SW Biweekly December 7, 2021 Issue by Swimming World Magazine

IGNORANCE IS A CHOICE

SWIM SMART

MEG HARRIS | AUSTRALIA 2020 TOKYO OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST WORLD RECORD HOLDER

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CONTENTS 008 TEXAS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO PAY ATHLETES; OTHER UNIVERSITIES EXPECTED TO FOLLOW by David Rieder In June, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Alston v. NCAA that universities could provide financial benefits to athletes beyond the scope of scholarships. Now, schools—including the University of Texas—are taking advantage of that ruling. 010 SPEEDO ADDS KIERAN SMITH TO ROSTER OF SPONSORED COLLEGE ATHLETES by Matthew De George Speedo USA announced that it added Olympic bronze medalist Kieran Smith of the University of Florida to its list of sponsored athletes. Smith owns the American and NCAA records in the men’s 500 yard freestyle. 012 SIMONE MANUEL, ASHLEIGH JOHNSON MAKE FORBES 30 UNDER 30 FOR 2022 by Matthew De George Forbes added Simone Manuel and Ashleigh Johnson to its list of young people it believes are changing the world. 013 CHRIS BREARTON TAKES OVER AS CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF USA SWIMMING USA Swimming announced that Chris Brearton has stepped into his role as chair of the USA Swimming Board of Directors after having served two years as the organization’s vice-chair/chair-elect. 014 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST LYDIA JACOBY SIGNS NIL DEAL WITH ARENA by Matthew De Goerge Lydia Jacoby, the gold medalist in the women’s 100 breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympics, has signed an endorsement deal with arena. Next fall, the Seward High School (Alaska) senior will compete for the University of Texas women’s swimming team. 016 SARAH SJOSTROM PROVES AGAIN TO BE IN “WORLD’S GREATEST” CONVERSATION AFTER DOMINANT ISL SEASON by Dan D’Addona After an elbow injury prevented Sarah Sjostrom to compete at full strength at the Tokyo Olympics, she showed how dominant she can be when healthy with her performance at the recent International Swimming League finals.

SWIMMING WORLD BIWEEKLY DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 23 018 KELSI DAHLIA USED POST-TRIALS RESET TO PROPEL HERSELF TO IMPRESSIVE ISL SEASON by David Rieder After just missing qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team, Kelsi Dahlia returned to swimming with a more balanced program that has paid off in a big way during Dahlia’s ISL campaign.

020 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

024 ANTHONY NESTY CONTINUING TO MAKE AN IMPACT AS EMERGING COACHING GREAT by David Rieder Anthony Nesty’s accomplishments as a swimmer in the late 1980s and ’90s made him a national icon. But decades after that, he is still making a huge impact on the sport from a different vantage point—as a coach.

PUBLISHING, CIRCULATION AND ACCOUNTING

www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Publisher, CEO - Brent T. Rutemiller BrentR@SwimmingWorld.com Editor-in-Chief - John Lohn Lohn@SwimmingWorld.com Operations Manager - Laurie Marchwinski LaurieM@ishof.org Marketing & News Manager - Ashleigh Shay Ashleigh@SwimmingWorld.com Marketing Consultant - Brandi West BrandiW@SwimmingWorld.com

028 THEY DESERVE BETTER: A LOOK AT SWIMMING’S OVERLOOKED STARS by John Lohn As we creep closer to signing off on this Olympic year, SW Biweekly offers a look at six athletes—all members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame—who hold a special place in history, even if they are not always at the forefront of the mind.

032 HOW THEY TRAIN CAMPBELL STOLL by Michael J. Stott

Circulation/Membership - Lauren Serowik Lauren@ishof.org Accounting - Marcia Meiners Marcia@ishof.org EDITORIAL, PRODUCTION, ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND MERCHANDISING OFFICE

One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 Toll Free: 800.511.3029 Phone: 954.462.6536 www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION

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Editorial@SwimmingWorld.com Senior Editor - Bob Ingram BobI@SwimmingWorld.com

035 PARTING SHOT

Managing Editor - Dan D’Addona DanD@SwimmingWorld.com Design Director - Joseph Johnson JoeJ@SwimmingWorld.com Historian - Bruce Wigo Staff Writers - Michael J. Stott, David Rieder, Shoshanna Rutemiller, Matthew De George Fitness Trainer - J.R. Rosania Chief Photographer - Peter H. Bick SwimmingWorldMagazine.com WebMaster: WebMaster@SwimmingWorld.com ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND MERCHANDISING

Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com Marketing Assistant - Meg Keller-Marvin Meg@SwimmingWorld.com 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 OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF:

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Texas Announces Plans to Pay Athletes; Other Universities Expected to Follow by David Reider

n June, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Alston v. NCAA that universities could provide financial benefits to athletes beyond the scope of scholarships and benefits such as food. The Court ruled that financial awards for academic achievement should be allowed, and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh both cited established antitrust laws in their opinions. Now, schools—including the University of Texas—are taking advantage of that ruling.

Beginning in the 2022 spring semester, Texas will provide an “academic achievement award” to “eligible Longhorn student-athletes.” The award will be $2990 per semester or $5980 for each academic year, but it’s not clear what the requirements will be for earning this award. Texas’ vaunted swimming programs, including the defending nationalchampion Longhorn men, should be eligible for this award. “We’re excited to be able to provide our student-athletes with additional support, but as importantly, to continue to initiate programs that focus on their academic commitment and success,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a press release. “Our student-athletes have a wonderful opportunity to engage in a world-class academic experience while pursuing athletic excellence at the highest level. “We take a holistic approach to the academic and athletic experience while steadfastly encouraging our student-athletes to pursue meaningful and beneficial course work.” Texas is not the only school planning to implement such a program that provides direct payment to athletes. A report from Sports Illustrated last month revealed that Ole Miss had already begun doling out funds to its athletes, and all athletes who met the academic requirements were paid $2990, including walk-ons (although some students had their checks go toward paying off federal student loans). Ole Miss does not have a swimming and diving program, so no swimmers have received these payments as of yet. Other Power Five schools may be announcing plans to implement such programs in the near future, although there have been no public announcements to this point. Some schools have expressed concern that granting such payments to athletes may create inequity in Olympic sports such as swimming, creating a divide between schools with extensive financial resources and schools without, but those payments are likely to become standard among universities with plentiful resources over the next several months. v

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Speedo Adds Kieran Smith to Roster of Sponsored College Athletes by Matthew De George

peedo USA announced on Wednesday that it has added Kieran Smith to its list of sponsored athletes.

The news, posted to the company’s official Instagram account, welcomed both Kieran Smith and Regan Smith (no relation) to their roster. Regan Smith had announced that news in August, before starting her freshman year at Stanford University. Smith is a senior at the University of Florida. The native of Ridgefield, Conn., won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the men’s 400 freestyle. He finished sixth in the men’s 200 free with a personal-best time of 1:45.07. He was also part of the American men’s 800 free relay that finished a disappointing fourth, a half-second off the podium.

Kieran Smith is the latest in a long line of college athletes to sign apparel endorsement deals, including fellow Olympian Torri Huske and gold medalist Lydia Jacoby. Changing NCAA governance of athletes being able to profit on their name, image and likeness (NIL) means that Olympians like Smith no longer have to choose between cashing in on their swimming success and being able to compete at the NCAA level. v 10

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[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick]

Smith owns the American and NCAA records in the men’s 500-yard freestyle (4:06.32). He owns three SEC records (two individual) and four Florida records. He’s part of the core, along with Tokyo double gold medalist Bobby Finke, that have made Gainesville the fount of American men’s distance swimming’s resurgence, mainly under the tutelage of Anthony Nesty.

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>> Simone Manuel

Simone Manuel, Ashleigh Johnson Make Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2022 by Matthew De George

lympic swimmer Simone Manuel and water polo player Ashleigh Johnson were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2022, unveiled on Wednesday.

Her endorsement deal with TYR, signed in 2018, features an inclusion rider that requires the company to emphasize diversity in their practices.

Both athletes are Black women who’ve achieved fame in an aquatics realm that has historically been unwelcoming to people of color. They’ve both used their platforms in a variety of ways to advocate for racial justice causes.

Johnson, 27, is the starting goalie for the U.S. water polo team, which won its third straight gold medal in Tokyo. Johnson was the backstop in the last two squads. In 2016, she became the first Black woman to make a U.S. Olympic water polo squad. The Princeton grad is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and was voted the top goalkeeper at the Tokyo Olympics.

Manuel became the first African American woman to win an individual swimming gold medal, in the women’s 100 freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She added silver in the 50 free, silver in the 400 free relay and gold in the medley relay. She struggled at U.S. Olympic Trials this summer, failing to qualify in an individual event, but rallied to earn a relay spot. She served as a team captain in Tokyo, winning her fifth Olympic medal in the 400 free relay with a bronze. Outside the pool, the 25-year-old Stanford grad is one of four co-founders of Togethxr, a women’s media company. 12

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Among her many charitable endeavors is a swim school for middle school students in traditionally underserved areas in Miami. She runs the program with her sister, Chelsea. Other swimmers to be named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in recent years include Jessica Long in 2018 and Katie Ledecky in 2016. v

position USA Swimming as a world-class servant leadership organization.”

Chris Brearton Takes Over as Chair of the Board of Directors of USA Swimming

SA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming in the United States, today announced that Chris Brearton has stepped into his role as Chair of the USA Swimming Board of Directors after having served two years as the organization’s Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect. Widely regarded as one of most successful National Governing Bodies in the sports world, USA Swimming is governed by a 15-member Board of Directors, which oversees more than 330,000 members–including coaches, volunteers and over 300,000 athletes from age-group level to the Olympic Team. These individuals and 2,800 member clubs participate through a network of 59 Local Swim Committees (LSCs) in four geographic Zones across the U.S. “I am honored to serve as the Chair of USA Swimming and I look forward to building on our incredible foundation,” Brearton said. “As LA 2028 approaches, I look forward to expanding USA Swimming’s reach, broadening awareness and access to our sport. I am committed to ensuring that our athletes have everything they need to be the very best in the world.” Brearton added: “Our mandate begins with learn to swim and continues through a child’s development and maturation. The fundamental skill of swimming not only saves lives but fosters and builds champions. We have the most tremendous group of coaches and volunteers. Our mission is to serve the greatest swimmers in the world.” Outgoing Chair Bob Vincent stated: “We are incredibly fortunate to have so many passionate people volunteering their time in service to the organization and the sport of swimming. Chris’s experience as a Collegiate athlete and swim parent, coupled with his professional background and in-depth knowledge of the Olympic movement will further

“I’m proud to mark the first time the organization has ever been led by former competitive swimmers at both the board and staff levels,” President & CEO Tim Hinchey said. “Bob was an exceptional board leader and I thank him for his work and guidance, and I know he will continue to lend his support to Chris as our new chair guides our organization into the future. Chris has a proven track record of success in the Olympic Movement, and coupling that with his first-hand experience at all levels of our sport will pay dividends as, like many, we rebound from the global pandemic and build back our base.” Brearton first became involved with swimming as an age group swimmer – inspired by watching Steve Lundquist win gold at the 1984 Olympic Games – and, ultimately, as a college swimmer at the University of Georgia. He then was elected to the Board of Directors in September 2018 and became its Vice Chair/Chair-Elect in 2019. Throughout his tenure on the Board, he has also served on the Executive Compensation Committee and as Chair of the Governance Committee. Brearton is also the Chair of the FINA, the international swimming federation, Reform Sub-Committee on Marketing & Media. Brearton currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of MGM Studios, one of Hollywood’s oldest and most prestigious studios. Prior to joining MGM, he was the Managing Partner of the Century City office of the law firm Latham & Watkins. Over the course of more than 20 years as an entertainment, sports and media attorney, Chris advised motion picture studios, television and digital networks and sports organizations, (such as the International Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletic Association). During his practice, Chris was routinely recognized as one of the top entertainment and sports attorneys in the world: including winning such accolades as the Sports Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and becoming a fixture on both Hollywood Reporter’s annual Power Lawyer list (one of Hollywood’s top 100 attorneys), and Variety’s annual Top Deal Makers report. Most importantly, Brearton is a parent – and a swim dad at that. He has two sons, one of whom is a new Division I swimmer at Georgetown University. Whether in the pool or in the boardroom, he has in-depth knowledge of the swimming community, from club teams to the Olympic level, and an unparalleled passion to help guide the sport to greater success. v

The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with USA Swimming BIWEEKLY

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Olympic Gold Medalist Lydia Jacoby Signs NIL Deal with arena by Matthew De George | Photos Courtesty of arena

ydia Jacoby, the gold medalist in the women’s 100 breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympic Games, has signed an endorsement deal with arena, the company announced Friday. Jacoby just wrapped up her high school career at Seward High in Alaska. She’ll swim next fall at the University of Texas. The arena deal is made possible by new NCAA governance over name, image and likeness (NIL) that went into effect last summer. Jacoby became the first Alaskan to qualify for the Olympics for the United States at trials last year. She pulled a surprise in the women’s 100 breast, with a stunning come-frombehind final 50 to win the gold medal. She added a silver medal in the women’s 400 medley and was part of the team that finished fifth in the mixed medley relay. “The last year has been incredible, full of big moments like winning Olympic Gold,” Jacoby said in a company press release. “I’m so thrilled to continue this amazing time in my life by signing with arena. In addition to having products I love and use, it’s a dream come true to be working with such a wonderful team and company. I can’t wait to share the next chapter in my journey with the arena family!” A native of Anchorage, Jacoby started swimming at age 6 at her local club. She had planned to attend the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 as a spectator, but the postponement by a year by the COVID-19 pandemic allowed her to continue flourishing as a swimmer to get there on her own merit. During the pandemic, her family rented an apartment in Anchorage so that she could train at the partially open facility.

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“We couldn’t be happier to add Lydia to our team,” said Mark Pinger, GM of arena North America. “Clearly she is an extraordinary talent, as the past year has shown, but there’s also so much more to her: she’s determined, courageous, positive, upbeat, these attributes are part of her core, as they are with arena, and we couldn’t be more optimistic about this partnership. Having just had the amazing opportunity to spend time with Lydia and her family in her home town of Seward, we are equally excited about Lydia the person as we are about Lydia the swimmer and we believe she will be a great ambassador for the sport. Seeing her setup with access to only a 25-yard pool, we believe her future in swimming will be very bright and we consider ourselves lucky to be by her side and support her as we emerge from a period that has been very difficult for all.” Jacoby is the latest in a long line of swimmers who have availed themselves of the new NIL rules to profit while in college. Functionally, it means they don’t have to choose between endorsement deals and college eligibility as in years past. v

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Sarah Sjostrom Proves Again to Be in ‘‘World’s Greatest’’ Conversation After Dominant ISL Season by Dan D'Addonna

arah Sjostrom once again proved that when healthy, she is one of the world’s dominant female forces in the pool.

After an elbow injury didn’t allow that dominant force to be unleashed in full force at the Tokyo Olympics, Sjostrom proved what a healthy force can do in the International Swimming League (ISL) finals. Sjostrom was the MVP of the finals with 61 points and was also the ISL MVP of the entire season with 511.5 points, leading Energy Standard to the ISL championship for the second time in the three years of the league. Energy Standard needed every one of those points as the team scored 534 to hold off the Cali Condors (522) in the finals. But this meet was so much more for Sarah Sjostrom’s evergrowing legacy.

Olympic Games for the European women, with no gold medals, and Sjostrom won the silver medal in the 50 free. That medal had a deeper meaning to Sjostrom after all she had been through. She showed her emotion after finally earning a medal on the final night of the games. But it wasn’t the Sarah Sjostrom the world has come to know the past decade in the water. Fast forward a couple of months and a healthy Sjostrom proved she is still capable of being the world’s best even just months after a major injury. In the ISL final, Sjostrom won the 50 freestyle in 23.27, just a couple of tenths off of her ISL record in the event — and just about a half hour after racing the 100 butterfly, where she was fourth.

In the Tokyo Olympics, she was completely overshadowed by the Australian trio of Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown and Ariarne Titmus, South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmacher as well as American Katie Ledecky, Canada’s Maggie MacNeil, Japan’s Yui Ohashi , China’s Zhang Yufei and Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey. Sarah Sjostrom is used to being at the top of this growing group, not overshadowed by so many. But the elbow injury came at the worst time for the Swedish star, especially after the Olympics were postponed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. How many medals would she have won if the games were a year earlier?

On the second day, Sjostrom finished second (51.26) to teammate Haughey (50.79), who broke her own league record and Asian record in the race, then got second in the 50 butterfly 24.87, just three tenths off the league record, about 45 minutes after her first race.

She was still easily selected as Swimming World’s European Female Swimmer of the Year, but it was an overall down

That is what makes an MVP — and that is what has proved to the world that Sarah Sjostrom is truly back. v

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Sjostrom wasn’t out there winning every race she was in. But she was up against the best of each stroke, and her versatility once again proved that she belongs in the top group of sprinters, butterflyers and relay swimmers in the world, a group very few swimmers belong.

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Kelsi Dahlia Used Post-Trials Reset to Propel Herself to Impressive ISL Season by David Rieder

hen Kelsi Dahlia finished the 100-meter butterfly final at this summer’s U.S. Olympic Trials, her run as the country’s premier swimmer in the event was over. Teenagers Torri Huske and Claire Curzan had taken the spots on the Olympic team, with Huske lowering a nine-year-old American record and Curzan already having swum faster than Dahlia’s best. Dahlia, who had placed ninth in the event at the 2016 Olympics and captured bronze in the event at the 2017 World Championships, had recorded her best swims in the event since 2018, but it had not been enough to return to the Olympic stage. But Dahlia’s immediate reaction to the result was not a feeling of piercing anguish. Instead, she felt mostly relief. The long build-up to the critical moment had weighed on Dahlia, including during the one-year delay of the Olympics. “I was just glad it was done, even though it wasn’t the result that I had hoped for,” Dahlia said. “As hard as I was trying to not [put pressure on myself], it was still there, and I couldn’t deny that.” Of course, Dahlia was still disappointed to not have finished in the top-two, but realizing that “Torri and Claire were the best people for our country” and that her performances at the meet really had been strong provided some solace. She still watched the Olympics in support of her many friends on the U.S. team, and she enjoyed following their progress. “Actually seeing how fast the 100 fly final was made me feel better because I knew if all the stars aligned, I still wasn’t going to go as fast as the medalists did,” Dahlia said. At the same time, Dahlia was working her way back into swimming. Cali Condors general manager Jason Lezak had asked Dahlia to return for the third season of the International Swimming League (ISL). Dahlia accepted the offer, and even after Trials, “I wanted to stand by that.” She was committed to racing again in just a few months, but before that, she needed a reset. So after Trials, Dahlia’s return

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to the water came in its most relaxing, purest form: a 3000yard outdoor swim with her husband, former French national teamer Thomas Dahlia. “I wasn’t trying to go fast to get my heart rate up, but swimming outside at that point was just really therapeutic. Just finding enjoyment and being in the water was what I found those few weeks right after Trials,” she said. After a few weeks, she began training with the team at Louisville again but with one new provision: no doubles. Dahlia spent more time working with the sprint group under Louisville associate head coach Chris Lindauer, working in more power and speed work than she had been used to while getting away from some of the aerobic swimming that Dahlia admitted “is not my favorite thing.” Dahlia believes that the lessened pool time has allowed her to push harder in the weight room and make significant strength gains there, but the benefits outside of her athletic career have been considerable, too. “I’m able to just enjoy the process, just showing up excited because my world hasn’t revolved around swimming like it was going into Trials. As much as I didn’t want it to, that’s pretty much what kind of happened,” she said. “If my friend needs a babysitter, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m not exhausted, and I don’t have another practice today. I’m here for you.’ It’s been really cool to have the extra time.” And that more balanced program has paid off in a big way during Dahlia’s ISL campaign. She has competed for the Condors for the entire season, and she has recorded 15 individual wins, six in the 100 fly (in seven tries), four in the 200 fly, four in butterfly skins and one in the 50 fly. In the Condors’ second playoff match, she broke the league record in the 100 fly with a time of 54.89. That was less than three tenths off Sarah Sjostrom’s world record of 54.61 and just

five hundredths shy of Dahlia’s American record from all the way back in 2018. As with all ISL matches, the final will commence with the women’s 100 fly, and Dahlia will be the odds-on favorite in a 100 fly race that will likely include Sjostrom and Olympic bronze medalist Emma McKeon. The world record is most certainly in jeopardy. “I sure hope so. I would love to,” Dahlia said of the possibility of breaking the world record. “Whenever I focus on the time, it typically doesn’t happen, so I’m just trying to focus on my race strategy and staying relaxed.” Dahlia also owns the top time in the league this season in the 200 fly, but she has not competed in the event since Cali teammate Hali Flickinger made her season debut. Dahlia is a pretty secure lock to swim the 100 fly, 50 fly and multiple relays in the final, but she did not know whether the 200 fly would be in the cards. Regardless, Dahlia will be a huge key for a Cali team seeking to repeat its 2020 league title against tough competition from Energy Standard and the London Roar. After the ISL season is done, Dahlia does not know what her future holds. “I was hoping that during this time that would become more clear, but I’m still figuring it out,” Dahlia said. “I found a lot more joy racing here than I had in a really long time. It has been a lot of fun.”

The 27-year-old from New Jersey would undoubtedly be among the favorites in the 100 fly at the Short Course World Championships later this month, but Huske and Curzan will again be the representatives for the United States. So she will return home and enjoy some family time around the holidays. Soon, she said, “I’m going to have a meeting with my husband and my coaches when I get back to see what my goals will look like after this.” Dahlia said she won’t make any decisions “either way” before that. Whatever happens in her future, Dahlia is proud of how she has carried herself and grown over the past two years, even when the COVID-19 pandemic deepened the stress she felt about pursuing a second Olympic berth. Even though it did not work out as she hoped, that does not mean the effort was for naught. “There’s so many layers to it that I’m still figuring out: the stress of being out of the water and not racing for so long and trusting that even if I hadn’t been racing as much that I can still perform at that level,” Dahlia said. “I still am really proud of how consistent I was during that time when everything was shut down. I was really proud of how I worked out on my own. I never missed a weights session that whole time. I found a way to get it done, and I’ll be able to look back on that, and I’ll be able to carry that with me for a long time.” v (College/University Affiliated Swim Camp)

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[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick]

Anthony Nesty Continuing to Make an Impact as Emerging Coaching Great by David Rieder

Anthony Nesty’s accomplishments as a swimmer in the late 1980s and ’90s made him a national icon. But decades after that, he is still making a huge impact on the sport from a different vantage point — as a coach.

ven as a teenager, Anthony Nesty was already the finest swimmer Suriname had ever produced. He was winning races around the Caribbean and in South America, and he had even qualified for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where he placed 21st in the 100 butterfly. But Nesty knew that sports careers in Suriname were typically finished right around the time an athlete finished high school, so Nesty’s father decided that they should look to the United States to help Anthony take his career to the next level. That led Nesty to the Bolles School, where he swam for Coach Gregg Troy. Thinking back on his first experience in the U.S., Nesty remembered a moment during his senior year championship meet when he swam the 50 free and missed out on a victory. Nesty believed he should have won the race, and after he finished, he realized he needed to walk off by himself for a moment to collect himself. When he raced again in the 100 fly, he broke the national record. “The resilience of an athlete screwing up one of his events and coming back and putting that event aside and kicking that second event into another gear, I think that was one of the biggest breakthroughs of my swimming,” Nesty said.

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A Miracle Finish in Seoul Nesty’s rise culminated at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, by which time he had enrolled at the University of Florida. He was already a gold medalist at the Pan American Games, an established swimmer at age 20. He qualified for the 100 fly Olympic final, and after a slow start, he put himself in position to win a medal with 25 meters to go. Coming down the stretch, Nesty was locked in a battle with Australia’s Jon Sieben and Great Britain’s Andy Jameson for silver as American Matt Biondi pulled away. Even with five meters to go, Biondi still had a half-body length lead. But then, in a miracle finish, Nesty got in ahead of the famed American. Biondi glided to the wall and picked his head up while Nesty took an extra stroke to help him finish on the right cycle. He swam a time of 53.00, an Olympic record. He was a gold medalist. “I always felt I was capable of doing special things. I’m not saying that to be cocky,” Nesty said. “The Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport. Any athlete, that’s what they want to do. Obviously, it’s tough to get there. Getting there is one thing, and performing when you get there is another.” Nesty came through, and he won the first Olympic medal in any sport for Suriname. In fact, he is still the only athlete from Suriname to stand on an Olympic podium. He did so twice, as he returned to the Games four years later in Barcelona and picked up a bronze in the 100 fly, less than a tenth behind gold medalist Pablo Morales.

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick]

>> Gregg Troy (left) and Anthony Nesty (right) during their years coaching together at the University of Florida Coach Nesty When Nesty graduated college, he quickly ended up back on the pool deck as a coach. “I didn’t know what to do,” Nesty said of his career choice. “I wanted to stay in the sport as best as I could, just to give back and help an athlete experience the same things that I went through. I just wanted to help kids get better.” Nesty returned to Bolles to coach for a few years, and then he ended up as an assistant at Florida in the summer of 1998. One year later, Troy was hired as the head coach of the combined women’s and men’s programs, and he retained his former swimmer on the Gators’ staff. During that time as Troy’s assistant and then as associate head coach, Nesty helped coach the many legendary swimmers who passed through the Florida program, including Ryan Lochte, Gemma Spofforth, Elizabeth Beisel, Caeleb Dressel and more. Along the way, he refined his coaching philosophy and tactics. He followed Troy’s leadership, but also considered how he would manage a program should he ever have the opportunity. “Throughout the years, I’ve had a lot of notebooks, things to do and not to do,” Nesty said. After the 2018 season, Troy announced his retirement from college coaching, and Nesty interviewed to replace him. “I went into the interview like I was swimming the 100 fly at the Olympics. I was prepared. I knew this was the job I wanted.”

At that point, Florida decided to split its women’s and men’s programs, and Nesty was named head coach of the Gator men. Nesty’s coaching philosophy includes very specific ideas about the paces he wants swimmers to achieve in practice, and each practice complements the one before. “You miss one of those, you missed the boat,” he said. In his first year, Florida won its seventh straight SEC title, and that streak has now reached nine. Despite graduating Dressel and fellow lights-out seniors Jan Switkowski and Mark Szaranek the season before Nesty took over, the Gators dropped only from fifth to sixth at the national championships in 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 meet, Florida improved to place third at the meet in 2021, an effort spearheaded by a pair of impressive juniors, Kieran Smith and Bobby Finke. In 2021, Smith won the national title in the 200 free. He finished second in the 500 free (an event where he is the fastest swimmer in history) and sixth in the 100 free. Finke won national titles in the 400 IM and 1650 free, just missing his American record in that mile, and he was sixth in the 500 free. On to Tokyo Three months after that, both of those men qualified for the U.S. Olympic team, Smith as the winner of the 400 free and

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The early analysis of those four races was not pretty for the U.S. team. No American had won a World Championships medal in any freestyle event 400 meters or longer in either 2017 or 2019, and no American even qualified for the 200 free final at the 2019 World Championships. So Nesty created a training plan for Smith and Finke designed to help them visualize reaching the times they would need to win Olympic medals.

>>Bobby Finke

“Those two guys, in Hawaii (at training camp), they were smoking. Number one, they had a chip on their shoulder because everybody said, ‘Ugh, distance.’ But those guys knew that it only matters how you do at the swim meet,” Nesty said. “I told them, ‘You guys are the two most prepared guys on this team. Not only fitness-wise, pace-wise, but mentally, physically.’” Nesty’s Boys >>Kieran Smith At the Olympics, Smith and Finke delivered their best performances. They outperformed even the most optimistic expectations. Smith behind to a gold medal. qualified for the 400 free final, and as Nesty said, “The bigger the show, the bigger Kieran shows up.” He “I think Bobby probably could have put the 800 away earlier hung with the pack the entire race and closed hard to earn if he wanted to. It would have been better for my heart,” Nesty a bronze medal, swimming more than a second faster than said. And even at the 750, Finke’s coach did not believe he he had at Olympic Trials. Over the next few days, Smith could come back and win the race. “Of course not. But at the finished sixth in the 200 free and then, leading off the U.S. 775, it was game over.” men’s 800 free relay, he swam a 1:44.74 to become the thirdfastest American ever in the event behind Michael Phelps and Lochte.

At that point, Smith was done for the meet, but Finke was just beginning. As he swam in the 800 free final, he was in fifth place most of the race before moving up to fourth at the final turn. At that point, his medal chances were extremely slim. But then, Finke pulled out one of the all-time great laps in swimming history, a 26.39 that brought him from 1.5 seconds 26

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That finish produced one of the most special moments Nesty has experienced as a coach. “I went up to Kieran, and Kieran was in tears. I went down to the deck, and of course, I was in tears, too. I saw Bobby, and he gave me a big hug, and you could tell he got choked up a little bit,” Nesty said. “It was a special moment for everybody, his family, the U.S., the University of Florida.”

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick]

“I knew if they swam well at Trials, they would have a good shot of making it,” Nesty said. “Once they made the meet, now we’re thinking, ‘OK, can we get to the next level?’”

[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher / USA Today Sports]

200 free at Olympic Trials and Finke as the dominant swimmer in the 800 free and 1500 free. And Nesty would be there in Tokyo to watch and to guide his athletes. He had become a U.S. citizen in 2006, and for the first time, he served as an assistant coach on the U.S. staff for the Tokyo Olympics.

On the meet’s final day, Finke repeated his remarkable feat and picked up a second gold medal. He stuck a little closer to the leaders in the 1500 free, but he unleashed the same final surge — faster, actually, at 25.78 — to capture a second gold medal. New Assignments, More Challenges and Speculation for the Future So Nesty left Tokyo and returned home to Gainesville, Fla. as one of the hottest names in coaching, and deservedly so. His fourth round at the helm of college swimming’s top programs would come with a new assignment, head coach of the Florida women. After women’s head coach Jeff Poppell departed for South Carolina, the women’s and men’s teams were recombined under Nesty’s leadership. That’s one new challenge for the 53-year-old coach to handle. “I think the team is pretty good,” Nesty said. “We have a lot of talented athletes we need to develop. That’s what I’m expected to do, so I will do my best to get it going.” Another challenge is the arrival of a new star to his training group, three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky, considered the premier women’s distance swimmer ever. After five years swimming at Stanford, Ledecky was looking for a change as she pursues a fourth Olympics in 2024 in Paris. After observing Nesty and his swimmers at the U.S. training camp before the Tokyo Games, she decided upon Gainesville as her next stop.

[ Photo Courtesy: Katie Ledecky / Instagram ]

Nesty added that it was definitely a “Gator day,” as Finke’s win fired up Dressel a little extra to add another gold medal in the 100 freestyle a few events later.

>>Katie Ledecky Pause for one moment: This is the same man who, 33 years earlier, was the 20-year-old who came from way behind to win an Olympic gold medal for a country that had never produced an Olympic medalist in any sport. Now, he is among the country’s greatest swim coaches, possibly in line for the top honor of any swim coach in the world’s top swimming nation. He remains a national hero in Suriname, and yet, his coaching accomplishments are close to eclipsing his incredible highlights as a swimmer. v

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What her presence offers the Florida program, Nesty says, is validity. He is excited to coach Ledecky, although he admitted that he might have to change his personal approach just a bit. “My focus is always a 10. Now, it’s a 10-plus!” Not long after, Dressel also decided to swim with the Gators college team again after spending the previous three years in a professional’s group led by Troy. Now, with Nesty coaching Finke, Smith, Ledecky and Dressel, plus overseeing a strong combined college program, there has understandably been speculation that he will be considered as the head coach of the U.S. men’s Olympic team in 2024. No doubt, Nesty is capable of handling such a role, and he certainly is deserving. “An athlete wants to go to the Olympics. Any American coach wants to be on the staff of a U.S. Olympic team. Getting to be the head coach is like winning a gold medal. It’s the top job there is every four years,” Nesty said. “If the time comes and they ask me, of course I’ll think about it.”

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[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick]

>> Kirsty Coventry

They Deserve Better:

A Look at Swimming’s Overlooked Stars by John Lohn

Don’t be mistaken. Diehard fans are going to know these names, and they might be able to specifically identify their achievements. Even a well-versed follower of the sport, though, might not have the appropriate acknowledgment for where these individuals rank on a historical basis. As the Bible of the Sport, Swimming World places significant emphasis on history, and providing its readership with an appreciation for those who paved the way for the current generation of stars. So, as we creep closer to signing off on this Olympic year, we offer a look at six athletes – five members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame – who hold a special place in history, even if they are not always at the forefront of the mind. Duke Kahanamoku – United States Guys like Hungary’s Alfred Hajos, American Charlie Daniels and Great Britain’s Henry Taylor came before him, but Duke Kahanamoku can be considered the first global star of swimming. The Hawaiian-born sprinter captured backto-back Olympic titles in the 100-meter freestyle, but with a caveat. His crowns arrived in 1912 and 1920, the 1916 Games wiped out by World War I. Had international conflict not emerged, Kahanamoku would have been the overwhelming favorite for the 100 free title in 28

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>> Duke Kahanamoku

1916 and could have been the first swimmer to win an event at three consecutive Olympiads. Instead, a three-peat was not registered until 1964, when Australian Dawn Fraser won her third straight gold medal in the 100 freestyle. For good measure, Kahanamoku secured a silver medal in his prime event at the 1924 Olympics, where Johnny Weissmuller captured gold and became swimming’s headliner. Really, it was the emergence of Weissmuller that largely left Kahanamoku as a secondary figure of the sport’s early days. The positive for Kahanamoku is the fact that he excelled in a second sport and was known worldwide as the Father of Surfing. “Long before Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz splashed into the pool, Duke Kahanamoku emerged from the backwaters of Waikiki to become America’s first superstar swimmer,”

[ Photo Courtesy: ISHOF ]

How could they be forgotten? Or overlooked? It doesn’t make sense, not with their credentials and the success they managed during their illustrious careers. Yet, there is a routine state in sports for some athletes – as elite as they might have been – to find themselves overshadowed by the exploits of others, or victims of the passage of time.

[ Photo Courtesy: Tor Bengston ]

wrote David Davis in his biography, Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku. “The original ‘human fish’ won Olympic gold medals, set dozens of world records, and topped the world rankings for more than a decade.”

[ Photo Courtesy: Peta.Org ]

>> Shirley Babashoff

>> Murray Rose Murray Rose – Australia To Australians, who revere their distance stars, Murray Rose is a household name who is adored. But Rose, especially on the global scale and to the non-hardcore fan, is one of those athletes who doesn’t receive proper recognition. In part, that short stick can be connected to the rich tradition of distance swimming in the Land Down Under, and the morerecent greatness – with enhanced media attention – of Kieren Perkins and Grant Hackett. At the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, a 17-year-old enjoyed a breakout competition, as he won the 400 freestyle and 1500 freestyle and was a member of the victorious 800 freestyle relay. At a time when Australia had experienced a dropoff from its previous success, Rose proved to be a spark for the future, and a rekindling of Aussie excellence. Rose moved to the United States after the 1956 Games and enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he led the Trojans in NCAA action. In his next Olympic foray, at the 1960 Games in Rome, Rose repeated as champion in the 400 freestyle and was the silver medalist in the 1500 free, defeated by fellow Aussie John Konrads. A world-record setter in the 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, Rose defined distance swimming. “Murray Rose was certainly one of the greatest of all-time,” Konrads said after Rose’s 2012 death. “There’s Mark Spitz in the sprints and so on and Michael Phelps, but they’re shortdistance swimmers in the professional era. I think taking into consideration the amateur era, Murray was the greatest of alltime.” Shirley Babashoff – United States Which approach should we take when analyzing the career

of Shirley Babashoff? Should we appreciate what she accomplished? Or, should we assess what could have been? Truthfully, a combination of those vantage points is what is necessary with Babashoff, who can be argued as the mostaffected athlete by the East German systematic-doping program that was in operation from the early 1970s through the late 1980s. As a nine-time Olympic medalist, with five of those medals from individual duty, Babashoff is an all-time great. She set multiple world records in freestyle events and was a hammer in relay action for the United States. Still, her hardware ledger could be much more, if not for the impact of performanceenhancing drugs by the East German machine. At the 1976 Olympics, Babashoff was victimized in all three of her solo events, where she earned silver medals in the 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle and 800 freestyle. In all three races, an East German captured gold. Babashoff, too, was beaten for gold by doped-up East Germans at the World Championships. To Babashoff’s credit, she spoke out against the super-fueled status of the opposition. She knew something was amiss and had the courage vocalize her concerns. Sadly, Babashoff’s words were used against her, as she was dubbed “Surly Shirley” by the media and branded a sore loser. In reality, she was the opposite. At a time when administrators of the sport were afraid to investigate and act against what was a clear problem, Babashoff was a hero. “We would like to get what we earned,” Babashoff has said. “We were going for the medals, not the cash. We were amateurs. We worked so hard. We earned it and it was stolen right in front of everyone’s face and no one did anything about it. It was like watching a bank robbery where they just let the crooks go and then say, ‘It’s okay.’” Tamas Darnyi – Hungary The shadow of Michael Phelps is powerful, capable of darkening out even the brightest stars. When someone collects 28 medals in Olympic competition, as was the case with Phelps, the measure of greatness can be skewed. Consequently, what Hungarian Tamas Darnyi pulled off

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>>Yana Klockhova

during his reign in the 1980s and early 1990s is not as respected as it should be.

her homeland. If Klochkova hailed from the United States or Australia, her star power would have been magnified.

Before Phelps came along, Darnyi was considered the finest individual medley performer of all-time, a man who flourished equally over 200 and 400 meters. While Phelps supplanted the Hungarian as Medley King, we must continue to revere a multi-stroke specialist who knew no peer.

Beyond the Olympic realm, Klochkova was a four-time world champion, including once in the 400 freestyle, and was a World University Games champion in the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly.

At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Darnyi secured medley sweeps, victories that cemented his status as the premier all-around swimmer in the world. Those doubles were not limited to the Olympics, as Darnyi also swept the medley events at the 1986 and 1991 editions of the World Championships. The Hall of Fame also earned a bronze in the 200 butterfly at the 1991 World Champs and was a European champion in that event. Darnyi was the first man to crack the two-minute barrier in the 200 individual medley and his world-record time of 4:12.36 in the 400 medley, posted 30 years ago, would be competitive in today’s international waters. Yana Klockhova – Ukraine With 55 medals from major international competition, Yana Klochkova was a Tour de Force in the pool from the late 1990s into the mid-2000s. It was in the individual medley events, however, where she excelled greatest, and rose to another level than the competition. At the 2000 Olympics, Klochkova swept the medley disciplines. In addition to capturing gold in the 200 I.M. by nearly two seconds, Klochkova set a world record in the 400 medley, an event in which featured a triumph by more than two seconds. As evidence of her versatility and endurance, she also picked up a silver medal in the 800 freestyle. Four years later, at the 2004 Games in Athens, Klochkova defended both of her crowns. Repeating as Olympic champion is never an easy feat, largely due to the target worn and the difficulty of maintaining peak hunger, but Klochkova fended off all challenges to enhance her legacy. Nonetheless, she remains underappreciated, perhaps due to the lower profile of 30

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Kirsty Coventry – Zimbabwe The most recently active athlete on our list is Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe. A seven-time Olympic medalist, Coventry might come from a nation that does not have a spectacular track record in the sport, but she proved that anything is possible. And, isn’t influence a major factor when we discuss legends of the sport. Each of Coventry’s Olympic medals is of the individual variety, and the same can be said for the eight medals she won at the World Championships. A product of Auburn University, Coventry walked away from the 2004 Olympics in Athens with a gold medal in the 200 backstroke, silver in the 100 backstroke and bronze in the 200 individual medley. For a woman from an African country, it was a dazzling performance. Four years later, Coventry was even better and demonstrated a high level of perseverance. A contender for gold in each of her events, Coventry won silver medals in the 400 I.M., 100 backstroke and 200 I.M. Although her performances were sensational, Coventry wanted another gold medal. By the time the 200 backstroke was over, she had it, along with a world record. Coventry was lauded as a sporting hero in her country and relished her ability to inspire. “I’m proud that I was able to represent my country for so many years at such a high level – especially when Zimbabwe was going through hard times,” Coventry said, referencing political issues. “Just because you might be from a landlocked country in Africa and didn’t have the same opportunities as some other people in first-world countries, it doesn’t matter as long as you keep pushing yourself and working hard.” v

[ Photo Courtesy: ISHOF]

[ Photo Courtesy: Hungarian Swimming Federation ]

>>Tamas Darnyi

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