, get them here. Only two days left!
Tickets for the ISHOF Class of 2026 Honoree Induction Ceremonies
WHEN: Saturday, May 16, 2026
WHERE: War Memorial Auditorium, 800 Northeast 8th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33304
Tickets are NOW ON SALE ~ PURCHASE THEM HERE!
Eagle’s Rebirth: A Lifesaver’s Odyssey to Gold
Greece, 3 May 2026. Eagle’s Rebirth tells the remarkable true story of Pantelis Avramidis, a man who refused to be defined by hardship. After a lifetime of struggle, illness, and sacrifice, he achieved the unimaginable, becoming a European and World Masters Lifesaving Champion in his eighties, decades after most athletes retire. The film, directed by Stathis Avramidis and produced by the GLSA, is endorsed by international organisations (ILS, ILSE, MLC, ISHOF), and celebrates courage, resilience, and the power of the human spirit set against the backdrop of the sport that aims to enter the Olympic Games because it saves lives.
Synopsis
Eagle’s Rebirth is a poetic short film that tells the true story of Pantelis Avramidis, a man born during World War II who sacrificed his dreams for survival and family. After enduring poverty, 42 professions, and a devastating cancer diagnosis, he was invited to compete in lifesaving, a sport he had never pursued. Denied opportunities and challenged by age, failing eyesight, and numb limbs, Pantelis continued training, ultimately winning three international gold medals at his eighties. Through a visual language of paintings and symbolic eagle imagery, the film explores rebirth—not as myth, but as moral courage. At its heart, the story is not about medals, but about a father whose children return the dream he once postponed for them, through a sport seeking inclusion in the Olympic Games.
Credits
The film was produced by the Greek Lifesaving Sports Association (GLSA) and endorsed by the International Life Saving Federation (ILS), the International Life Saving Federation of Europe (ILSE), the Mediterranean Lifesaving Confederation (MLC), and the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), which promote aquatics, water safety and lifesaving sport as means of drowning prevention. Dr Stathis Avramidis is a prolific author and an award-winning film director who tells stories that warm the human hearts. OneVoice Award winner Joe Geoffrey is the narrator and Yiannis Balambanos the video editor.
Impressions
The film received positive responses:
The ILS Secretary General, Dr Harald Vervaecke PhD, said: “One film, one protagonist, many messages. This is the first time since Baywatch that lifesaving sport is promoted so elegantly as a pathway to wellbeing. Congratulations to the Avramidis family for their gift to the global lifesaving community!”
The ISHOF Chairman, Dr Bill Kent, stated: “This film justifies my belief that the best is yet to come. We are the screenwriters of our own lives. Thanks for the beautiful moral lesson that it is never late to dream and accomplish!”
The MLC President, Dott Giorgio Quintavalle, commented: “With lifesaving sport at the background, the messages of this touching film are eternal. The values of family, love, learning, and persistence, celebrate the true meaning of life!”
The former ILSE Vice President and President of the Latin American Lifesaving and Lifeguarding Association, Isabel Garcia Sanz, said: “Stathis’ endless creativity is gifting the lifesaving community with an extraordinary story of courage and hope.”
Dedication
“Eagle’s Rebirth” is dedicated to the lovely memory of Dr. Louis Bonann, whose philosophy, that the “failure stones” of our lives, pave the road toward destiny, guided his son, Greg, to worldwide success with the TV series “Baywatch”. This belief deeply resonates with the spirit of the film.
The GLSA President and MLC Secretary General, Dr Stathis Avramidis stated: “Eagle’s Rebirth was made for Pantelis and dedicated to Louis — two amazing fathers who taught their sons that it is never too late for rebirth in whatever the dream may be. The storm always precedes the rainbow!”
Message
Eagle’s Rebirth, that took 11 years to be created, is not a conventional sports film. It is told through painterly visual storytelling — because memory, resilience, and rebirth are not sharp-edged experiences. They are textured, layered, and deeply emotional. Through the metaphor of the eagle, the film explores fatherhood, endurance, illness, sacrifice, and the quiet heroism that rarely makes headlines. At its core, the film asks a universal question: “Is it ever too late to begin again?” Its answer is a resounding “no”. Pantelis’ journey reflects the spirit of the Olympic motto, not as an athletic slogan, but as a human experience. He reached higher levels of performance, moved forward faster than expectations, proved stronger than the obstacles life placed before him, and ultimately shared the victory together with his family. The story quietly echoes the deeper philosophy of lifesaving sport, that athletic excellence should ultimately serve a greater purpose. In this sense, the film subtly suggests that alongside Higher, Faster, Stronger — Together, the spirit of lifesaving adds one more word to the Olympic motto: Safer.
Even Without the Pro Swim Title, Fort Lauderdale Was the Place to Race
Behind the scenes of the Fort Lauderdale Open: It started with about ten local teams and ended with a world record! Current photo via Liz Rosenthal
by Liz Rosenthal 13
Shared by SWIM SWAM
May 06th, 2026
2026 Fort Lauderdale Open
Wednesday, April 29 – Saturday, May 2, 2026
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center
Hosted by Swim Fort Lauderdale
LCM (50 meters) Prelims/Finals
Results: “Fort Lauderdale Open” on Meet Mobile
By now, savvy swim fans already know about the sensational swims, stunning stats, and record-setting results from the 2026 Fort Lauderdale Open.
But what you might not know?
While the swims were fast and the field was deep, it wasn’t supposed to be this big.
What began as a modest meet on the Florida Gold Coast Swimming summer calendar quickly evolved into one of the hottest stops on the national stage. So how did it happen?
Last year, Fort Lauderdale reinforced its reputation as one of swimming’s premier racing destinations, hosting a stop on the 2025 Pro Swim Series tour. The meet was magic, producing world-record performances from a formidable field of top-tier talent. Athletes and fans alike fell in love with Fort Lauderdale, and everyone wanted more.
In 2026, while swimmers and coaches were eager to return, the meet was no longer a Pro Swim Series event. As such, this year’s competition was originally designed to host roughly ten teams from around the Florida Gold Coast Swimming LSC.
But Dave Gibson, head coach of Swim Fort Lauderdale, had bigger ideas.
“When I found out we were not being asked to host a TYR Pro Swim Series stop in 2026, I started thinking maybe we could do a meet on our own,” said Gibson, who served as co-meet director alongside his wife, Jennifer.
From there, it was a steady build.
“I thought if I could get the Big 3 pro teams—Florida, Virginia, and Texas—to commit, then we might have something,” Gibson explained. “I reached out to those coaches first, and then to teams like NC State, ASU, Bolles, Sarasota, Nashville, Auburn. They were all saying, ‘Count us in,’ so it just grew from there.”
Even without the Pro Swim title, swimmers came back because they wanted to!
As interest surged, meet organizers recognized that every aspect of the event had to evolve to deliver the demands of a world-class meet. Although they had done it before, it quickly became an all-hands-on-deck situation.
Gibson and his team began assembling the infrastructure to match the field.
He tapped veteran officials Kathy Fish (not to be confused with the USA Swimming board member with the same name) and Allan Golding to help lead the officiating crew and oversee administrative operations. The meet took another step forward with the addition of World Aquatics observers, including referee Trish Martin and starter Lisa Vetterlein, who also served as a starter at the Paris Olympics. Their presence ensured that performances met international technical standards and that times and records would be globally recognized.
With the foundation in place, the planning continued, from hospitality and ticketing to media and athlete experience. Also amping up the atmosphere was the return of announcer Kevin Cargill, the familiar voice of the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, as well as last year’s Pro Swim meet. SwimSwam’s Coleman Hodges and Mel Stewart jumped in to fill the demand for a livestream so swim fans everywhere could follow along. And Greg Huskey with Omega Timing was brought on board to ensure the timing system ran seamlessly.
It was a heavy lift, but it wasn’t carried alone.
“Swim Fort Lauderdale has some awesome parents and Masters swimmers who stepped up to help,” Gibson said. “We filled every timer slot for every session.”
More support came from Laura Voet and the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center staff. The Fort Lauderdale Dive Team Booster Club ran concessions, and Jennifer Gibson herself balanced co-meet director duties with overseeing hospitality and other responsibilities.
Even the weather cooperated.
Even with its rapid growth, the meet remained true to its initial time standards, keeping qualifying within reach for a uniquely diverse field. From high school and club swimmers to NCAA standouts to World Champions and Olympians, there was a lane for everyone. Fort Lauderdale was a place where they all could race. And the addition of a C Final for 18 & Under athletes created more opportunities to earn a second swim.
Prelims were wide open, showcasing the depth of the field. Younger swimmers tested themselves against the best in the world, and many delivered lifetime-best performances. Athletes as young as 12 stepped up to the blocks seeking to proclaim their place among the sport’s next generation.
By finals, the atmosphere felt like Olympic Trials.
And on that beautiful South Florida weekend, the Fort Lauderdale Open wasn’t even the only game in town. In addition to swimming, the Formula One Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium, and the PGA’s Cadillac Open at Trump National Doral made it a sports fan’s dream weekend.
But swim fans are swim fans, and they do what swim fans do.
They show up and watch swimming! (Myself included.)
Even after the final race, the weekend in the sun wasn’t quite done! In the afterglow of her world record in the 100 butterfly, Gretchen Walsh talked about hitting the beach, while Leon Marchand was spotted trackside at Formula One on Sunday.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on the Florida Gold Coast Swimming calendar to see what the Fort Lauderdale Open becomes next. Demand is likely to be high once again, as Faster in Fort Lauderdale is no longer just a slogan.
With all of the positive feedback, Gibson hopes they can make it happen again next year. “There is something special about this place—especially at finals at night,” Gibson reflected. “Just look at the world records set here.”
The African blueprint: How Penny Heyns opened the pool to a continent
Three decades on, Penny Heyns’ breaststroke double in Atlanta 1996 remains unmatched as her era-defining feat inspired a generation of African swimmers. In the run-up to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, we look back at the impact Heyns had on the continent.
By Ockert de Villiers 20 April 2026 08:12
Three decades after redefining breaststroke dominance at the Olympic Games, Penelope ‘Penny’ Heyns’ historic double gold remains unparalleled in female swimming.
The South African icon has forged a new path for swimmers on the African continent with her breakthrough performance at Atlanta 1996, where she became the first athlete ever to win the 100m and 200m breaststroke gold medals at the same Olympics. Her incredible feat instilled African swimmers, both male and female, with the belief that they could hold their own against the best in the world.
Heyns paved the way for the likes of Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, Africa’s most decorated Olympian and now the IOC President, and later fellow South African swimmer Tatjana Smith (nee Schoenmaker) to dominate in the pool at the global showpiece.
“I feel extremely blessed. I’ve had people ask me, ‘Don’t you wish you were swimming today with all the opportunities and financial rewards?’” Heyns told Olympics.com.
“And my answer was no. I’m very happy I swam in the era in which I swam. It was a very special time for us (in South Africa) with Nelson Mandela just becoming president. His passion for sport was genuine, it wasn’t like a president being informed by a staff member that someone had done something. He took a very personal approach to us athletes. That was very special. I don’t think it can ever be matched.”
Sport providing a roadmap to unify a divided nation
Competing at her second Olympics, just four years after South Africa was readmitted to international sport, Heyns was swimming at a time when the country was still finding its footing on the global stage.
South Africa returned to international competition at the Barcelona 1992 Games, competing under the Olympic flag as the country transitioned from its Apartheid past into a new democratic future.
Distance runner Elana Meyer ushered in a new era, winning South Africa’s first post-Apartheid Olympic medal with her silver in the women’s 10,000m. Heyns made her Olympic debut at the Games as the youngest member of the South African team at 17 years of age. She finished 33rd in the women’s 100m breaststroke and 34th in the 200m.
Four years later, Heyns claimed her own slice of history, becoming the first South African since Joan Harrison in Helsinki 1952 to win a gold medal, with her world-record-breaking swim in the 100m breaststroke.
Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected President, acknowledged Heyns’ incredible achievement in a message he sent her at the time: “You have done our country proud. You are our golden girl.”
Two days later, Heyns achieved another first. Never before has a swimmer won both breaststroke events at the same Olympics. That is, until Heyns secured the golden double by defeating the 14-year-old American Amanda Beard for the second time in as many finals.
While South Africa’s fragile democracy was still finding its feet, Heyns and the nation’s sporting fraternity showed that it belonged in the global community despite decades of isolation. Sport provided a roadmap for how the newly found ‘Rainbow Nation’ could be unified.
Picture by 2022 Getty Images
Penny Heyns (centre) from South Africa celebrates winning the gold medal in the Women’s 200 metre Breaststroke competition with silver medallist Amanda Beard of the United States and bronze medallist Ágnes Kovács from Hungary on 23rd July 1996 during the XXVI Summer Olympic Games at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Allsport/Getty Images)… Read more
Penny Heyns: Becoming the breasstroke G.O.A.T
While no woman has matched Heyns’ achievement, Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima did it at both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 in men’s races, and Italy’s Domenico Fioravanti before him in Sydney 2000.
“It was honestly a week before the Olympics that I thought about the 200m for the first time, because I didn’t like the race,” Heyns recalled.
“After the 100, I knew if I went all out and I hoped no one caught me, then maybe, ’cause I had the upfront speed, maybe that could work. It is not the way to swim at 200m, by the way, I only learned how to swim it in terms of pace the year before I retired. Only after I won the 200 did I hear that no one had ever done it before.”
Heyns could not emulate her double at the next edition in Sydney 2000, where she still managed to make it onto the podium, winning bronze in the 100m breaststroke event. By the time she retired, Heyns had built an envious portfolio which included 14 world records, three Olympic medals, double gold at the 1995 World Student Games, and three silvers from the 1999 World Short-Course Championships. She also holds the distinction as the only woman to hold all three breaststroke world records – 50m, 100m, and 200m – at the same time.
Penny Heyns: Setting the benchmark
In the years after her retirement, Heyns has seen Coventry and Smith build on her incredible legacy for female swimming on the continent.
Four years after Heyns’ retirement, Coventry was crowned the queen of African swimming when she won three medals in Athens 2004. She upped the ante in Beijing 2008, where she successfully defended her title and added three more silver medals to become Africa’s most decorated Olympian.
“When 2004 (Athens) rolled around, we had Kirsty Coventry just blowing the competition away and swimming as amazingly as she did,” Heyns said of her fellow Olympic icon.
“She then followed that up in 2008, ultimately ending up being the greatest Olympian on the continent of any sport and one of the best swimmers ever in terms of individual medals.
“That was a big one for us, and it’s proven by the fact that she’s now leading the Olympic movement and up to now doing a very good job at it, so we’re very blessed with that.”
Since her retirement after Sydney 2000, Heyns watched nervously as prospect after prospect came close to achieving the breaststroke golden double. There was Rebecca Soni, who is the only female breaststroke swimmer to win back-to-back golds in the 200m in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Soni fell painstakingly short, also claiming the silver medals over the 100m distance.
Liesl Jones also came close to winning gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m at Beijing 2008.
Another threat closer to home came nearly a quarter century later, when compatriot Smith announced herself at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021), setting a world record to win the 200m breaststroke. Smith narrowly missed the gold in the 100m event.
At the next edition in Paris 2024, Smith added the 100m breaststroke gold to her collection and finished second in the 200m.
“For me personally, Tatjana’s success was very special. I was very lucky to be in Tokyo in 2021 to witness those swims,” Heyns said.
“I remember I was really emotional. Not only because of her success 25 years after Atlanta, where she won the gold, and of course the silver, and then the gold with a world record – but also what impressed me was her humility.”
Heyns said Smith was a role model for aspiring young swimmers.
“That’s a very important thing, as youngsters look up to athletes. We need to have the role models that are humble and have the right moral attitudes,” she said.
“Unfortunately, in the past, we’ve had some success stories where there’s been a lack of humility, in my opinion. But athletes are young, and they also learn. So I guess it’s all a process.”
26 Aug 1999: Penny Heyns of South Africa in action in the 200m breaststroke during day five of the Pan Pacifiic swimming championships at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre, Homebush, Sydney, Australia. Mandatory Credit: Adam Pretty/ALLSPORT… Read more
Penny Heyns: A role model to many
Heyns herself has been a role model to so many swimmers in Africa and has never wandered too far from the pool in the years after hanging up her goggles.
A life-long service to swimming, which started as a seven-year-old girl, is highlighted by her involvement as the chairperson of the World Aquatics Athletes’ Committee and Bureau Member.
On a more granular level, Heyns has a passion for forging young talent both mentally and physically through swimming clinics and camps, which include swimming technique, essential life skills, motivation, mental toughness, and sports psychology. Heyns also does one-on-one coaching with young swimmers, where she helps them with stroke correction and mental resilience.
“If I say I work with young athletes, it really is, as much as I care about the stroke and the mental aspect, I really want to impart, if it’s just two words to them that can change their lives in some way and make them feel more confident and motivated, then that’s really what the agenda is,” Heyns said.
Heyns said while there have been positive developments in expanding swimming’s reach in Africa, she believed opportunities were still lacking.
Many world-class swimmers from the continent ply their trade in the United States of America, where they get to compete against top talent every week.
“What hamstrings us is the fact that to get good international exposure and experience means travelling to Europe, Australia, maybe the United States,” Heyns said.
“That’s expensive, and it can’t be done that frequently. What the rest of the world has is frequent competition of the highest level.
“That kind of exposure is what will continue to be necessary for the African athletes to go over and continue to improve. Or maybe South Africa would also be the case, but then they’re still footing the bill for their own travel, which I think by large we are doing as well.”
An eye on the future
In recent years, South Africa has produced some homegrown Olympic champions such as Chad le Clos, Cameron van der Burgh, and Smith.
Looking towards LA 2028, Heyns believes rising backstroke star Pieter Coetzé could be joining this elite group on the Olympic honours roll.
Coetzé walked away from the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore as South Africa’s most decorated swimmer at the global showpiece. The 21-year-old bagged three backstroke medals – gold in the men’s 100m and silver in the 50m and 200m distances – becoming South Africa’s most decorated swimmer at a single global championships.
Considering his trajectory, Coetzé could be a serious contender for an unprecedented three backstroke gold medals should he compete over all three distances on his third appearance at the global showpiece.
“I think he (Coetzé) has exceptional talent. I think what’s very impressive is that he crosses between the 50 all the way through to the 200. That’s quite rare,” Heyns said.
“It is not an easy task. It’s very, very tough. It takes a lot of discipline, also to understand how your body works, and the kind of pacing you need for the different distances. So that in itself is very exciting.
“Pieter has the opportunity to maybe do the triple. On the day it comes down to the big match temperament, the mindset. Mentally, he’s very tough, he’s going up against the big names, and he’s beating them. So that bodes well for him.”
Developer’s Corner ~ May 2026
For those who may not be familiar, the ISHOF Redevelopment is a major public-private partnership between Capital Group P3 and the City of Fort Lauderdale with a single goal: to transform the Fort Lauderdale waterfront into an enduring, world-class destination. Anchored by the historic International Swimming Hall of Fame, the redevelopment will seamlessly blend elite aquatics, marine education, and vibrant public spaces — creating a dynamic environment for the community to gather, perform, compete, learn, and play. There has been a lot of curiosity surrounding the future of the Hall of Fame, and we want you to hear it directly from us: the best is yet to come.
This month marked an exciting milestone as Jon Whitehead of Deep Blue Attractions delivered a compelling presentation of the project’s planned joint attractions to the City of Fort Lauderdale Commission, with developer Mario Caprini in attendance.
The presentation highlighted three world-class experiences that will anchor the redevelopment:
The Aquarium will serve as one of the core ground-level attractions, centered around a massive 10,000-gallon tank. The visitor experience is built around a single unifying idea — that all life begins in water. Guests will start their journey immersed in the marine world, then follow a seamless pathway upward, naturally transitioning into the ISHOF Experience above.
The ISHOF Experience is at the soul of this redevelopment. Designed to be highly interactive, this elevated space will bring the Hall of Fame’s incredible legacy to life in ways never seen before — putting visitors face to face with the history, the athletes, and the sport they love. For the ISHOF community, this is the centerpiece of everything we are building.
Frameless — a groundbreaking immersive art experience that originated in London, where it has become one of the city’s most beloved attractions — rounds out the vision. Frameless projects iconic masterpieces from artists including Monet, Van Gogh, and Dalí onto walls, floors, and ceilings, surrounding visitors in colour, movement, and sound, adding a cultural dimension unlike anything currently in South Florida.
Together, these attractions will position Fort Lauderdale’s waterfront as a true destination — where aquatic heritage, marine wonder, and world-class art come together in one remarkable place.
We look forward to sharing more as the project continues to move forward!
“What Jon and the team presented to the Commission is just a glimpse of what’s coming. We’re bringing to life something entirely new for Fort Lauderdale.”
— Mario Caprini, Capital Group Ventures
After the Applause – May 2026 – Hungarian Superstar Agnes Kovacs ~ Honor Swimmer 2014
Honoree Questions for: Agnes Kovacs ~ May 2026
You were inducted in 2014, tell us what you have been up to since then?
Thank you, I am doing great. In 2015 I had another induction in the U.S., I was inducted into the Sun Devil Hall of Fame at Arizona State University where I spent 4 years as a student athlete. Both titles mean a lot to me.
In 2022 I got married and in the same year my second son arrived in the family, which is a highlight in our lives.
I finished my PhD studies at the Hungarian University of Physical Education in 2022 in the Department of Social Sciences. My research field was related to elite athletes and to sport media.
What do you do for work / as a profession?
I am a career coach; I earned my certificate from U.C. Berkely in 2017. I work for companies and for different organizations as a trainer and as a business coach in leadership programs and other fields as well.
I returned to the Hungarian University of Physical Education in 2026 as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences. I teach sport communication and sport diplomacy for foreign students in English. I am also active in international sports diplomacy on behalf of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. I am the co-chair of the Budapest Olympic Committee. We are the only country in the all-time top 10 medal ranking who haven’t hosted a game yet. We hope this will change!
Are you still involved in swimming in any capacity?
I was the CEO of my own swimming academy for 8 years. It was great to be involved with the sport that I love, swimming. Under my leadership 15,000 kids learned to swim in our program. I am still so proud of my team for accomplishing this huge achievement in terms of quality and volume at the same time.
Do you still stay in touch with any swimming friends from your competition days, if so, who?
Yes, I keep in touch with fellow swimmers at national and international level. Globalization, especially social media, helps a lot with communication.
If you have children, do your kids swim, if yes, tell us about them, if no, tell us about what they are involved in (sports, arts, etc.)
My 14-year-old was swimming for 8 years and then he decided to choose another sport. My 3-year-old will start swimming next fall. Both have loved water from a very early age.
What is best memory of your days in swimming? (You can have more than one)
I always loved competing better than practicing. My favorite swim is from Sydney 2000 when my Olympic dream came true. My other big memory is from the 2006 European Championships which were held in my hometown of Budapest. I have competed in so many places before and finally it was magnificent to swim in front of the Hungarian audience and to celebrate the medals with them after the races.
Seeing the changes that have occurred in swimming/aquatics now versus when you were competing, do you wish you could have competed now, or are you glad you competed when you did and why?
I was happy being a swimmer back then and I would be happy to be a swimmer nowadays as well. There are always pros and cons about when is the best time, but what really matters to me is that my love for swimming is timeless.
Have you written a memoir/book about yourself, if yes, what’s the title and can our readers purchase it? If not, do you ever plan on writing a book?
I do not have a book yet, but I am planning on writing one.
Any advice to all the future want-to-be Olympic swimmers out there?
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Have big dreams, have goals, have ambitions, find a coach who believes in you and guides you, work hard and never ever give up!!!
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?
I love traveling and I love many places. My favorite one is still my home country Hungary, and my hometown Budapest. The best thing about traveling is to explore and then to return home. This is what I felt as a swimmer and this is what I still feel when I am traveling. We have hosted many huge swims meets – we will have the World Championships in Budapest again next year – and many other sport events. I hope one day we can host the Olympic Games as well, then the whole world can see our beautiful capital and the entire country as well.
We are all looking forward to visiting Agnes and her beautiful hometown of Budapest next Summer, as the city hosts the World Aquatics World Championships in 2027.
To read Agnes’s 2014 bio and watch her Honoree Induction speech, click here:
ISHOF’s First Corporate Swim Challenge
Last weekend ISHOF hosted the it’s very first Corporate Swim Challenge at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center.
The event was held on Saturday, April 25, 2026 and had eight teams participating. The format was simple: Swim as many laps as you can in the 30-minute time frame.
All teams did GREAT!!!!
The winning team was FLLCF – For Life and Love CrossFit with a total of 44 laps.
First Place Winners: Matt, Andrew, Sean and Travis
Second Place: FLL CrossFit: (above photo) Jen, Judit, Scott and Diddy
Third Place (Tie) AquaCal (above photo)
Nick McCollum, Selah McCollum, Evie McCollum and Noelle McCollum
Third Place Tie: Hayes Locums
Michael Daniel, Kate Wilkerson, Chase Markowitz,
It was a great day for all and families, friends, and coworkers cheered on teams throughout the event. Guests and swimmers enjoyed the races while DJ Lanka from Lanka Entertainments LLC kept the energy high and motivated participants. Attendees also enjoyed cornhole, Connect Four, and Jenga while listening to music.
A BIG Thank you to our sponsors: Aquacal, Capital Group, Hensel Phelps, RMZ Law, Stoke, Fiduciary Trust, Hasty Awards, The CornerStone Group, and Tripp Scott, Hayes Locums and for all those who came out and swam for the TEAMS!
Thank you to everyone who joined us and we look forward to next year!
A Special shoutout to Devin Ginas for organizing, Rob Marvin for working the event and ISHOF Board, Tyler Beard for emceeing and taking on this event!
What to expect from Fort Lauderdale’s new ‘Water District’: aquariums, art and rooftop dining
By Susannah Bryan | sbryan@sunsentinel.com | South Florida Sun Sentinel
PUBLISHED: April 28, 2026 at 2:51 PM EDT
The peninsula that’s home to both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center now has a catchy new name: The Water District.
The rebranding dovetails with the ongoing $220 million redesign of the Hall of Fame.
The reimagined waterfront destination is set to open in late 2028 at 501 Seabreeze Blvd., also home to the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center and its famous dive tower.
“People refer to the peninsula as the Hall of Fame pools, ISHOF pools and the Aquatic Center pools,” said Mario Caprini, the developer behind the Hall of Fame project. “There’s too many names. We decided to rebrand the entire peninsula.”
When the project opens in 2028, visitors will find a marine aquarium built around a 10,000-gallon tank along with a rooftop restaurant and a new Swimming Hall of Fame museum.
“You can come to The Water District 15 times in a year and do something different every single time,” Caprini said.
“You come for a dive competition, you end up in the aquarium,” Caprini said. “You grab lunch on the promenade, you stay for dinner on the rooftop. That is what a real destination does. This is what Fort Lauderdale has been waiting for.”
An elevated public promenade overlooking the Intracoastal will be open from dawn to dusk.
Interactive screens will adapt educational content to each visitor, making the aquarium equally accessible to a first-grader on a field trip and an international traveler stepping off a cruise ship.
The waterfront destination will also house Frameless, an immersive digital art experience that transforms iconic works from across art history into a fully immersive environment.
The four-phase project is part of a public-private partnership between Hall of Fame Partners and the city.
“Fort Lauderdale’s relationship with water is its identity,” Mayor Dean Trantalis said. “The Water District makes that identity permanent. It is a generational investment in our waterfront, our people, and our global standing.”
The project, approved by the commission in 2023, is now in its first phase of construction. The buildings revert to city ownership at the end of a 30-year lease.
One Year Later: Katie Ledecky Returns to Fort Lauderdale After Vintage 2025 Meet
Katie Ledecky — Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron
by David Rieder – Senior Writer
27 April 2026
Through the back half of her career, Katie Ledecky did not need to set any additional world records. She secured her status as the greatest female swimmer ever long ago: four Olympic appearances, nine gold medals including four consecutive in the 800 freestyle, 23 World Championship golds including seven straight in the 800 and a series of previously-unfathomable world records in the 400, 800 and 1500 free during her teenage years.
Entering the 2025 season, she had not set a long course world record since 2018, when she was 21 years old. The rise of Ariarne Titmus and then Summer McIntosh had forced Ledecky from the peak of the 400 free, but she remained on top in the distance events, with a comfortable margin of dominance in the 1500. Gold medals were coming even without best times, and she supplemented her two in Paris with relay silver and 400 bronze.
But her early May 2025 appearance in Fort Lauderdale showed off a version of Ledecky that fans waited years to see. Most in attendance at that meet hardly remembered the era of a teenaged Ledecky chasing down records meet after meet, obliterating standards by huge margins. For whatever reason, her training and race readiness clicked perfectly on this seemingly-random weekend to produce magical results.
It started off with a time of 15:24.51 in the 1500 free, her fastest time in seven years and the second-quickest mark ever. A day later, Ledecky blasted past McIntosh for an upset win in the 400 free. Her time of 3:56.81 was only 0.35 behind her American record of 3:56.46, a mark dating back to the 2016 Olympics. Ledecky had not been under 3:57 since, and she had not cleared 3:58 in almost five years. “I don’t know if I ever thought I was going to be 3:56 again,” Ledecky said that night.
Suddenly, world records had come back into play. The 8:04.79 from her Rio Olympics finale would be challenged when Ledecky swam the 800 on the final night of competition. The crowd in Fort Lauderdale would roar in adoration as Ledecky went out a full second ahead of world record pace. Yes, her teenage self made up ground during the middle and latter portions, putting Ledecky just three hundredths under the split entering the last length.
One final effort, 28.46 magical seconds with her legs firing at full gas, sealed the deal. Ledecky had her world record, the time of 8:04.12 marking a stunning return to her own best. Ledecky celebrated in the pool and then with countless friends and supporters, including present and former teammates, around the pool deck, many in tears.
“I can’t stop smiling,” Ledecky said. “It’s been like that all week though, so it’s not really new. It’s been so many years in the making to do it tonight.”
No, the record came outside of a major international competition or even a national qualifying meet, but that did not matter. It’s not like Ledecky still had to prove her big-meet performance ability. Of course, she would do just that later on, capturing four medals at the Singapore World Championships. As usual, she earned gold medals in the two distance races, but she needed an extra dash of magic to come through in the 800 as McIntosh and Lani Pallister pushed her to the limit. The result was Ledecky’s quickest championship time ever outside of the aforementioned Rio Games.
She has carried that strong form into 2026, kicking off her year with a 15:23.21 in the mile at the Austin Pro Series, faster than last year’s Fort Lauderdale time, now second-best ever. Ledecky, now 29, will make another trip south on Florida’s Turnpike to Fort Lauderdale this week, once again set to race freestyle events from 200 through 1500 meters at the site of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Expecting another world record would be unfair, but it’s hard not to consider the possibility as Ledecky returns to the site of perhaps her greatest achievement in a career full of so many. Her full-force charge has never stopped, with a fifth Olympic appearance now squarely in view.
Passages: ISHOF Honoree and Michigan, Team USA Legendary Diving Coach Dick Kimball Dies at 91
by Dan D’Addona — Swimming World Managing Editor
26 April 2026, 11:37am
Wolverine Diving posted a tribute to the late coach on social media.
“With saddened heart, we lost a diving great today, Dick Kimball. Our coaches at Wolverine Diving have so many fond memories of Kimball, and it was an honor to be coached by him. He was truly one of a kind. We are proud and honored to have our club train at the Dick Kimball Diving Well at the University of Michigan. Kimball’s legacy will continue to inspire generations of divers in the pool. May his memory live on. Rest easy, and forever Go Blue.”
Dick Kimball was born in Rochester, Minnesota, and was a four-time Minnesota high school diving champion. After attending the University of Oklahoma for one year, he transferred to the University of Michigan and helped the Wolverines to three NCAA Swimming and Diving championships
Kimball served 43 years as Michigan head diving coach, winning five NCAA championships and 33 Big Ten championships. As a student, he competed on three of the Wolverines’ NCAA champion dive teams and won two individual titles in the 1957 competition. He also helped coach the 1964, 1984, 1988, and 1992 U.S. Olympic teams.
Part of his legacy was the fun be brought to the sport. At some swim meets at Canham Natatorium, including Big Ten Championships and high school championship meets, Dick Kimball would belly flop fully clothed from the platform. He even got former Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh to do it once with him.
That started when Kimball and Hobie Billingsley started a “comedy and acrobatic show” of diving in 1960. They gave more than 1,000 performances on their 1962 world tour and also appeared on TV shows including Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town.”
And that was well after he was retired as head diving coach.
The 2001-02 season marked his 43rd and final as the head diving coach of the men’s program and 27th for the women’s team, although he has coached women divers at Michigan even before they officially became a program.
During his time as head diving coach, Dick Kimball helped the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams win five NCAA championships and 33 Big Ten championships. In 1984, he was named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year for both the men and women, while earning the same honor in 1988 (for women only). At the Big Ten level, Kimball was a four-time Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year.
Kimball mentored nine Olympic medal winners, including gold medalists Bob Webster (1960, 1964 -Platform), Micki King (1972 – Three-Meter), Phil Boggs (1976 – Three-Meter) and Mark Lenzi (1992 – Three-Meter). He was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Team at five Olympic Games (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992), while coaching international divers at the 1968 and 1996 Olympic Games.
He also coached three Big Ten Women’s Divers of the Year: Diane Dudeck (1984), three-time NCAA champion Mary Fischbach (1988) and Carrie Zarse (1995). In addition, he coached 16 divers (nine men, seven women) to Big Ten titles during his tenure.
Kimball was a three-time NCAA champion at Michigan, helping the Wolverines win three consecutive national championships, while winning individual titles on one-meter and three-meter in 1957.
While at Michigan, Kimball also competed on the gymnastics team and won the national trampoline title.
He has received numerous awards and honors recognizing his contributions to the sport of diving. He was presented the Fred Cady Memorial Award following the 1972, 1976 and 1992 Olympic Games for “sincere dedication in achieving the ultimate in coaching the sport of diving.” He was also the first diving coach to receive the Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy from the CSCAA in 1986. He was inducted into both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1985.
Dick Kimball was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.