SW Biweekly January 21, 2021 Issue by Swimming World Magazine

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SWIMMING WORLD BIWEEKLY | JANUARY 2021 | ISSUE 02 USA NEWS 008 AMY BILQUIST UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SHOULDER SURGERY, AIMS FOR OLYMPIC TRIALS by Dan D’Addona Amy Bilquist has overcome injury after injury during her stellar swimming career, but she will need to overcome one more before the U.S. Olympic Trials. Focusing on her long-term health, she recently had surgery on her left shoulder that required shaving the bone down as well as repairing issues with the muscle and tendon. 011 TIME OF DAY “STRONGLY AFFECTS” PERFORMANCE OF OLYMPIC SWIMMERS by Matthew De George A study by a Stanford postdoctoral fellow published recently finds that Olympic swimmers are more than a third-of-a-second faster, on average, in the evening than in the morning. The best results come around 5 p.m. local time. 012 SWIMMERS FOLLOWING SPIRIT OF MARTIN LUTHER KING ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE by Dan D’Addona Martin Luther King’s spirit lives on as activists continue to fight for equality, diversity and social justice—even within the sport of swimming, where several athletes have spoken out for change. 014 GOLD MEDALIST TO CAPITOL INSURRECTION: TRACING THE RISE AND FALL OF KLETE KELLER by Matthew De George In addition to winning five Olympic medals, 38-yearold Klete Keller has also endured a failed marriage as well as professional failures. After turning himself in to police in Colorado for being a part of the unruly mob of protestors who stormed the United States Capitol in early January, he now faces three federal charges that carry a possible sentence of up to 15-1/2 years. 017 KLETE KELLER APOLOGIZES TO COACHES: “I LET YOU DOWN” by Matthew De George Klete Keller issued a tearful apology to former coaches—including Mark Schubert and Jon Urbanchek—about his role at the U.S. Capitol insurrection. WORLD NEWS 018 DAVID McKEON, TWO-TIME AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIAN, RETIRES AT AGE 28 by Matthew De George David McKeon will be remembered as one of the real gentlemen of Australian swimming who lived to represent his country: two Olympics, three World Championships, a Commonwealth Games and a Pan Pacs. “This isn’t a goodbye to swimming by any means, this is just the start of a new chapter in my journey,” says McKeon. 020 PEATY, SCOTT, WILBY AND GREENBANK CONFIRMED AS FIRST FOUR SWIMMERS ON TEAM GB FOR TOKYO by Liz Byrnes Adam Peaty, Duncan Scott, Luke Greenbank and James Wilby have been confirmed as the first swimmers to be named to Team GB for the Tokyo Olympics. The quartet earned their place on the team following their medalwinning performances in individual events at the 2019 World Championships.

021 JAPAN DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN TOKYO AS CORONAVIRUS CASES HIT DAILY RECORD by Liz Byrnes Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas recently as coronavirus cases continued to surge, with the Olympics due to start in a little over six months. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who issued the declaration, indicated it will last until Feb. 7 and centers on restrictive measures as opposed to a lockdown. 022 IOC REMAINS COMMITTED TO TOKYO 2020 DESPITE STATE OF EMERGENCY; ISSUES STATEMENT ON VACCINE by Liz Byrnes The International Olympic Committee has responded to the state of emergency declared in Tokyo by stating it has “full confidence” in the steps being taken and remains committed to the Olympics going ahead as scheduled in July. So, too, did the IOC reiterate that vaccination is not mandatory in order for athletes to compete at the Olympics, although it is committed to having as many attendees as possible vaccinated. 024 SWIMMING WORLD’S 10 BEST PERFORMANCES OF THE 2000s...SO FAR by John Lohn Swimming World top 10 performances of the millennium’s first 20 years were not just selected based on speed, but they carried a certain level of significance or marked a defining moment in the sport.

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COLLEGE NEWS 028 MICHIGAN STATE WOMEN’S SWIMMERS FILE TITLE IX LAWSUIT AGAINST UNIVERSITY by Andy Ross Eleven Michigan State women’s swimmers have filed a lawsuit against the university for the elimination of the women’s varsity swimming and diving program. The case alleges that the school will “compound its historic Title IX wrongs at the end of 2021 when it terminates the 38-member team,” thereby terminating “all opportunities for women to compete in intercollegiate varsity swimming and diving at the university.”

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WATER POLO NEWS

Historian - Bruce Wigo

030 ON THE RECORD WITH USA WATER POLO’S CHRIS RAMSEY: PRESENT, PAST, FUTURE by Michael Randazzo After a fallout from a series of newspaper articles detailing multiple lawsuits against water polo coach Bahram Hojreh who is accused of sexual assault, Olympians, past national team members and longtime age group coaches are demanding that USA Water Polo CEO Chris Ramsey, current USAWP board chair Michael Graff and the current board to step down forthwith. In a wide-ranging interview with Swimming World, Ramsey takes on his accusers and defends himself and his organization against the accusations. FEATURES & COMMENTARY 036 ON INAUGURATION DAY, A LOOK AT THE ROLE OF SWIMMING IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY by Brendan Farrar Although the United States has never seen an Olympic-caliber athlete serve as President, swimming has served past Commanders in Chief in many capacities, including previously competing on college swim teams, swimming for recreation...or even as a tool for healing. 038 PARTING SHOT

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INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS Americas: Matthew De George (USA) Africa: Chaker Belhadj (TUN) Australia: Wayne Goldsmith, Ian Hanson Europe: Norbert Agh (HUN), Liz Byrnes (GBR), Camillo Cametti (ITA), Oene Rusticus (NED), Rokur Jakupsstovu (FAR) Japan: Hideki Mochizuki Middle East: Baruch “Buky” Chass, Ph.D. (ISR) South Africa: Neville Smith (RSA) South America: Jorge Aguado (ARG)

PHOTOGRAPHERS/SWTV Peter H. Bick, USA Today Sports Images, Reuters, Getty Images

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USA NEWS

AMY BILQUIST UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SHOULDER SURGERY, AIMS FOR OLYMPIC TRIALS BY DAN D'ADDONA

my Bilquist has overcome injury after injury during her stellar swimming career.

She will have to overcome one more before the U.S. Olympic trials. Bilquist underwent shoulder surgery on Friday to repair multiple issues in her left shoulder. “This is what my career has been unfortunately defined by, and here we are again,” Amy Bilquist told Swimming World. Bilquist was one of the top swimmers for the DC Trident during the International Swimming League (ISL) season, but the multitude of races in a short period of time took a toll. “For my long-term health this was the best situation for my recovery,” Bilquist said. “It has developed into several issues. It will be shaving the bone down and some other issues, repairing the muscle and tendon issues. One thing created a bad trickle-down affect. I have been losing a lot of strength and muscle in that arm.”

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the world’s best swimmers. After her broken foot, she helped Cal win NCAA relay titles. After her broken hand, she won the 2019 U.S. national title in the 100 backstroke — actually while her hand was still broken. After the knee surgery, she won several events and became one of the top point-scorers on the DC Trident. After this shoulder surgery? Who knows? Bilquist still has dreams of making the Olympic team, something she was extremely close to in 2016 and has been one of the top U.S. swimmers in both backstroke events. The biggest factor will be her rate of recovery.

[ PHOTO BY AMY BILQUIST / INSTAGRAM ]

“We’ll see if it will be similar to my knee issue. When I went under for my knee surgery, we were expecting it to be minor recovery, but it turned into months,” she said. “I am hoping this is not a similar situation. I am not sure what the time frame is going to be until I get out. It is arthroscopic, so that should help. But I know I am definitely out of the water for a while.

It got to the point where Bilquist was not able to train at the level needed to compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. So surgery was the next step. “I worked it past the point of natural recovery,” she said. Bilquist has dealt with a stunning variety of injuries during her swimming career, including a recent knee surgery, broken hand, 12 stress fractures in her legs, a broken foot, broken rib, broken collarbone and broken fingers and toes. “I have had so many injuries it is almost comical at this point,” Bilquist said. “I haven’t had a healthy season since my sophomore year of high school. This is my story. Every athlete has some sort of hardship.” But part of Bilquist’s story is the way she has responded after those injuries, fighting her way back to remain one of

“I waited on my knee and it got a lot worse. I didn’t want to do that.” Bilquist also wanted to make sure she does what is best for her long-term, not just short-term. “I am not able to train at the top level with this. It is making a decision now for future Amy, not just the swimming version of Amy. I was in so much pain in Budapest. We are such creatures of push through the pain in our sport. I have learned which ones are real pain and which are push through pain. I started doing doubles at age 10. This is years in the making. I am going on 17 years of wear and tear and sometimes you have to fix it. At this point of my career, I know there is less of it ahead than behind me and I need to do things for my long-term health,” Amy Bilquist said. “I have goals in swimming, but I have more after that. I want to life a live where I can pick up my kid in the future. I know this is what is best for my long-term health. “I have done everything else I can.”◄ BIWEEKLY

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no medal in 61% of the finals. “The magnitude of the effect is pretty big,” Lok said. “The difference was amazing, considering that athletes train at all times of the day.” Given her background, Lok focused on circadian effects as a cause. Biological factors like body temperature, blood glucose, oxygen saturation levels and various hormone (insulin, cortisol, testosterone, etc.) levels have regular peaks according to our internal body clock, which affect when people hit peaks and troughs in their physical and mental functioning. People’s tendencies in this area, their chronotype – defined in the paper as “describing an individual’s biological optimal timing for activity and sleep” – roughly hew to what we think of as early birds (or larks) and night owls.

TIME OF DAY “STRONGLY AFFECTS“ PERFORMANCE OF OLYMPIC SWIMMERS BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

study by a Stanford postdoctoral fellow published last week finds that Olympic swimmers are more than a third of a second faster, on average, in the evening than in the morning.

The research has practical applications. While chronotype is a relatively stable trait, athletes can adjust their sleep and meal schedules over shorter periods to optimize training and performance. It’s especially important in an Olympic or World Championships setting, where the timing of finals isn’t determined for the good of athletic performance but to maximize TV visibility. Those differences in timing, such as the morning finals and evening prelims at the Beijing Olympics that will recur at the 2021 Tokyo Games, provided Lok with variables to study. ◄

The study is titled, “Gold, silver or bronze: circadian variation strongly affects performance in Olympic athletes.” It was performed by Renske Lok, Ph.D., a psychiatry fellow who studies circadian biology at Stanford, during her time at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Her research was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Lok analyzed the times of 144 swimmers (72 men, 72 women) in the finals of the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio Olympics, choosing swimming because of the limited variables affecting performance and normalizing the data based on race type (heat, semifinal, final). The analysis of those swims concluded that times were slower in the morning and faster in the afternoon, by an average of 0.39 seconds. The best results for Olympic swimmers came around 5 p.m. local time. From the paper’s abstract: Performance was strongly affected by time-of-day, showing fastest swim times in the late afternoon around 17:12 h, indicating 0.32% improved performance relative to 08:00 h. This study reveals clear effects of time-of-day on physical performance in Olympic athletes. The time-of-day effect is large, and exceeds the time difference between gold and silver medal in 40%, silver and bronze medal in 64%, and bronze or BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO BY MINE KASPOGLU / ISL ]

> LIA NEAL

SWIMMERS FOLLOWING SPIRIT OF MARTIN LUTHER KING ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE BY DAN D'ADDONA

More than a generation of Americans have grown up never hearing Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio, watching him on television or reading about him in newspapers. But King’s spirit lives on as activists continue to fight for equality, diversity and social justice, even within the sport of swimming. In a year where the Black Lives Matter movement has reached new levels, especially in response to the death of George Floyd, more and more people are speaking out for change. In the sport of swimming, several athletes have spoken out and continue to speak out.

just something that wasn’t being said.” Neal is a two-time U.S. Olympian, who represented the U.S. in the 400 free relay at the 2012 Olympics while just 17 years old, and then again qualified for the Rio Olympics in 2016. She has won two Olympic relay medals along with five World Championship medals—and she is mixed race, of both Black and Chinese descent.

Lia Neal and Jacob Pebley combined to start Swimmers for Change, a grassroots movement involving over 30 Olympic, Paralympic, and U.S. National team athletes with the goal of supporting black communities and fighting systemic racism

Since 2000, only five Black or biracial swimmers have qualified to represent the U.S. in the Olympics — Along with Neal, it has been Anthony Ervin, Maritza Correia (now Maritza McClendon), Cullen Jones and Simone Manuel. All have won Olympic medals, but each Olympic team averages 55 to 60 swimmers total, and Black swimmers make up 13.4% of the U.S. population. Five total swimmers over five Olympic cycles represents a sport with a glaring lack of diversity.

“It was a way of having the same community—a predominantly white sport and white community— step up and show their support as allies for the black community to just say that black lives matter,” Neal told Swimming World last fall. “That very simple and what many would say is common sense or morally right ideology was

The Black Leadership in Aquatics Coalition (BLAC), a group of 14 current and former members of the U.S. national team that began working with and advising USA Swimming on racial issues around this time, a group that includes Manuel, Jones, Ervin. Among BLAC’s earliest actions, was formed and the group worked with USA Swimming to craft

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[ PHOTO BY CONNOR TRIMBLE ]

> REECE WHITLEY

a statement that reflected the premise that used the words “black lives matter” in the aftermath of Floyd’s murder, and the group has continued to work with USA Swimming to put in place new measures to promote diversity and inclusion in swimming. “I started talking with Lia Neal and some of the other Black swimmers,” Jones said. “We talked with USA Swimming. They said publicly that they support Black athletes. We needed to be on the same page and try to make some change. The coalition was formed. My governing body having a sounding board in our sport and have a governing body that actually listened. I am thankful for this next generation to have an intimate relationship with their sport’s governing body. It happens in other sports. It was a breath of fresh air.” Manuel has been an outspoken inspiration within the sport for years. The coalition has included several of the younger national team members, including Reece Whitley, who has become even more outspoken about racial relations in the U.S. and within the sport. “We have been participating in conversations in kind of a consulting role with USA Swimming on issues regarding race,” Whitley told Swimming World in August. “We feel that our voice has the most visible black swimmers in our sport and we owe it to those who are not as visible as we are to make sure that USA Swimming is supporting them and

doing things to help all USA Swimming members. We are extremely determined to promote long lasting change.” That supports what Whitley said all along was the most important step toward achieving the goal of racial equality — having conversations. The conversations have been going on long enough and have been heard. The work is not done, but Whitley said it finally reached the point where nothing is going to take that conversation away. “The conversation is at a point where it is not going to stop,” Whitley said. “A lot of people are very, very committed in seeing things through. Hopefully in my lifetime, I can sit back and say I was part of something — this generation was a part of something — that made great change for our country.” Throughout all of the racial turmoil of 2020, more people — and more swimmers — are speaking out for change. That is exactly how Martin Luther King Jr. started. He spoke out, people began to listen, and it invoked change. Swimmers are speaking out in 2021, people are listening and we as a country and a sport are on the right track. But just like Martin Luther King’s actions, they will take time and we cannot stop listening, or all of the momentum will be lost. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]

GOLD MEDALIST TO CAPITOL INSURRECTION: TRACING THE RISE AND FALL OF KLETE KELLER BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

here’s no sugarcoating the effect on the world of swimming that seeing Klete Keller’s among protestors storming the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 has had, just as there’s no diminishing the chilling effect of five lives lost that day or that the insurrection has had on American democracy.

None of that calls for special treatment in a court of law or perhaps even public opinion. But as people near him have wrestled with how Keller descended into this predicament in his post-swimming life, the context of what he accomplished in the pool – and how it might have shaped his retirement – offer poignant context.

It’s made for a convenient hook in headlines of the coverage – of CEOs, elected officials and yes, an Olympic swimmer, joining an unruly mob of right-wing protestors trying to stop the certification of an election lost by twiceimpeached American president Donald Trump. To boot, the symbolism of having an Olympic team patch on Keller’s jacket, within the Rotunda of a stormed Capitol, is insult to injury.

The New Distance Star The headline about Klete Keller’s big break in swimming had nothing to do with Klete Keller.

Keller faces three federal charges, that carry a possible sentence of up to 15 ½ years. He’s free after having turned himself in to police in Colorado, and he is innocent until proven guilty.

The 2000 Trials marked his arrival, but the news wasn’t even about him. Matt Cetlinski’s American record in the 400 freestyle had stood since 1988 at 3:48.06. Both Keller and the Trials runner-up undercut that mark, Keller taking the record in 3:47.18. But the attention went to Chad Carvin, who qualified for his first Olympics at age 26, after having missed the 1996 Trials with a heart condition.

Beyond the easy headline, a famous name taking part in a historically infamous incident, the character at the center of this particular corner of American political controversy warrants rounding out. Keller is a notable athlete, yes, but he’s not an obscure Olympian. He’s a three-time Olympian, owner of five medals, three gold, two individual bronze. He spent more than a decade on high-level American swimming delegations, taking part in some of the sport’s most famous moments. 14

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Keller was a relative unknown at the 2000 Olympic Trials. He’d just graduated Arcadia High School in his native Phoenix, Arizona, and was set to enroll at USC. At 18, he’d had some success in open-water swimming.

Keller would undercut the record again at the Olympic Games in Sydney, evening it out at 3:47.00. It earned him bronze, with Carvin sixth. The 12 years in itself was meaningful, but so was the doldrums that it shook the American distance program

from. The 18-year-old wasn’t just a rising star but the brightest prospect in what had once been the bread-andbutter of American swimming, real estate since ceded first to the Eastern bloc, then the Australians.

But Keller was at the leading edge of a distance surge. Josh Davis was fourth in the 200 free in Sydney in 2000. Chris Thompson got bronze in the 1,500 with Eric Vendt sixth. By the 2004 Games, Peter Vanderkaay and Larsen Jensen had emerged. Not that Keller was done. A gangly 15-year-old at the Sydney Games by the name of Michael Phelps showed he could swim freestyle, too, taking Keller’s American record at the 2003 Nationals. Keller responded a year later by walloping Phelps’s record by 2.5 seconds to 3:44.19 at Trials, then trimmed another eight hundredths for his fourth and final AR at the Olympics. That record would hold for an Olympic cycle until 2008; it remains within 1.5 seconds of Jensen’s enduring super-suit aided mark from 2008 (3:42.78). That 2004 Games was the pinnacle for Keller. He repeated as the bronze medalist in the 400 free, just a second behind Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett, nearly two seconds quicker than Jensen. He shared the Athens experience with his sister Kalyn Keller, who made the women’s team. More memorable in the annals of swimming history is the 200 free, dubbed the Race of the Century. World-record holder Thorpe, who Keller likened to “a mythical figure,” Olympic record holder Pieter van den Hoogenband, Hackett, Phelps swimming somewhat out of his expertise as a way to test himself against arguably the best swimmers of his generation … and Keller. In the final tally, Thorpe came out on top, van den Hoogenband second, just .09 ahead of Phelps, with an American record of 1:45.32. Keller was fourth, in 1:46.13, a supporting player in one of the Games’ most compelling scripts. Keller took an even more central role the following night in the final of the 800 free relay. Everyone know it would amount to a two-horse race between the Americans and Aussies. But the Americans’ masterstroke was assuming that Thorpe would anchor, allowing the U.S. to front-load with Phelps and hope to hang on against Thrope’s final-leg onslaught. So out went Phelps, to take a second-long lead over Hackett, an edge that Ryan Lochte, then Vanderkaay

[ PHOTO BY SW ARCHIVES ]

That Olympic medal was the first for an American male freestyler at a distance of 200 meters or longer since 1988, when Matt Biondi took bronze in the 200. (Cetlinski was fourth in both the 400 free and the 1,500 at those games.) The Americans failed to field a finalist in the 400 free at the Olympics in 1992 (Sean Killion was 11th) and 1996 (John Piersma took ninth). In Barcelona, the Americans even fell to bronze in the 800 free relay.

> KLETE KELLER AND KALYN KELLER IN 1998

extended slightly … setting up Keller vs. Thorpe, with gold on the line. Keller split 1:45.53. Had it been two-tenths slower, Thorpe would’ve overhauled him into gold. “I thought (Thorpe) would try and be the hero and catch up right away and make me look like a fool,” Keller recalled in a 2014 interview with OlympicTalk. “He did catch up right away. When he did that, I was happy, because I knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it. “The thing I remember from the last lap was the U.S. team sitting down on the deck that night. The way the seating arrangements worked, they switched countries to different parts of the stands every night. You could be in nosebleeds, but it was really lucky our team was deck level. I could see them going crazy and waving towels and shirts. I had a feeling I would win, but I wasn’t sure until I popped my head out at the very end. It was more of a relief at first than anything. “I’m just so proud that I got to be a part of history and be involved with one of Phelps’ 22 medals. It has meant different things to me as I’ve gotten older. At first, I felt responsible for winning a gold. In reality, that’s not really what it was. It was all four of us.” The Struggles of Post-Swimming Life Even in that 2014 interview, Klete Keller made comments that, in retrospect, read as haunting. “Being good at an Olympic sport is almost as much a curse as it is a blessing because I kind of got a skewed sense of reality,” Keller said then. “If I was as good at basketball or football as I was at swimming, I wouldn’t have had to worry about that stuff because I would have had lots of money. “You make just enough swimming to be comfortable, and CONTINUED >> BIWEEKLY

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then you have to get real after (your swimming career ends). In that way you have to have your head on straight.” Those comments presaged a fall that it would take years for Keller to recover from. But even more devastating to listen to now is a 2018 podcast that Keller did with the Olympic Channel, where it appears that he had returned to stable emotional footing. Keller’s swimming career didn’t end in 2004, even if he later expressed regret that he didn’t. He geared up for the 2008 Games, where he garnered gold in prelims of the 800 free relay, somewhat stung to be left off the finals squad in favor of Ricky Berens. (Jensen and Vanderkaay qualified for the 400 in Beijing.) After his swimming career ended, he went through a succession of unsuccessful jobs. He tried his hand at sales and other positions, with no success. He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2013. He stopped working out or taking care of his body, settling into what he would later recognize as a spiraling depression, staying in, drinking more, letting social ties lapse for someone that many recall as a gregarious presence. “I found the real-world pressure much more intimidating and much more difficult to deal with because I went from swimming to having three kids and a wife within a year,” Keller said on the 2018 podcast. “So the consequences of not succeeding were very, very real, and if I didn’t make a sale or if my manager was ticked off at me or I got fired, aw shoot, you have no health insurance, it’s very concrete and there’s other people that are blood related that are counting on you. “So I felt, when I failed, a much more acute sense of pain and frustration and failure than I did with swimming. With swimming, it was just me. All those years of success I had with swimming really gave me an inaccurate expectation of the world, so it was all the much harder to cope with the little mini-failures I would face any given day.” By 2014, back in North Carolina, his marriage had crumbled, leading to his wife and the couple’s three kids leaving. With $10 to his name, his credit cards cut off, he packed up his Ford Focus and drove to Washington, where Kalyn, with whom he’d patched up his relationship, and her husband took him in. That was only temporary, and as Keller rebuilt his life, he lived out of his car for 10 months. It was in that time that he came to terms with his maladaptive tendencies, his rage at his failures, the distorted perspective that single-minded focus on swimming and a long track record of success at that tunnel-visioned goal had on him. He even went from, in 2014, saying he didn’t care much where his five medals were to traveling with his 2008 relay gold, a meal ticket to show to kids at swim camps, one of his few income sources. 16

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“I went from hating everything and hating the world and everybody in it to getting the total opposite welcoming and love and acceptance,” he said in 2018. That apparent recovery makes this latest descent all the more perplexing for those around him. From that nadir, Keller bounced back. In 2017, he moved to Colorado to join a boutique real estate firm. He fashioned himself as “The Olympic Agent,” selling his clients on his “Olympic effort” on their behalf. He’d repaired his relationship with his ex-wife and his kids. He’d gotten engaged again and worked with Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, a moderate Republican who lost his re-election bid in November, on the “Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020.” But on social media, accounts that have been deleted, he fell under the spell of the unique brand of viral, conspiracytheory-cloaked-as-populism peddled by President Trump and his supporters. According to the Washington Post, many of those close to him were not shocked to see Keller’s political leanings culminate in sympathy with a mob storming the Capitol, even if the logistics of traveling from Colorado to Washington to be present remain baffling. “He was just starting to pull his life back together,” Gary Hall Jr., who trained with Keller at the Race Club and has known him since he was young, told the Post. “He had a job. He got engaged. To see all that implode is just heartbreaking.” “I thought he was a lost soul when we were at Michigan together,” three-time Olympian Tom Malchow told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Everything was swimming. And, you’re right, you see it all the time. These guys who have just been doing one thing for years and years, and everything they need is done for them, and they are waited on hand and foot for whatever they need. “Because it’s all about them doing that one thing. Once it’s over, they need to find some way to stay connected to it. I found something like I liked, so when I was done I could move on. But not everyone does it, and it can be very hard.” He had, it appeared, reeled his life back from the brink and come to terms with reinventing himself after swimming, after a failed marriage, after professional failures. But his role in the Capitol insurrection indicates just how jagged the edges in that recovery remained. “There’s no limit to how bad things can get,” Keller said in 2018, about what it was like to become homeless and discover there was further to fall. “I learned that. It can always get worse. You really have to be disciplined. You really have to maintain discipline throughout life to stay afloat.” ◄

[ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]

KLETE KELLER APOLOGIZES TO COACHES: “I LET YOU DOWN“ BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

lete Keller issued a tearful apology to former coaches about his role at the U.S. Capitol insurrection, according to the New York Times. “He apologized to me,” former USC and U.S. national team coach Mark Schubert told the New York Times. “He kept repeating, ‘You’ve done so much for me, and I let you down.’ He kept saying over and over, ‘I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.’” Keller has turned himself into authorities and is facing federal charges. He faces up to five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine, for his felony charge, and up to one year and six months for the two misdemeanors, respectively, in addition to another quarter million fine attached to each. As previously reported, an FBI agent wrote in a criminal complaint that he was able to identify the 6-foot-6 Keller, noting the Team USA jacket that Keller, a three-time Olympian, wore during the riot. Keller, through his attorney, declined to be interviewed by the New York Times. He has not spoken to any media since the incident. But he has spoken to coaches. Former Team USA coach John Urbanchek told the Times that Keller was emotional during their conversation. He

was upset with himself, Urbanchek said, saying, “he never thought about what could happen.” “He was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people,” Urbanchek told the Times. The affidavit charges probable cause that Klete Keller violated statues that make it illegal to “1) knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so; and (2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions; or attempt or conspire to do so.” Other allegations from the affidavit include to “willfully and knowingly (D) utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of a hearing before, or any deliberations of, a committee of Congress or either House of Congress; (E) obstruct, or impede passage through or within, the Grounds or any of the Capitol Buildings; and (G) parade, demonstrate, or picket in any of the Capitol Buildings.” ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO BY DELLY CARR / SWIMMING AUSTRALIA ]

WORLD NEWS

DAVID McKEON, TWO-TIME AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIAN, RETIRES AT AGE 28 BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

avid McKeon, a two-time Olympic swimmer representing Australia, announced his retirement from the sport.

McKeon announced the decision via Facebook. “After being involved in a sport that has gave me more than I could have possibly dreamed, it’s with both trepidation and excitement I announce my retirement from competitive swimming,” McKeon wrote. “… This isn’t a goodbye to swimming by any means, this is just the start of a new chapter in my journey.” The 28-year-old swam for the Aussies at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. He placed 14th in the 400 freestyle at the 2012 Games and swam in prelims for the fifthplace 800 free relay. At the Rio Games, he and his sister Emma McKeon became the first brother/ sister duo to represent Australia swimming since John and Ilsa Konrads in 1960. David McKeon finished seventh in the men’s 400 freestyle, less than two seconds outside the medals, and swam the third leg of the Australians’ fourth-place 800 free relay. McKeon grew up in Wollongong, New South Wales, coached by his father, Olympian Ron McKeon. He won gold in the 800 free relay at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and silver in the 400 free. He added relay bronze medals at the 2015

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World Championships and the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. McKeon won gold in the 400 free at the 2011 World University Games. He was eighth in the 400 free at 2017 Worlds.

“But it didn’t take long for the poolside pull to win over, his natural abilities seeing him rise rapidly to the ranks as one of Australia’s most talented 200 and 400m freestylers,” said Hanson.

[ PHOTO PROVIDED BY EMMA McKEON ]

Swimming World’s Oceania Correspondent Ian Hanson has followed David’s career since he first burst onto the scene in 2010, a late bloomer who had no early ambitions of following in his family footsteps to the pool, preferring to use his gift of height as a basketballer.

> RON McKEON WITH CHILDREN EMMA AND DAVID

“The only Australians to have swum faster than him over 400m freestyle are our Olympic champions Ian Thorpe, Mack Horton and Grant Hackett. “And while his feats as a dual Olympian and a dual Commonwealth Games medallist have been well documented Dave McKeon was a young lad who grew up in swimming royalty – when his father Ron McKeon married fellow 1982 Commonwealth Games representative Suzie Woodhouse, sister of Olympic bronze medallist from ’84 Rob Woodhouse. “A family swimming tree started in 1978 by Ron (Pin # 272) and joined by Rob (#310) and Susie (#311) in 1982 before Emma (#702) with her 2010 debut and David (#721) in 2012. “Swimming was in his blood and despite an early reluctance when he finally became fully baptised he swam because he loved it and embraced every opportunity. “Especially alongside sister Emma – the McKeons continued a rich family tradition – proudly but without fanfare and fuss. “Saying to Emma and his family: ‘You have supported, inspired, consoled, and celebrated with me through both the best and the worst of times. I love you all’ – that’s David.

“Dave McKeon will be remembered as one of the real gentlemen of Australian swimming who lived to represent his country. “Two Olympics, three World Championships, Commonwealth Games and a Pan Pacs.

“His gold medal as a member of Australia’s triumphant 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow forged a special link with father Ron who won gold in the same relay on debut in Edmonton in 1978. “Twelve months ago his family was evacuated from their Lake Conjola home with the area ravaged by Australia’s devastating bushfires. “And it was David and the McKeon family who pulled together the “who’s who” of Australia’s Dolphins for a fund raising swim clinic for the bushfire victims, held at the McKeon’s pool in Wollongong. “Saying on his retirement: This isn’t a goodbye to swimming by any means, this is just the start of a new chapter in my journey!’ “And rest assured David McKeon will continue to make a difference….” ◄ Continued >>

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[ PHOTO BY BECCA WYANT ]

> ADAM PEATY & LUKE GREENBANK

PEATY, SCOTT, WILBY AND GREENBANK CONFIRMED AS FIRST FOUR SWIMMERS ON TEAM GB FOR TOKYO BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

dam Peaty, Duncan Scott, Luke Greenbank and James Wilby have been confirmed as the first swimmers to be named to Team GB for the Tokyo Olympics.

The world record-holder would also be only the second swimmer in history – after the great Kosuke Kitajima – to win the two-length event twice.

The quartet earned their place on the team following their medal-winning performances in individual events at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju with British Swimming revising its selection policy for the postponed Games.

Greenbank and Scott won bronze in the 200m backstroke and 200 free respectively – the latter also standing up for his beliefs and principles by refusing to share the podium with Sun Yang.

While the four were nominated to the team in December, Wednesday’s announcement confirmed their selection to the Games which are scheduled for July and August although the rise in coronavirus cases around the world has once more cast doubt on them taking place. Pre-selection is the first of three qualification phases with further selections to be made following the British Championships which are scheduled for April and possible discretionary additions to be made in June 2021, making up the third and final phase.

It means coach Mel Marshall has two swimmers on the team in Peaty and Greenbank with Wilby guided by Dave Hemmings in the same National Centre Loughborough pool and Scott trained by Steven Tigg at the University of Stirling. Peaty was the first member of Team GB to win gold at Rio 2016 when he stopped the clock at 57.13, then a world record which he subsequently eclipsed with the mark now standing at 56.88. In a statement from Team GB, Peaty said:

James Wilby, left, Britain teammate Adam Peaty and Yan Zibei of China – Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer

“I’m very happy to make the Olympic team – it’s always a huge pride and honour to represent my country in what I do best.

Peaty won the 50 and 100br in Gwangju – although the former is not on the Olympic programme – with Wilby second over two lengths as the pair claimed the first British one-two in worlds history.

“Hopefully over the next few months we can come together even more as a country, back the full Olympic team, and we can come back from Tokyo with a very successful performance behind us.

If Peaty was to win the 100br, he would become the first British swimmer to successfully defend an Olympic title.

“There is a lot of work to do from now until then, but I’m very hopeful the Olympics will go ahead and it’ll see continued success for Team GB.” ◄

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[ PHOTO COURTESY TOKYO 2020 ]

JAPAN DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN TOKYO AS CORONAVIRUS CASES HIT DAILY RECORD BY LIZ BYRNES

apan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to surge with the Olympics due to start in a little over six months. According to the Associated Press, cases hit a daily record of 2,447 in the capital with prime minister Yoshihide Suga issuing the declaration. It will last from Friday until 7 February and centres on restrictive measures as opposed to a lockdown seen in the likes of Britain, Germany and the Netherlands to name but three. The declaration carries no penalties but it acts as a strong request as Japan seeks to balance driving down the cases while keeping the economy going. Restaurants and bars are to close at 8pm with people being asked to stay home and not mingle in crowds. Schools will remain open as will shopping malls while cinemas, museums and other events will be asked to restrict numbers. According to the AP, places that defy the request will be

publicized on a list, while those that comply will be eligible for aid, according to officials. Prime minister Suga promised more aid for hospitals with the Japanese military on standby while work on getting a vaccine approved and delivered is continuing. He said: “The global pandemic has been a tougher one than we expected, but I’m hopeful we can overcome this. “For this to happen, I must ask citizens to endure life with some restrictions. “I am confident we can overcome this, but I must ask all of you endure a restricted life for a while longer. “Please take this matter seriously as your own, to protect all precious life, your parents, your grandparents, family and friends, over generations.” The action comes a day after IOC vice-president Dick Pound said the most realistic way of saving the Olympics – which have already been pushed back a year to July 2021 – was to give athletes priority access to the vaccine. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO COURTESY TOKYO 2020 ]

IOC REMAINS COMMITTED TO TOKYO 2020 DESPITE STATE OF EMERGENCY; ISSUES STATEMENT ON VACCINE BY LIZ BYRNES

he International Olympic Committee has responded to the state of emergency declared in Tokyo by stating it has “full confidence” in the steps being taken and remains committed to the Olympics going ahead as scheduled in July. So too did the IOC reiterate that vaccination is not mandatory in order for athletes to compete at the Olympics or Paralympics, a day after vice-president Dick Pound said the most realistic way of ensuring the Games would take place was to give them priority access. Japan declared a state of emergency in the capital and three nearby areas on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to surge with the Olympics due to start in a little over six months followed by the Paralympics. Cases hit a daily record of 2,447 in Tokyo with prime minister Yoshihide Suga issuing the declaration which will run from Friday 8 January to 7 February. 22

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It centres on restrictive measures as opposed to a lockdown seen in the likes of Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. The declaration carries no penalties but it acts as a strong request as Japan seeks to balance driving down the cases while keeping the economy going. Restaurants and bars are to close at 8pm with people being asked to stay home and not mingle in crowds. Schools will remain open as will shopping malls while cinemas, museums and other events will be asked to restrict numbers. The IOC has given its unequivocal backing to the course of action and released a statement to Swimming World which read: “The IOC has full confidence in the Japanese authorities and the measures they are taking.

“Together with our Japanese partners, we continue to be fully concentrated and committed to the safe and successful delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 this summer.” Organisers added: “This declaration of emergency offers an opportunity for Tokyo 2020 to plan for a safe and secure Games this summer.

IOC Statement On Covid-19 Vaccine With less than 200 days to go until the Olympics are due to start on 23 July and cases soaring, speculation has intensified as to whether they will go ahead.

[ PHOTO COURTESY US MISSION CANADA]

“We will proceed with the necessary preparations accordingly.”

> IOC MEMBER DICK POUND

Pound said in April 2020 – a month after the Games were pushed back a year – that they would either take place from July 2021 or be cancelled.

Japanese authorities, have been working on a toolbox of COVID-19 countermeasures.

While a vaccine is being rolled out in some countries, questions arise about access, delivery and the speed of the rollout across all competing nations.

“Vaccines are obviously a very important element of this, but they are one of many tools available in the toolbox, to be used in the appropriate way at the appropriate time.

The IOC and the International Paralympic Committee are committed to having as many attendees as possible vaccinated and are working with National Olympic Committees.

“The IOC has sent a clear message from the beginning that there will be no obligation to get vaccinated.

A statement read: “The IOC continues to support the vaccination of those in need, high-risk groups, nurses, medical doctors and everyone who is keeping our societies alive as a priority. “As far as the Olympic Games are concerned, the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee have been following the principle that has driven all their decisions so far, which is to organise the Games in a safe environment for all those involved. “To ensure this, the IOC will continue working together in the All-Party Task Force with the Japanese Government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the World Health Organization (WHO) to make every effort towards staging safe and secure Games this summer. “In that respect, the IOC and Tokyo 2020, along with the

“At the same time, the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee are fully aligned in their commitment to have as many foreign participants as possible vaccinated before the Games. “The IOC will work with the National Olympic Committees to encourage and assist their athletes, officials and stakeholders to get vaccinated before they go to Japan. “This is, of course, to contribute to the safe environment of the Games, but also out of respect for the Japanese people. “They should be confident that everything is being done to protect not only the participants, but also the Japanese people themselves. “Athletes are important role models, and by taking the vaccine they can send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration for the wellbeing of others in their communities.” ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]

> MICHAEL PHELPS

SWIMMING WORLD'S 10 BEST PERFORMANCES OF THE 2000s…SO FAR BY JOHN LOHN

tradition at Swimming World is the annual compilation of the 10-best performances of the past year. But with the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the number of competitions that were held in 2020, putting together that list for the past 12 months didn’t make sense. Yet, there was another option, one that complemented a celebration from the December issue of Swimming World. One month after we selected the Swimmers of the Millennium (to this point), we have picked the top-10 performances of the millennium’s first 20 years. The swims that were selected were not just based on speed but carried a certain level of significance or marked a defining moment in the sport. As a way to create an even playing field on a global basis, selections were based on long-course swims, and athletes were limited to one performance each. To say the task was difficult would be an understatement, as several tremendous performances didn’t make the cut. However, we feel the selections that were made stand up as extraordinary. Enjoy the choices, which are listed in chronological order. Ian Thorpe: 400 Freestyle (3:40.59) – September 16, 2000 Racing in front of his home crowd at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Ian Thorpe was under immense pressure as his country’s rising teenage star. As a world champion at 15 in 1998, nothing less than Olympic gold was expected of Thorpe. Despite the pressure heaped on his shoulders, all Thorpe did on the opening night of the Games was set a world record and capture gold by nearly three seconds in the 400 freestyle. Thorpe put the spectators at the Sydney Aquatic Centre into a frenzy, and maintained that madness later in the evening when he anchored Australia to gold in the 400 freestyle relay, marking the first time the United States lost the event in Olympic competition.

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Inge de Bruijn: 100 Butterfly (56.61) – September 17, 2000 As the female headliner at the 2000 Olympics, Dutchwoman Inge de Bruijn stood on top of the podium on three occasions. While she prevailed in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, what she did in the 100 butterfly was her most impressive showing. Winning gold by more than a second, de Bruijn set a world record that would endure for nearly nine years. De Bruijn was so ahead of her time that her mid56 performance remains an impressive mark two decades later and would keep her highly competitive in current-day international competition. Natalie Coughlin: 100 Backstroke (59.58) – August 13, 2002 Before Natalie Coughlin claimed back-to-back Olympic titles in the 100 backstroke, she etched her name in history at the 2002 United States National Championships in Fort Lauderdale. Completing a feat that was long anticipated, Coughlin became the first woman to break the minute barrier in the 100 back and did so in emphatic fashion, as she sliced .58 off the previous world record of China’s He Cihong. Coughlin followed that iconic swim by winning gold in the 100 back at the 2004 Olympics and duplicated the feat at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Libby Lenton: 100 Freestyle (52.99) – April 3, 2007 What Libby Lenton achieved in the 100 freestyle at the 2003 Duel in the Pool is not recognized by the sport’s record book. However, those with an appreciation for history view Lenton’s swim as a significant moment. Coming off a superb showing at the World Championships, Lenton became the first woman to break the 53-second threshold when she touched the wall in 52.99. However, the performance was

Michael Phelps: 400 Individual Medley (4:03.84) – August 10, 2008 When Michael Phelps arrived at the 2008 Olympic Games, the hype surrounding his pursuit of eight gold medals was immeasurable. Every move made by the American was chronicled, and his first step toward the eventual completion of his goal was sensational. En route to repeating as the Olympic champion in the 400 I.M., Phelps obliterated the field and set a world record that has not been sniffed in the 12 years since it was registered. Simply, Phelps put together a four-stroke exhibition that will long be identified as the model of medley perfection. United States: 400 Freestyle Relay (3:08.24) – > REBECCA SONI August 11, 2008 For eternity, Jason Lezak will be remembered as the of the event and took the discipline to never-before-seen guy who delivered one of the greatest relay legs in heights. In the final of the 200 breast at the 2012 Games, history, a split that preserved Michael Phelps’ chase of eight Soni became the first woman to break 2:20 in the event. gold medals. As Lezak entered the water for his anchor leg Soni was more than a second clear of her opposition of the 400 freestyle relay at the 2008 Olympics, he trailed and her time would remain in contention for a medal in France’s Alain Bernard by a sizable margin, and remained international competition during the current era. behind heading into the last lap. But with every stroke over the last 50 meters, Lezak pulled closer to Bernard and ultimately clipped him by .08 at the wall. Lezak’s split of Katie Ledecky: 800 Freestyle (8:14.63) – 46.06 is legendary and kept alive Phelps’ bid for history. August 3, 2012 A glance at Katie Ledecky’s historical performances in the Paul Biedermann: 200 Freestyle (1:42.00) – 800 freestyle prompts a head-shaking reaction, such is her July 29, 2009 dominance. But it was her effort at the London Olympics How can we possibly include a performance from that launched her to international stardom. Racing the charade that was the super-suit era? Well, when against reigning Olympic champ Rebecca Adlington of Paul Biedermann clocked 1:42-flat at the 2009 World Great Britain, Ledecky left no doubt she had assumed Championships in Rome, it marked a tipping point in the the distance-freestyle torch, as she bolted into the lead sport. En route to that time, which remains the world record, off the start and never looked back. More, Ledecky took Biedermann trounced Michael Phelps and confirmed that down Janet Evans’ 22-year-old American record and technology had replaced pure talent as a deciding factor set the foundation for a career unmatched in women’s in races. swimming history. In light of Biedermann’s effort, Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman stepped to the forefront and threatened to keep his pupil out of competition until FINA banned the suits and returned the sport to a battle of ability. Not surprising, FINA buckled to the pressure and eliminated tech suits at the conclusion of the 2009 campaign. Rebecca Soni: 200 Breaststroke (2:19.59) – August 2, 2012 At the 2008 Olympics, Rebecca Soni secured her first Olympic title by upsetting Australia’s Leisel Jones in the 200 breaststroke. By the time she defended her crown in London four years later, Soni was the undisputed queen

Adam Peaty: 100 Breaststroke (56.88) – July 21, 2019 Barrier-breaking performances define careers, and Adam Peaty knows all about entering zones that have previously been unvisited. Already the only man to go sub-58 in the 100 breaststroke, the British star became the first man to crack the 57-second barrier – a once unimaginable feat. The achievement, pulled off at the 2019 World Championships, was the fulfillment of what Peaty and coach Mel Marshall titled, “Project 56.” At the time of that 56.88 outing, Peaty sat 1.41 seconds clear of the No. 2 performer in history, an unreal margin for a two-lap event. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]

not ratified as a world record because it arrived while racing against Michael Phelps in a mixed 400 freestyle relay, which was not an official event at the time.

[ PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETICS ]

COLLEGE NEWS

MICHIGAN STATE WOMEN’S SWIMMERS FILE TITLE IX LAWSUIT AGAINST UNIVERSITY BY ANDY ROSS

leven Michigan State women’s swimmers have filed a lawsuit against the University for the elimination of the swimming and diving program in October.

Michigan State swimmers Sophia Balow, Ava Boutrous, Julia Coffman, Kylie Goit, Emma Inch, Sheridan Phalen, Madeline Reilly, Olivia Starzomski, Sarah Zofchak, Taylor Arnold and Elise Turke were named as plaintiffs in the case, against Michigan State University, the Board of Trustees, President Samuel L. Stanley, and Athletic Director Bill Beekman, who are named as the defendants. The case alleges that Michigan State University will “compound its historic Title IX wrongs at the end of 2021, when it terminates the 38-member women’s varsity swimming and diving team, and with it, MSU terminates all opportunities for women to compete in intercollegiate varsity swimming and diving at the university.” A 2014 graduate of Arizona, she began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Ohio State in 2016-17 and assumed the same position at Alabama. According to the court document, the “Plaintiffs seek to stop Defendants from discriminating against them and all others similarly situated now and in the future. They seek injunctive relief to prevent Defendants from eliminating the women’s swimming and diving programs at the end of the 2020–2021 academic year and to require Defendants to add women’s varsity athletic opportunities until Defendants offer equal opportunity to participate in varsity athletics free from discrimination.” In a letter to the community on October 22, 2020, by athletic director Bill Beekman, it cited “a financial crisis unlike any we’ve ever seen” with a best-case scenario of a $30 million shortfall. From the statement: “We understand that the news is devastating to our outstanding student-athletes in these

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“Today’s decision does not end our commitment to the studentathletes and staff within the swimming and diving programs. Scholarship commitments will be honored beyond this year for any student-athletes who choose to finish their undergraduate degree at Michigan State. For student-athletes who wish to transfer to another institution, Michigan State Athletics will help them with their transition. Contracts for all coaches will be honored (through June 30, 2021). During this transition, and for the duration of the student-athletes’ time at Michigan State, the athletic department will offer counseling and mental health services for those who would find them of assistance.” The Spartans are coached by Matt Gianiodis, who has been head coach in East Lansing since 2003. Within days of the news getting broken that Michigan State would be discontinuing its swimming and diving program, dozens of Spartan alums began the fight back to save the program.

[ PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETICS ]

sports, as well as to their coaches, but with every thoughtful analysis it became increasingly clear that we were not positioned to offer the best experience to our student-athletes, either now or in the future.

less. I always like to say when looking for a job, I always tell the interviewer that I’m coachable. I feel like being a student athlete and a collegiate swimmer instills that work ethic in you that is always hungry for more and hungry to learn – the desire to get better. I feel like there’s a lot of characteristics I have carried into my career for sure.” “It was valuable,” 2020 grad Scott Piper said, who is now pursuing his Masters degree in biomedical engineering at Stanford. “If anything the way our facilities were, it made the experience even better because you really learned how to be resourceful and do more with less. I don’t need to rely on being in the nicest place or having the most resources at your disposal which I think is especially true going to grad school during a pandemic where you can’t actually go into any of the labs or buildings that are super nice and shiny. It really comes down to being resourceful.

“When I was there, I walked out with both my Bachelor’s and an MBA in five years and it put me in a great position to start my career in consulting with Anderson at the time and set me up to continue to do what I’m doing today,” 1997 grad Tom Munley told Swimming World about what he learned while at Michigan State that helps him in his current job. “Consulting is one of those things that is very similar to swimming in that “The grit and determination that you get from a sport like you get a nine month project and it is very hard and very swimming – 20 hours a week for the entire year all for a couple stressful but you have to remind yourself you are working tenths of a second. The grit and determination from that was towards a goal. I see the difference today in some of the valuable. Swimming at Michigan State specifically was the people we hire off of different campuses. The athletes get perfect fit for me because not only are you competing at the mentality what it takes to work through stress and to use a high level of athletics but you are really becoming a wellthat grit to work through whatever professional challenges rounded person. ◄ they have but it is not always present in people that you hire without that athletic background and I would say swimming is uniquely well positioned for that. You SWIM MART train for months for an event that might last a minute and a half. That’s hard for some people to understand.” “While at Michigan State I really learned what it’s like to be a part of something,” 2015 grad Shelby Lacy said, who is now a video producer in the corporate communications department at ESPN and is pictured at the top of this story. “Learning, collaboration, trouble shooting. At Michigan State, if we want to talk about the facilities, it was doing more with

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[ PHOTO COURTESY JONATHAN MOORE ]

WATER POLO NEWS

ON THE RECORD WITH USA WATER POLO’S CHRIS RAMSEY: PRESENT, PAST, FUTURE BY MICHAEL RANDAZZO

t a time when perhaps being USA Water Polo CEO is not so desirable, Christopher Ramsey plans to stay put—in spite of critics clamoring for his removal and a raging pandemic that has brought the sport to a virtual standstill. A petition launched two weeks ago by former Olympians, past national team members and long-time age group coaches demands that Ramsey and current USAWP board chair Michael Graff step down forthwith, while also calling for the current board to resign. The cause: fallout from a series of articles by Scott M. Reid in the Orange County Register detailing multiple lawsuits against Bahram Hojreh, a one-time prominent age group polo coach in Southern California who is accused of sexual assaulting players from his International Water Polo Club’s 16U girls’ team. With experience as a fundraiser for the New York City Ballet and a polo background as a player for University of Redlands and age group coach in Greenwich, CT, in 2006, Ramsey vaulted to leadership of the national governing body for the sport in America. Now, allegations of personal negligence as well as his organization being named as a defendant in a civil suit filed by Manly, Stewart & Finaldi against Hojreh threaten to overshadow his stewardship of USAWP the past 14 years. In a wide-ranging interview with Swimming World, Ramsey detailed how USAWP has doubled in size under his leadership, takes on his accusers—including longtime polo advocates who he has worked closely with during his tenure as CEO— defends himself and his organization against accusations and, despite the ravages of COVID-19, spoke optimistically of polo’s future in the U.S. SW: 2020 was one of the most challenging years our country has ever faced. How have you and your organization respond to COVID-19’s impact, especially when it remains unknown when the virus’ threat will end?

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[ PHOTO COURTESY USWPA ]

> RAMSEY (SECOND FROM RIGHT) WITH NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS AND AND COACHES

First, we have to be compliant with all COVID-19 and health regulations. That’s important since the health and safety of our water polo athletes is our top priority. Because of the way our country is organized—there are different pandemic profiles in different states.

Where I come down on that is: we are fully behind the health and safety of our members. We’re going to follow the science, we’re going to respect the guidelines put in place by health professionals. That applies to California, too.

It’s a moving target. We went with a very aggressive austerity program, which includes salary cuts for USA Water Polo employees—15 – 25%. Making that decision early helped get us through the year.

Are there some places you can point to where you think maybe we could be playing safely? Probably. But, as a country this is a team effort. To get a handle on this pandemic we have to respect the protocols and the health and safety rules that are being put in place by health professionals and scientists.

We’ve supplied all of our clubs with “Return to Play” protocols to help them, so as things change, they’re in a position to act. One of the big impacts of the pandemic is it pushed us to accelerate our professional development programs, through the use of Zoom and Google Meet and different technological tools now available. We were able to put together a remarkable series of professional development programs for athletes, referees and coaches. Not only did it engage a tremendous number of our members—and a lot of parents were grateful that we had programs that would connect kids to the sport— but also one of our big initiatives is the state of Texas. How are we going to get enough officials and coaches trained for the 300 – 400 new programs that are going to launch there? At the moment, there are more schools there then there are coaches. The platforms that we’ve created for the “At Home” series are going to be tremendously helpful in expanding the sport—first in Texas, but all over the country. The austerity we took has enabled us to maintain financial equilibrium, and we’ll finish the year modestly in the black. SW: One troubling reality is that California—the place where polo’s best athletes, referees and coaches come from—has been battered by COVID. Does USAWP need to engage in advocacy to open up polo in the state?

I don’t see it as our position to lobby the state of California. Our responsibility is to help our clubs be ready to get back when things shift. Now, with a vaccine it will shift. And, to take advantage of places where we can play. Some California teams have gone to play in other states, where the protocols are different. There were camps in San Diego County area. So, there’s opportunism to move around where things are safe and where the health professionals say it’s okay. But, I can’t tell you how many people and how much positive feedback we’ve gotten over focusing on professional development—I call it the intellectual side of the game— that we did by sharing knowledge through calls and online professional development modules. I think the sport’s going to be way better for that. It’s going to pay dividends for years to come. And that will be true for California. One other thing that’s come about because of this is the idea of nationalizing sport and bringing the water polo community closer together. How would you bump into people on the pool deck if you live in Idaho and you never get down to San Diego and bump into Doug Peabody or some of the other great coaches down there? Continued >> BIWEEKLY

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One of the things that Zoom has done is we all can live together on a screen. I’ve been heartened by how much sharing of knowledge and strengthening our community through knowledge and resources shared with each other because of this. SW: You and USAWP Board Chair Graff face detailed grievances from those who are long-time antagonists. They bring up perhaps valid criticisms but it feels as if there’s a “Hatfields vs. McCoys” feud at work that may not end until you both are out of office. First of all, I will say that, what’s referenced in the petition, and the alleged abuse that is referenced seems to have a connection to the lawsuit regarding Bahram Hojreh. We take alleged abuse very seriously and we’ve invested in safeguards, policies, procedures which are audited by the U.S. Olympic Committee and Paralympic Committee, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, as well as by our board of directors and is memorialized in bylaws. These policies and processes are very important, so I don’t in any way want to minimize the alleged abuse because we take it very seriously. The petition, we have some concerns about its validity. At least one of our staff members found out that her name was listed twice on the petition, and she never signed it. In fact, she went back to them and asked: How did this happen? We have a board member who has a friend whose name appeared on the petition who did not authorize her name to be used and was never approached about it. We have questions about that and are going to look into it. I hope we get some answers. Where we are in regards to the issue of allegations of us not acting is very misunderstood and frankly mischaracterized. We’re sending a letter out to our entire membership. We address more carefully some of the statements that are in the petition and in some of the Orange County Register stories that the petition grew from. SW: It’s a dispute between people who have known each other a long time. First of all, I’m no stranger to criticism, and I always try to take it constructively. We pull out the data points and examine if there are meaningful things we need to address, and so do members of our board. Things are discussed; it’s not like everyone is pretending that there aren’t critics. I think there are some really brave people, especially from that group, that—when the U.S. Olympic Committee was ready to pull governing body status because of impending 32

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bankruptcy on the part of USA Water Polo—stepped aside from the old board and bylaw system and drafted new bylaws. This was at the beginning of ’06. I got the volunteer coach of the year award in ’06 for coaching 12U kids in Greenwich. I went to a meeting in San Diego to get it and all these bylaw things were coming up. I was completely baffled by what was happening. They selflessly made the decision that the organization needed to move in a new direction, from a primarily volunteer-based organization to a professional, staff-driven one with a smaller, more corporate-based board. People like Peter Uberoff were strong voices for this type of reform throughout the Olympic movement. We were one of the first NGBs—this was before I was there, so I’m not taking credit for it—to revise their governance structure to a more corporate model, which the USOPC was advocating. We were on the verge of bankruptcy, so we had to turn over every rock and had to be disciplined in how we spent member dollars and allocated resources, one to just stay in business but additionally to take a longer view and get some traction in improving the overall health and wellbeing of the sport. That required a lot of tough decisions. As CEO my job was to evaluate people’s performance objectively. Greg [Mescall] was one of the first people we hired 13 years ago. He is one of our success stories. Not everybody was a success story. People frankly couldn’t meet the standards that we needed them to, and we needed to make changes. That leadership that brought in a new board for the most part brought in new faces from corporate background. People who had volunteered under very good will for a long time suddenly found themselves outside a process that to them felt like it was part of their family. So that was a very hard thing to bridge for some people. It was hard in part because they feel so passionately about the sport. Also, it took a while to see the direction that we were going in, to understand it and see what people’s role in that direction was. It created some real challenges, but I would also say under the old volunteer system, water polo was more tribal in those days. You had the Long Beach group, you had the Newport group, you had the Peninsula group, the Olympic Club group—you had various groups of people that were doing great things in their community for their sport. On a

volunteer basis, a lot of decisions at the national office were based upon these different pockets of organization. Our system has been: We want to grow everywhere. It’s a different approach, and maybe some gears ground as we made that transition—and in some cases maybe everyone hasn’t gotten over this. If you look at member satisfaction today—and we do a pretty rigorous member satisfaction survey as well as events—how JOs are doing, what’s the experience of people attending events, we’re pretty consistently above 95% of levels of members’ satisfaction. Although there are people who have criticism, we also have an overwhelming number of members who are very happy with the direction USA Water Polo is going, and we have data to backs that up. To give you another metric here, just on JOs: my first year, there were 125 – 150 teams that were participating. The year before the pandemic hit, I think we had almost 900 teams playing in JOs and another 150 or so that weren’t able to qualify. The expansion of that tournament has been remarkable and it’s been one of our engines for growth. SW: Part of what’s happening now is an examination of past events in your tenure through the filter of articles by Scott Reid in the Orange County Register. Is it fair to you and your organization to be scrutinized for what happened over the past 14 years? My view is that the Hojreh litigation has raised a profile to go back and ask a lot of questions, which is sometimes what litigation does. That said, we take everybody’s concerns seriously. Sometimes it’s frustrating to read things in the press when I know that there are clear ways issues are raised within the organization, both at the staff and board levels, to be constructively debated.

SW: Do you take it personally that some people who you’ve known for a long time and have worked with in many different capacities are now calling for your ouster? I don’t take it personally. When you start doing that, it becomes very hard to live. I try to parse out what’s really being asked, what are the level of concern. And that’s the frustration. I look at this organization and what it’s accomplished, helping to bring to life the Center for Safe Sport and other things, and the sport’s movement in this country, particularly in the Olympic movement as trying to get a handle on what goes beyond sport. It’s a societal challenge. I try to pull out the substance of it and focus on that. SW: Let’s talk about Bahram Hojreh, who has become a leitmotiv for current coverage of USAWP. I can’t speak to what he’s accused of, but he is someone who in some ways is embedded in both the growth, and criticism, of your organization. Obviously at this point the courts are going to be make their own judgement. The allegations against Mr. Hojreh are terrible. I’m a parent, my kids played water polo, I was a volunteer coach. When I learned about these allegations they turned my stomach. The alleged activity that’s described has absolutely no place in this sport, and that’s why we have policies and procedures in place to stop it. This is why the Center for SafeSport has been such an important new element. We were notified; someone was able to report to the Center directly. We took immediate action and suspended his membership, and he’s been suspended and now banned ever since. That’s why those procedures are in place. Everybody has to be vigilant—the way our system works, everybody’s a reporter. All members of USA Water Polo sign codes of conduct—and part of that is an obligation to identify aberrant behavior.

It’s not that anybody’s looking to avoid discussion of these things. We try to be transparent about these things—if you go to USA Water Polo document section, we try to put up everything and let people know what’s going on.

Everybody has to be watchful, and it’s much easier now to click on a button and file a report with SafeSport. Actually, many of those things are working effectively.

Beyond that, I really don’t know. Why some people have had trouble making the transition—while the vast majority of our membership has thrived with the transition—is not clear to me. I think you’re going to have to get that from them.

That said, these are terrible allegations, and I believe [that] over time the truth about the allegations will come out. It’s very important that we listen to the women who have had the experience and who feel free to share honestly—and we listen to that. Continued >>

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But I’ll also point out Mr. Hojreh was a club coach; he was never an employee of USA Water Polo. He was a member of USA Water Polo along with 3,000+ other coaches. The firm is also suing the Anaheim School District, the Irvine School District and his club. There are a lot of strands to this that it’s going to take some time to sort it through. Again, the allegations are sickening, so I’m eager for the process to move through so that justice may be done. SW: The case that appears to have moment at this time is the civil suit by Morgan Stewart and his firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi. What I’ve heard is that the criminal suit is not progressing. The burden of proof for a civil suit is different than for a criminal one—and typically a conviction in criminal case is the catalyst for results in a civil one. I think we dealt with this appropriately and promptly. And I think will be shown to be the facts. A lot of the publicity about [this case] has been disappointing mainly because there have been many incorrect facts and inaccuracies in it. That’s disappointing and frustrating to see. Again, it’s going to be a process and it’s going to take some time but if I were an attorney I would guess that the civil suit will not be able to go forward meaningfully until the criminal case does, and the pandemic has had an impact on the courts schedules and what they’re doing. So, this will take a while to move through the judicial system. SW: A point of the lawsuit and the petition is that you and your organization should have taken action against Hojreh earlier than you did. I don’t want to get into the details of that other than to say we had no allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct from Bahram Hojreh prior to the US Center for SafeSport in January 2018 informing that he was a defendant. Two months later, the Los Alamitos Police Department arrested him. Up to that, there were no allegations. There was grievance about getting too many red cards, there was a grievance about playing unrostered players— not about sexual abuse. SW: At the same time in 2017 that some of the most serious allegations are coming to light against Mr. Hojreh, there’s this relatively new organization—the U.S. Center for SafeSport—coming on line to address the kind of abuse that he allegedly committed. How effective has the Center for SafeSport been, 34

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understanding the enormity of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, which occurred right at the official birth of SafeSport. The USA Gymnastics scandal is a wake-up call for everyone in the sports world. I think this is a problem that transcends sports; sadly, it’s across all aspects of society and it’s not just in the U.S. Sadly, the first ones over the wall that try to address this are the one who end up with the toughest challenges. The Center for SafeSport is about education, reporting and remedies when things go wrong. I think that’s very important and that’s going to reduce sexual abuse in Olympic sports. I’m proud to have voted for its creation. It has a strong legal foundation given a mandate from Congress. It has legal immunity in its investigation of these cases. It was an initiative that was on the drawing board of the USOPC before it became independent in 2017, but it’s something that has been worked on in Olympic sports, recognizing that not all sports are expert in these matters and need resources. As the USADA does drug compliance and doping, that model would make sense in [targeting] abuse. It’s a tremendous accomplishment that it’s up and running. I think it’s also somewhat misunderstood. When they choose to take exclusive jurisdiction over a case of abuse, they’re in. They do it, and everybody else stands aside and waits—and they have a policy of not commenting to the press—so what happens there is opaque until they come out with rulings. Everybody’s getting used to that, but since these types of cases attract a lot of press, the Center sometimes may seem kind of invisible. But the policies, the education and the reporting mechanisms they’re putting in place are effective and very important. One of the things that I’m really proud of for USA Water Polo is we were audited by them in 2019 and were one of the very few of only NGB to receive a 100% compliance rating from the center of that audit in our policies and procedures regarding sexual abuse. The center is important and will make significant inroads into a scourge of our time. I hope that more people begin to fully understand its role. It’s a big investment that everyone in Olympic sport is making, and it’s hugely important for the safety of athletes and everyone in our sport. ◄

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ON INAUGURATION DAY, A LOOK AT THE ROLE OF SWIMMING IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY BY BRENDAN FARRAR

s millions of Americans turn their attention to Inauguration Day for the changing of the guard from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, there is no better time to dive into the significance swimming has held in presidential history. Indeed, we have never seen an Olympic caliber athlete in the White House, but that did not stop a handful of presidents from utilizing their years as Commander in Chief to get some laps in the pool. Notably, swimming has served our country’s highest leader in many capacities. Presidents have used swimming for recreation, swam collegiately, or even as a tool for healing. President Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), the 32nd President of the United States, opened a pool in the White House on June 2, 1933, after a successful campaign to raise money for a pool. FDR used it as a therapeutic tool since his poliomyelitis diagnosis in 1921. The pool, built between the White House and the West Wing, had arched ceilings and semi-circular windows. While the pool is not in use anymore after Richard Nixon covered it up, it serves as the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Here, the Press Secretary briefs news media journalists and similarly where the President sometimes addresses the press and the nation. President John F. Kennedy While John F. Kennedy (JFK) served as the 35th president of the United States, he was also a member of the Harvard College swim team. He was a talented backstroker and helped Harvard defeat Yale for the first time. Soon after finishing his schooling, JFK served in WWII, where his swimming talents turned him into a war hero. In 1943, the Motor Torpedo PT-109 was run down by a Japanese destroyer, leaving Kennedy and 11 other men stranded. JFK led the men in more than a three-mile swim to an island where they lived off coconuts and water for almost a week. His heroic act is commonly celebrated and notoriously mentioned in many books, songs, and other media sources. In 1961, JFK’s father had the pool room painted with a mural depicting the U.S. Virgin Islands, painted by Bernard Lamotte. President Gerald Ford The 38th president of the United States, Gerald Ford considered renovating the existing pool after President Nixon closed it off. But, Ford didn’t want to displace the press, so instead he installed a pool and cabana on the outside of the White House. The pool included showers, a changing area, and an underground passageway, connecting the Cabana to the West Wing ground floor. Ford loved

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[ PHOTO COURTESY JFK PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY ]

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> JOHN F. KENNEDY (THIRD FROM LEFT IN BACK ROW)

> THE WHITE HOUSE POOL

swimming so much that he would often address the press from the pool. President Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan, America’s 40th President, was an avid swimmer in his childhood and early adult life. Regan was a lifeguard in his teen years and saved 77 lives over seven years. After graduating from high school, Reagan attended Eureka College in Illinois, competing for both the varsity swimming and football teams. Reagan was a very successful competitor, going undefeated his freshman season and eventually becoming a coach for the team. During his presidency, Reagan used the White House pool and received the Gold Medallion Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1988. Although our most recent presidents haven’t shown high interest in swimming, it’s evident through presidential history that swimming’s use extends further than just for sport. Whether it be for relaxation or therapeutic needs, the significance of swimming has been felt across presidential administrations for decades. Swimming may not draw as much attention as other professional sports, but it’s humbling to know how symbolic and important swimming is for our leaders. So, take it from our nation’s highest leaders and discover your niche in swimming. As with any other election, remember to exercise your right to vote, and you might elect a swimmer into office! ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu / ISL ]