Swimming World Presents “Tragedy & Triumph at U.S. Trials… 60 Years Ago”

Swimming World May June 2020 - Tragedy and Triumh at US Trials 60 Years Ago - Jeff Farrell

Tragedy & Triumph at U.S. Trial… 60 Years Ago

By Bruce Wigo

Every U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, since they were first held in 1904, has always seen favorites fail and underdogs rise to the occasion.

The big story of the 1960 Olympic Trials in Detroit, Mich., was Jeff Farrell’s “miracle.” For those who don’t know the story, Farrell, the American record holder in the 100 meter free, won the gold medal in that event at the 1959 Pan American Games. He also was the national champion in the 100 and 200 free for long course as well as short course yards in 1959 and 1960.

He was America’s great hope for taking back the 100 freestyle title from the Australians, who had swept all of the medals at the previous Olympiad in Melbourne (Jon Henricks, John Devitt and Gary Chapman).

But six days before he was to swim in Detroit, Jeff was struck with appendicitis. In those days, an appendectomy was major surgery, and no one expected him to be able to swim at the Trials—but he did! And although there wasn’t any individual 200 freestyle event at the Olympic Games, he courageously qualified for the 4 x 200 relay team.

To complete his triumph over tragedy, Jeff won a swim-off in Rome and anchored both the 400 medley and 800 freestyle relays in the finals to two gold medals in Rome.

Like Jeff Farrell (before his appendectomy), Becky Collins approached the Olympic Trials as a heavy favorite to win the gold medal in the 100 meter butterfly in Rome…and with good reason: she was the 1959 Pan American Games champion in her event, the 100 and 200 meter butterfly national champion in both 1959 and 1960, and she was the world record holder in the latter event.

As the Olympic Trials approached, both Collins and Ramey faced significant challenges. Becky had been featured on the cover of the July 13, 1959 issue of Sports Illustrated as a “15-year old Olympic Hopeful.” This made her something of a national celebrity, and great things were expected of her. She became local chair for the March of Dimes, raising funds for polio victims, and although she was only three years older than 12-year-old Donna de Varona, “Becky Collins was my hero,” Donna recently told me.

At 20 years of age, Ramey was one of the oldest females participating in the U.S. Trials. This was pre-Title IX when there were no collegiate programs for women. Nancy was a junior at the University of Washington, where her club coach, Ray Daughters, also coached the men’s team and allowed her to train somewhat irregularly with them, especially after the men’s NCAA season had ended. Daughters was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame primarily for developing two great stars of the 1930s, Helene Madison and Jack Medica.
At the Trials, Ramey qualified second for the 100 fly finals, and Collins tied for fifth. But it was not their night: Becky finished fifth, with Nancy dropping to eighth!

After realizing their Olympic dreams had ended in disappointment, both drifted off the wall and met on the lane line, where they consoled each other and were able to crack smiles before they swam back to the wall. In speaking with Becky and Nancy’s sister recently, neither woman made any excuse, even though they might have had several. Both were physically slight—5 feet 3 inches and 115 pounds—and the finals were held in a cold, unheated pool.

Then, their coaches, Ray Daughters and John Galvich, were “old school” and had not embraced new training methods such as interval training. At least in Becky’s case, the weather in Indianapolis between the nationals and Trials was so miserable that it limited practices in Indy’s unheated, long course pools. Lastly, for Becky, she might have been affected by the famous SI jinx.

To read more stories of tragedy and triumph from the 1960 U.S. Trials,
Check out the May/June 2020 issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!

[PHOTO CREDIT: SPEEDO USA]

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FEATURES

020 TOSSED INTO TURMOIL
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022 COVID-19 AFTERMATH: UNCERTAIN TIMES
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024 TIMING IS EVERYTHING
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028 MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH ASHLEY TWICHELL
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030 IMPACTING LIVES THROUGH COACHING
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038 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: T ‘N’ T—A FRIENDLY RIVALRY FOR A DYNAMITE DUO
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042 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO:MISTY’S MAGICAL MOMENT
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046 ISHOF: A DUKE, A MERMAID, A WAR AND THE FLU
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048 ISHOF: TRAGEDY & TRIUMPH AT U.S. TRIALS…60 YEARS AGO
by Bruce Wigo
Every U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, since they were first held in 1904, has always seen favorites fail and underdogs rise to the occasion.

COACHING

016 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: THE VALUE OF HAND FORCE ANALYSIS: PART II—BACKSTROKE
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018 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: THE VALUE OF HAND FORCE ANALYSIS: PART III—BREASTSTROKE
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052 MOTIVATING SWIMMERS TO NEW HEIGHTS
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056 AEROBIC OVERLOAD: VOLUME REVISITED
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058 SPECIAL SETS: CHANGE-OF-PACE FUN
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060 SPECIAL SETS: STARTING OVER
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066 Q&A WITH COACH DOUG FONDER
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067 HOW THEY TRAIN OLIVIA BRAY
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069 Q&A WITH COACH RON & DON HEIDARY
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070 HOW THEY TRAIN MADDIE SMITH AND EMILIA BARCK
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012 DRYSIDE TRAINING: STROKE STRENGTH SERIES—FREESTYLE
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015 DRYSIDE TRAINING: DRYLAND EXERCISES TO DO WHEN YOU CAN’T SWIM
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063 GOLDMINDS: THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE IN SWIMMING
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072 UP & COMERS: FINN CONLEY
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COLUMNS

010 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

051 DID YOU KNOW? 1920 U.S. WOMEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM

073 GUTTERTALK

074 PARTING SHOT

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