Class of 2009 Announced for International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, August 19. THE International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) is proud to announce its class of inductees for 2009. The group of four great athletes, will be inducted at its annual ceremonies to be held September 12th at noon in Fort Lauderdale.

The prestigious IMSHOF class of 2009 includes four world-class swimmers this year:

Honor Swimmer, Gertrude Zint (USA) began swimming Masters in 1981 in the 60-64 age group, with breaststroke being her primary stroke. She appeared on the world Top 10 list for the next 26 out of 27 years. She has set 31 Masters world records in long course meters and 18 world records in short course.

The second woman to be induced this year is Margery Meyer, USA. Since 1987, Margery has held 47 FINA Masters World Records in every freestyle event from the 100 meters to the 1500 meters: 19 long course and 28 short course. She has been ranked in the top 10 for 21 years and has swam in four FINA Masters World Championships (1988, 1994, 1998, 2006) winning 11 gold, five silver and two bronze medals.

Karl Hauter of Germany will also be inducted. A very versatile swimmer, he has 23 FINA Master world records, which have been set in the butterfly, the freestyle, and the Breaststroke. Hauter has competed in ALL NINE FINA Masters World Championships, since 1992, winning a total of 19 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze medals.

The final Honoree to be inducted as part of the IMSHOF Class of 2009 is Keijiro Nakamura of Japan. Nakamura has 30 FINA Masters World Records. He has been in the FINA Masters top 10 for a total of 16 years through the year 2007. Nakamura is mainly a freestyle and backstroke swimmer in events, 200 meters or less. His 30 World Records are 18 long course and 12 Short-course and not one of those records was set at a FINA Masters World Championship!

Another Masters swimmer, Ambassador W. R. "Tim" Timken, will also be recognized by ISHOF as this year's Gold Medallion recipient. The Gold Medallion is ISHOF's highest honor, given to competitive swimmers who have achieved national or international prominence for their achievements out of the pool. In addition to serving as President, CEO and Chairman of the Timken Company, a global Fortune 500 company, he most recently served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Federal Republic of Germany.

ISHOF is proud to welcome the IMSHOF induction ceremony for the first time ever to be held during the 2009 International Swimming Hall of Fame's Honoree Induction Weekend Festivities. Other activities scheduled for the September weekend, include: the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Ceremony on September 11, the ISHOF Induction on September 12th at 6:30 PM, and "Golden Homecoming: An evening with Greg Louganis and Jeanne White-Grinder" on September 13th.

Tickets for the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame Induction are $50. For additional information, please call Meg Keller-Marvin at (570) 594-4367 or ISHOF at (954) 462-6536. This will be a weekend of activities you won't want to miss!

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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