Dressel Family Growing as Caeleb, Meghan Announce They are Expecting Second Child
Photo Courtesy: Meghan Dressel via Instagram
by Dan D’Addona — Swimming World Managing Editor
27 November 2024, 01:01pm
Dressel Family Growing as Caeleb, Meghan Announce They are Expecting Second Child
The Dressel family is growing by one.
Caeleb Dressel and his wife Meghan Dressel announced they are expecting their second child.
“OOPS! We did it again. We are overjoyed to share our family is growing again
Baby Dressel #2 coming in June! 2 under 2 here we go,” Meghan Dressel posted on social media.
The couple welcomed their first child into the world earlier this year. August Wilder Dressel was born, Feb. 17, 2024.
The couple was married in 2021 on Valentine’s Day weekend in Florida.
Dressel won three individual Olympic gold medals in Tokyo, then took nearly a year away from the pool before qualifying for the Paris Olympics in the 100 butterfly, 50 freestyle and a relay swimmer in the 100 free. He won two gold medals and one silver medal on relays for the U.S. in Paris.
In three Olympic games, he has earned a total of nine gold medals and a silver medal. He is a 21-time world champion and set numerous records at the NCAA level where he won 10 national titles for the University of Florida.
Dressel is hoping to swim the 50 free in Los Angeles in 2028 as the Olympic coda to his career.
“It has always been one of my dreams to compete on American soil at a championship meet. So, yes, my eyes are on 2028,” he told the AP. “I don’t think it’s going to be a full-event lineup. I think maybe just the 50 free, put a little bit more muscle on, don’t have to be in as good a shape. So maybe look forward to just doing the splash-and-dash. That might be a good time for me.”
Friends we’ve lost in 2024
Dr. Ron O’Brien – November 19, 2024
The Sport of Diving loses a Legend: Dr. Ron O’Brien dies at age 86 at home in Naples, Florida
Casey Converse – August 10, 2024
Passages: The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66
Paul W. “Buddy” Bucha July 31st, 2024
Passings: ISHOF loses 1997 Gold Medallion Recipient, Paul W. “Buddy” Bucha ~ longtime ISHOF friend
Carolyn Schuler Jones – July 22, 2024
Passages: Carolyn Schuler Jones, Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Dies at 81
Brent Rutemiller – June 17, 2024
David Wilkie – May 22, 2024
Great Britain and the ISHOF family lose a great one: David Wilkie loses his battle with cancer…..
Jon Urbanchek – May 9, 2024
Passages: ISHOF Honor Coach Jon Urbanchek, Iconic Olympic, Michigan Coach Dies; Legacy Will Endure
Judith McGowan – March 10, 2024
Giuseppe D’Altrui – February 22, 2024
The world of water polo loses a great: Giuseppe D’Altrui
Eddie Sinnott – February 20, 2024
Lance Larson – January 19, 2024
Passages: Lance Larson, 1980 ISHOF Honoree Controversially Denied Olympic Gold, Dies at 83
Every Child A Swimmer – A Year in Review
Every Child a Swimmer: 2024 Year in Review ~ by: Casey McGovern
The Every Child a Swimmer program is dedicated to ensuring that every child has access to the life-saving skill of swimming. As a division of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, we work to eliminate barriers to swim education by providing scholarships for swim lessons, partnering with swim schools, and advocating for water safety legislation across the United States. Through education, awareness, and collaboration, we are creating a generation of confident swimmers, building safer communities, and saving lives.
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on an incredible year filled with tremendous growth,impactful partnerships, and countless moments of hope and achievement. None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of our partners—individuals and organizations who share our passion for creating swimmers and saving lives.
This year, we partnered with over 300 swim schools across the country, resulting in a remarkable investment of over $500,000 in swim lessons for children. This is a significant leap from 2023, when we were able to teach 610 children to swim, equating to $150,000. These numbers are more than statistics—they represent lives changed, opportunities unlocked, and communities strengthened.
Looking ahead to 2025, we are setting our sights even higher. Our goal is to quadruple the number of children impacted. With your help, we can make this vision a reality. Every dollar donated goes directly to providing children with the essential life skill of swimming—empowering them with safety, confidence, and a brighter future.
In the year to come, we’re aiming even higher. Our goal is to quadruple the number of childrenimpacted, but we can’t do it alone.
Here’s how you can help make this vision a reality:
Donate: Every dollar goes directly to funding swim lessons for children in need.
Partner with Us: Swim schools and organizations can join our growing network to expand our each.
Spread the Word: Share our mission with your network to help build a wave of support.Every contribution—whether financial, partnership-driven, or through advocacy—gets us closer to a future where every child has access to the life-saving skill of swimming.
Why this matters… Swimming is more than a skill; It’s a bridge to safety, confidence, and opportunity. By working together, we’re creating a legacy of water safety, ensuring that more children can enjoy a brighter, safer future. Together. Let’s dive into 2025 with renewed energy and determination to create even more swimmers.
The Sport of Diving loses a Legend: Dr. Ron O’Brien dies at age 86 at home in Naples, Florida
Dr. Ron O’Brien, a legend in the sport of diving has died at the age of 86. As a Coach, no one can compare to the resume O’Brien created in the sport of diving. He was an eight-time USA Olympic Diving Coach, seven-time Head Coach, beginning in 1968, continuing through every Olympiad until his last in 1996. He was a seven-time USA World Championship Head Coach, four-time USA Pan American Games Head Coach and seven-time USA World Cup Head Coach. O’Brien has coached more Olympians than we can count, winning five gold, three silver and four bronze, but will probably be best remembered for the 1988 Olympic Games, when he coached Greg Louganis to his second double gold medal performance in the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform events, making Louganis the only man to accomplish back-to-back double gold medals in Olympic diving history. All totaled in major competitions, O’Brien divers have won 196 gold, 113 silver and 106 bronze medals.
His coaching career began after a brief stint at Minnesota ~ O’Brien was then named the Head Diving Coach at his alma mater, the Ohio State University where he coached from 1963-1978. He eventually moved to Southern California in 1978, where he became Head Coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadores. It was in Mission Viejo that O’Brien won an astounding 38 Team Titles, and in 1984 the United States swept all four gold medals at the World Championships, the only time this has ever been accomplished and the first time any country has swept a major international world class event since 1952. The divers were all coached by O’Brien.
His Olympic medalists include: Jennifer Chandler (1976), Debbie Keplar Wilson (1976), Greg Louganis (1984, 1988), Michelle Mitchell(1984, 1988), Wendy Wyland (1984), Scott Donie (1992) and Mary Ellen Clark (1992, 1996).
In 1985, O’Brien headed to South Florida to coach at a brand new facility called Mission Bay in Boca Raton, where he stayed until 1990. He hit the ground running; the very next year in 1986, all 12 United States Diving individual National Titles were won by Ron O’Brien divers. O’Brien won 16 Team Titles while at Mission Bay and was soon inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) as an Honor Coach in 1988.
In 1990, The City of Fort Lauderdale, home to ISHOF, hired O’Brien as the Director of Diving and Head Diving Coach at the Hall of Fame Aquatic Complex. There, O’Brien won 20 Team Titles in all, and a majority his athletes competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, with O’Brien serving as Head Coach. Pat Jeffrey, Karen LaFace, Kent Ferguson, Scott Donie, Jenny Keim, Mary Ellen Clark, and David Pichler were all members of the Fort Lauderdale Diving Team.
In addition to coaching Olympians in Fort Lauderdale, O’Brien served as the National Technical Director for USA Diving from 1991-2004.
After the 1996 Olympic Games, O’Brien retired from actively coaching on deck. In 1996, He was named Diving Special Events Coordinator at the Hall of Fame Aquatics Complex for the City of Fort Lauderdale, where he remained until 2008. He was named High Performance Director for USA Diving in 2004, where he served for the next four years. Once retired, he created and operated “Divers to College”, an online college recruiting website, exclusively for divers and diving. He was always looking to help the “diver”.
Ron O’Brien produced a United States National Champion in 25 of his 30 years as a coach and had a National Champion for 24 consecutive years, from 1973 through his very last year in 1996. Awards started almost immediately in his career. In 1974, O’Brien was presented the Mike Malone Award, given for outstanding contributions to United States Diving. In 1976, O’Brien was given the Fred Cady Award for coaching an Olympic Champion and the James A. Rhodes Award for participation in the 1976 Olympic Games. He was awarded the Mike Peppe Memorial Award, an unprecedented 14 times, first in 1979, and the last time was his final year of coaching, in 1996. In 1993, he was given the WHOSAM Award, which is given for commitment to excellence and dedication in the sport of Diving. In 1996, he won the United States Olympic Committee’s Diving Coach of the Year, as well as the Phil Boggs Award, given for outstanding contributions to United States Diving.
In addition to ISHOF in 1988, O’Brien was inducted into The Ohio State University Hall of Fame in 1984; he was a 1996 Inductee into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame; in 2004, he was inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame. Most recently, O’Brien was inducted as part of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame Class of 2019 as an Honor Coach, one of only six coaches to ever be inducted.
On May 23, 2015, the city of Fort Lauderdale inducted Dr. Ron O’Brien with a star embedded on Fort Lauderdale Beach on the City’s Walk of Fame as part of its sixth annual Great American Beach Party celebration. The City followed up on January 7, 2020 by proclaiming it Ron O’Brien Day in the City of Fort Lauderdale.
O’Brien was born in Pittsburgh, PA, on March 14, 1938. He became interested in diving and gymnastics at the Pittsburgh YMCA, where he began his athletic career. He went on to attend college at the Ohio State University, earning six varsity letters in both diving and gymnastics. He became the NCAA National Champion on the 1-meter in 1959, NCAA All-American on both the 1- and 3-meter in 1957, 1958, 1959, and the AAU National Champion on the 3-meter in 1961. In 1960, at the U.S. Diving Olympic Trials, O’Brien placed third, missing making the Olympic Team by one place. Not making the team, sent him into coaching, and created a coaching legend that may never be replicated. On May 20, 2010, Ohio State University named their diving well, the Ron O’Brien Dive Well, in his honor.
Dr. Ron O’Brien leaves behind his wife of over 60 years, Mary Jane, daughter Anne, son Tim, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
“I am grateful for the unconditional love he showed me. I was an instrument of his creation. He told me, “Greg, they will forget you and what you did, but they will always remember your records.” He is the only reason they exist. Thank you Rono, for your love.” Greg Louganis, Olympic gold medalist, 1984, 1988 4-time Olympic gold medalist.
“We have many great memories of Ron, knowing each other since Mexico 1968 Olympics and more recently with your wonderful family, when you invited the whole Italian Team to your home. You have been one of the greatest coaches in the world, working with most of the best American divers gaining many Olympic medals, but specially being a fantastic man and husband. A big hug from Klaus and Giorgio and all the Italian divers…RIP” Klaus DiBiasi (3 gold, 2 silver) and Giorgio Cagnotto (2 silver 2 bronze), Italian Olympic Divers.
“Ron was the gentleman’s coach. A class act, humble and quiet. But boy did he know just what to say at the right moment. He coached and helped so many top divers and other coaches in the sport of diving. He was beloved around the world and will be greatly missed.” Michelle Mitchell, 1984, 1988 Olympic Silver medalist
“Ron was a legendary Coach, but an even better person and friend. We will all miss him dearly.” Steve McFarland, former President USA Diving, World Aquatics Technical Diving Committee
“I didn’t know Ron that well, as I was a Michigander and Ronnie was from Ohio State, but I absolutely admired the way he worked with his divers and the person he was.” Bobby Webster, two-time Olympic gold medalist, 1960, 1964, 10-meter platform
“To be coached by Ron was such an honor. He was a class act coaching his athletes to their potential while teaching life skills through mentorship. He helped the world of diving step into excellence with grace and humbleness. Ron was motivated by coaching the entire person so we could learn the life lessons through sport to then help the next generation by paying it forward. Ron was a leader through action, a man with a plan and my dear friend in life. I am forever blessed for Ron changing my life. Heaven is so lucky to have such a gentleman in Ron O’Brien, a star in life and now, among the stars.” Mary Ellen Clark, 1992, 1996, Olympic Bronze medalist
“Ron O’Brien was the most professional diving coach I have ever known and that’s saying something. He added stature to be a diving coach; just the way he presented himself at diving competitions. He was a benefactor to the sportand he will be sorely missed.” Tom Gompf, lifelong friend, former President USA Diving, FINA Technical Diving Chairman
“Ron O’Brien was one of my oldest and dearest friends in the diving community. When I started diving at Ohio State, I lived in same rooming house as Ron. I was coached by Ron, along with Don Harper, and I attribute any success that I had in the sport to him and will continue to miss him.” Lou Vittuci, lifelong friend and 1964 Olympian, 10-meter platform
“Ron O’Brien was the ultimate coach for every diver. He dealt with all the fears young athletes had in a way that put them at ease and allowed them to build self-esteem/confidence where they were lacking. Truth be told, he was a genius when it came to reading people.” Cynthia Potter, 4-time Olympian, Olympic Diving Commentator
Ron’s achievements as a coach spanned four decades and included Olympic success by some of the most accomplished divers to ever compete in the sport. But most importantly, he was a devoted husband and father, who was humble, kind, and generous throughout his life. Ron truly was an icon of the sport of diving and will be missed profoundly by all in aquatics worldwide.” Dale Neuburger, World Aquatics Treasurer
“Ron was everything. Kind, generous, smart. An unmatched eye for detail. But his greatest quality was how much he cared about each and every one of us. And that level of caring leads to magic.” Scott Donie, 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist, 10-meter Platform
Happy Birthday Britta Steffen!!
Country: GER
Honoree Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: bronze (4x200m freestyle); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle); 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle), bronze (4x100m medley); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): silver (4x200m freestyle), bronze (100m freestyle); 2011 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): bronze (4x100m freestyle); 2000 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): silver (4x100m freestyle); 2012 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (100m freestyle; 5 WORLD RECORDS
She was winning youth championships in Germany at age 14 and was quickly becoming one of the top junior swimmers in all of Europe. At the 1999 European Junior Championships when she was just 15, Britta Steffen won six gold medals.
A year later, Steffen was selected to compete for Germany at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in both freestyle relays. She led off Germany’s 4x200m freestyle prelim relay and watched as her teammates raced to the bronze medal in the final, earning her first major international medal at the senior level.
In 2004, Steffen missed qualifying for the Olympic Team by six hundredths of a second in the 50m freestyle, but still picked up a relay spot to compete in Athens. She again swam on the prelims relay in the 4x100m freestyle, but injured her foot and was unable to compete during the rest of the Games.
After a heartbreaking Olympic experience, Steffen returned home to begin her studies and work on her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering, adding on to an already rigorous training schedule.
Steffen had to start practice later than all her teammates, because of her studies, and often had to practice alone. With the continuous work load, she was constantly tired and ended up bedridden with a severe cold. She decided then that maybe it was time to quit swimming.
One of Britta’s biggest struggles in swimming was her inability to put her swims together in competitions when it mattered the most. She knew that if she was going to come back to swimming, she was going to have to get out of her own head. She met with a sports psychologist, who specialized in high performance and health. She was able to help Britta make changes with her training as well as her relationship with her coach.
With this new mental training, Steffen hoped she would lead her swimming career on a new path and in 2006 at the European Championships, Steffen set a world record in the 100m freestyle and was on two world record setting freestyle relays for Germany, swimming one of the fastest relay splits in history. For these efforts, Steffen was honored as Swimmer of the Year by the German Swimming Federation.
After her seemingly meteoric rise to the top of the world rankings, Steffen was accused of doping by the international media, even though she had never failed a drug test. To hush these rumors, Steffen volunteered to take examinations to ensure she was clean and all of the tests came back negative.
Steffen struggled to return to her form as the best sprinter in the world after her spectacular 2006 performances. At the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, she only managed a bronze in the 100m freestyle and a silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Leading into the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Steffen was hardly a medal favorite.
She silenced all of her doubters when she won the 100m freestyle at the last stroke to win Germany’s first Olympic gold medal in swimming since 1992. Two days later, she won her second gold medal of the Games in the 50m freestyle, winning again at the very last stroke.
After the Olympics in 2008, she continued her momentum with two new world records at the 2009 World Championships in the 50m and 100m freestyles, but after 2009 her career would never be the same.
Illnesses and injuries kept her off the podium at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics and Steffen retired from swimming in September 2013. Today, she hosts TV programs and is involved in social projects for young children.
The information on this page was written the year of their induction
Happy Birthday Aleksandr Popov!!
Country: RUS
Honoree Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (100m freestyle), SEVEN WORLD RECORDS: 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle (50m), 50m freestyle, four 100m freestyle (25m); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m & 100m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle), silver (50m freestyle), bronze (4x100m freestyle); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m &100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle), silver (4x100m medley); 1991 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 1993 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m & 100m freestyle, 4x100m medley, 4x100m freestyle); 1995 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m & 100m freestyle, 4x100m medley, 4x100m freestyle); 1997 EUROPEAN CHAMPONSHIPS: gold (50m & 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 1999 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, bronze (50m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 2001 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m & 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 2002 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4x100m medley), silver (100m freestyle); 2004 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m freestyle).
Aleksandr Popov of Russia dominated swimming’s marquee events, the 50m and 100m freestyle and became the world’s premier sprinter during the decade of the 1990’s. He won nine Olympic medals at three Olympic Games from 1992 to 2000 with a total of four gold medals in individual events.
He was the first Olympic swimmer since Johnny Weissmuller in 1924 and 1928 to win back to back sprint races – 1992 and 1996. Volgograd native, Popov moved to Australia to be with his Russian coach Gennadi Touretski, but he never gave up his Russian citizenship competing for the Unified Team in 1992 and the Russian Team thereafter.
Popov held seven World records during his career. His 100m freestyle (long course) record of 48.21 held for six years until broken by Michael Klim of Australia and his 100m freestyle (short course) record of 46.74 held for ten years until broken by Ian Crocker of the United States. He won six World Championship and 21 European Championship gold medals from 1991to2004. He was European Swimmer of theYear in 1994 and 2003.
Popov is a full member of the International Olympic Committee and Vice Chairman of the Athletes Commission within FINA.
The information on this page was written the year of their induction
Happy Birthday Melvin Stewart!!
Country: USA
Honoree Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPICS: gold (200m butterfly), gold (4x100m medley relay), bronze (4x200m freestyle relay); 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: 5th (200m butterfly); ONE WORLD RECORD: 200m butterfly; 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m butterfly); 14 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 7-200m butterfly, 6-200m butterfly, 1-100y butterfly; TWO NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 200m butterfly.
Melvin Stewart was known as the greatest 200m butterfly swimmer of his era. Not only did this 14-time National champion win the 200m event at the 1991 Perth World Championships, defeating legendary Hall of Famers Michael Gross of Germany and Tamas Darnyi of Hungary, he became the gold medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in Olympic record time, 1:56.26. Stewart won a second gold as a preliminary heat member of the 4x100m medley relay and a bronze on the 4x200m freestyle relay. In his first Olympic Games at Seoul in 1988, he placed fifth in the 200m butterfly. Stewart held the world record at 1:55.69 from 1991 to 1995 when it was broken by Denis Pankratov of Russia.
It all began for Stewart in 1974. Under the direction of Coach Frankie Bell at the Johnston Memorial YMCA pool in Charlotte, North Carolina, he won National YMCA titles. Bell taught him stroke technique and built his love for the sport, motivating the already inspired youngster with a banana split every time he won. By age 10, he was ranked among the top 10 in the nation in his age group in 16 events. “Little Melvin,” as he was called, grew up on the grounds of Heritage USA, the PTL Ministries Theme Park and religious retreat where his father was recreation director of Jim and Tammy Bakker’s Heritage Church and Athletic Director of his school, Heritage Academy.
Mel became a butterfly side-breather, preferring this unconventional breathing technique to the more traditional head up breathing common to most butterfly swimmers. At 6’1”, 180 lbs., he was a natural. He had flexibility, quick hands and feet, great turning ability and tremendous kicking power. His arms reached from lane rope to lane rope.
In need of some academic tutoring, his mentor, George Baxter, enrolled Stewart at Mercersburg Academy, a small boarding school known for its academics and competitive swimming teams. In his three years there, Mel became an honor student and a leader.
He followed his Mercersburg coach John Trembley to the University of Tennessee and swam on to international stardom one year later, winning the 200m butterfly at the Goodwill Games of 1986. He repeated with Goodwill Game wins in 1990 and 1994 in Moscow, and at the Pan Pacific Championships of 1987, 1989 and 1991. While at Tennessee, he won two NCAA titles in the 200y butterfly.
Stewart holds the record in United States Swimming for winning the most national championships (14) in one event (200 butterfly), more than any other male swimmer in USA history.
After failing to qualify for the 1996 Olympic Team, Mel began to pursue his second dream of acting. He appeared in plays, movies and television shows. He served as an ABC Sports field reporter, hosted ESPN’s “American Outback” and appeared in “Pentathlon,” starring Dolph Lundgren. Stewart was also a hotel lifeguard in “Baywatch.” He is a partner, producer and writer for Symbiotic Entertainment.
The information on this page was written the year of their induction
Happy Birthday to 2024 Honoree Dana Vollmer!!
Country: USA
Honoree Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (100m butterfly, 4×100mmedley, 4 x 200m freestyle relay); 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4 × 100mmedley relay), silver (4 x 100m freestyle relay), bronze (100m butterfly); 2004OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4 × 200m freestyle relay); 2011 LONG COURSEWORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m butterfly, 4 × 100m medley) silver (4 x100m freestyle relay); 2007: gold (4 × 200m freestyle relay), silver (4 x 100mfreestyle relay, 4 × 100m medley relay); 2013: gold (4 × 100m medley relay),bronze (100m butterfly); 2009: silver (4 × 200m freestyle relay), bronze (200mfreestyle); 2004 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (4 × 100mfreestyle relay, 4 x 200m freestyle relay), bronze (100m butterfly); 2010: silver (4× 100m freestyle relay, 4 x 100m medley relay), bronze (100m butterfly);
The scene was the 2000 United States Olympic Trials and a 12-year-old girl walkedthe deck of the venerable Indiana University Natatorium with the biggest names ofthe sport. At the time, Dana Vollmer was a young phenom, gathering valuableexperience for the future, and a career that would go down as sensational.
A multi-event talent in freestyle and butterfly, Vollmer’s big breakthrough arrived in2004, when she qualified to represent the United States at the 2004 OlympicGames in Athens. In the home of the Olympics, Vollmer helped the United Statescapture the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle relay, a world record making thevictory that much sweeter.
After representing the U.S. in additional international competition over the next fewyears, Vollmer failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. It was atough blow for Vollmer, but it hardly deterred her career. She immediately bouncedback and embarked on the most-successful stint of her career.
At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Vollmer was the bronze medalist in the200 freestyle and contributed to the United States’ silver medal 800 freestyle relay.By the next World Championships in 2011 in Shanghai, Vollmer was the worldchampion in the 100 butterfly and a key cog on multiple American relays.
The stage was set for Vollmer to excel at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Eight years after making her Olympic debut, Vollmer was a triple gold medalist inLondon, as she helped the U.S. to titles in the 400 freestyle relay and 400 medleyrelay. Her shining moment arrived in the 100 butterfly, where Vollmer struck goldwith a world-record time of 55.98. The effort made her the first woman to breakthe 56-second barrier in the event.
“Coming back from 2008, I didn’t know if I was going to swim,” Vollmer said at thetime. “I had worked for so many years to reach that one goal, but along the way I had a shoulder injury, a back injury, and I was having to deal with fatigue and somuch pressure that I just wasn’t having fun with it at all…The past eight years,there were good times and there were bad times. I feel like it all finally paid off.”Vollmer followed her Olympic crown with a bronze medal at the 2013 WorldChamps and made her third Olympic appearance at the 2016 Games. In Rio deJaneiro, Vollmer once again delivered on the big stage, securing the bronze medal.She added a gold medal in the 400 medley relay and a silver medal in the 400freestyle relay.
Vollmer retired in 2019 as a seven-time Olympic medalist, 10-time medalist at theWorld Championships and with 35 medals earned in international competition. Yetwith all those accolades, the one title she’s most proud of is she the only “Mother”in the sport of swimming to win an Olympic gold medal.
The information on this page was written the year of their induction
Guess who Swims? You might be surprised…
So, we all know the names, Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Ryan Lochte, and more recently Kate Douglass and Regan Smith. But have you ever stopped to think about about other sports heroes?
One of the greatest basketball players of our era, NBA Mega-Superstar, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, who was a five-time NBA champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, 15-time NBA All-Star and NBA All-Star Game MVP, began his life and initially aspired to be a competitive swimmer. He grew up on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and only changed his plans when at 14, Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island’s only Olympic sized swimming pool, so he took up basketball.
Today, he is called “The greatest baseball player of all time”, Shohei Ohtani, star of the 2024 World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers, started as a SWIMMER! He swam through his high school years at Hanamaki Higashi High School, in Iwate, Japan, and his Coach, Hiroshi Sasaki, claimed that the eventual American League MVP was the fastest swimmer on his team, and “could have made the Olympics.” His father was a minor league baseball player and guided Shohei into baseball instead of swimming.
So, today, at ISHOF / the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, who walks in to swim laps, but none other than, NHL Florida Panther, 2024 Stanley Cup Winning Goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. Long-time ISHOF Staffer, Meg Keller-Marvin’s son, Matt Marvin, who happens to be a huge Florida Panthers fan, and City of Fort Lauderdale lifeguard, immediately recognized him and struck up a brief conversation, as “we”Bob” was on his way out. The one thing Marvin did say, “He’s got a gear bag with everything in it: goggles, fins, paddles, kickboard and he even wore a Speedo!”
Sounds like a SWIMMER to us! Way to go Bob-by!
Happy Birthday Sue Gossick!!
Country: USA
Honoree Type: Diver
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 4th place (springboard); 1968 gold (springboard); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1967 gold (springboard); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5 (springboard); 1966, 1968 WORLD DIVER (springboard); 1967 Los Angeles Times “Woman of the Year”; Women’s Southern Pacific Association Springboard Diver of the Year: 1964-1968.
By the time Sue Gossick came along as a member of the 1964 and 1968 Olympic teams, Southern California diving had gone into a partial eclipse. She and her coach Lyle Draves proved it was a short eclipse. She was a medalist in 21 of 24 national springboard diving championships she entered beginning in 1962. Sue Gossick was coached early on by her father Dr. Gustav Gossick.
Placing fourth in the 1964 Games at Tokyo, Gossick won the 1966 pre-Olympics against the world’s best at Mexico City but almost didn’t make the team when she hit her hand on the board during the U.S. Olympic trials in 1968. Despite a back injury, which had kept her out of the pool for five weeks, she made it to the 1968 trials and finals and took the gold — thanks to treatments from the team doctor of the Los Angeles Rams.
At age nine, Miss Gossick was singled out by the U.S. Olympic Development Committee in 1957 as a “future Olympic champion” and 11 years later she made believers of them and their brash projection. In between, she won the U.S. Nationals five times, a gold medal in the 1967 Pan American Games and was the Southern Pacific AAU’s Springboard Diver of the Year four times. She won world diving first place ratings in 1966 and 1968. After she won the gold at the Mexico City Olympics at age 20, she was honored as the youngest ever “Woman of the Year” by the Los Angeles Times.
The information on this page was written the year of their induction