Cathleen Pruden - (Author)

A Look at the ISHOF Specialty Award Winners To Be Honored During Induction Weekend The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2023 Specialty Awards. The ISHOF Specialty Awards are presented annually to individuals for outstanding contributions to aquat...

Frenchman Stéphane Lecat enters the International Swimming Hall of Fame as only the 26th Open Water Swimmer in ISHOF’s 58-year history, with 19 FINA World Cup professional race victories to his credit. His three world championships came in the 1997, 1999 and 2000 FINA Marathon Swimming World Series....

Chris Carver is a ground-breaking synchronized swimming choreographer and club coach of the world renowned Santa Clara Aquamaids and joins the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) as an Honor Coach. As the co-head coach of the U.S. National Team, the team won every gold medal in elite intern...

Heather Petri is a four-time Olympian, winning one gold (2012), two silver (2000, 2008) and a bronze medal (2004) as part of the USA Women’s National Water Polo Team.  She is only one of four women to be a four-time Olympian and one of two who has won four Olympic medals. Petri is only the sixth wom...

Wu Minxia is the considered the greatest diver in Chinese history, and that’s pretty impressive since the Chinese produce the greatest divers in the world. The winner of seven Olympic medals, five of them gold, and 14 World Championships medals, eight of them gold,  Wu is the most decorated female a...

Passages: Pat McCormick, Olympic Champion Diver and Hall of Famer, Dies at 92 Pat Keller McCormick, the first diver inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural induction class, died on March 7, 2023 at the age of 92. She was the first diver, male or female, to win ...

On February 6, 2023, the world of swimming lost a long-time ambassador in 96-year-old Greta Andersen. One of the greatest swimmers of all time, Andersen burst onto the world’s stage when she won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1948 London Olympics. When she returned home to Copenhag...

Call for Nominations for the 2023 ISHOF Induction Class [caption id="attachment_514822" align="alignnone" width="700"] Photo Courtesy: Jason Leidy[/caption] The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is accepting nominations for the 2023 class of inductees, which honors individuals who have ach...

Passages: Legendary Diving Coach Hobie Billingsley Dies at 94; Left Impact on the World Hobie Billingsley, a 1983 International Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Diving Coach, and one of the most beloved diving coaches of a generation, passed away early this morning, July 16, 2022. He was 94. Hobie was th...

For more than half a century, Ursula Carlile, teamed up with her husband, Forbes, to form swimming’s first internationally-prominent husband and wife coaching team.  The two collaborated at every level of the sport by sharing teaching, coaching, filming and administrative duties at their own Ryde Sw...

Michael Klim has been called the best relay swimmer ever.  He is a three-time Olympian, multi-time world champion and 21-time world record holder.  1998 was Klim's year in the sun. In January, the FINA World Aquatics Championships were held in Perth, Western Australia, and in front of a boisterous h...

Aussie Jon Sieben set the world record with a blistering 1:57.04 in the 200m butterfly, winning the event in Los Angeles, in the major upset of the 1984 Olympic Games.  He surprised everyone and beat Michael Gross of Germany. The record stood for 11 months until Gross regained it in 1985.  Sieben co...

Daichi Suzuki stunned the world when he beat the USA’s David Berkoff at the 1988 Olympic Games in the 100-meter backstroke. [caption id="attachment_406441" align="aligncenter" width="825"] Daichi Suzuki after he beat David Berkoff in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1988 Seoul Olympics Photo Courtesy...

Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF) is a division of the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) with Inductions scheduled for Saturday, October 15, 2022 The International Swimming Hall of Fame is proud to announce that it will be including MISHOF's prestigious Class of 2022 to ...

Natalie Coughlin to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame [caption id="attachment_209488" align="alignleft" width="400"] Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick[/caption] Natalie  Coughlin was a U.S. competitive swimmer, three-time Olympian and twelve-time Olympic medalist (3 Gold, 4 S,...

This might ruffle some feathers but it needs to be brought to everyone’s attention. Unless proven otherwise Marcia Cleveland may be ISHOF’s longest-running member!  From as far back as I can remember, I have always seen the name Marcia Cleveland coming in regularly to pay her annual membership dues....

  The International Swimming Hall of Fame announces the call for nominations for the 2022 Paragon Awards to be presented at the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Honoree Weekend, October 14-15, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale.  Sponsored by Pentair Aquatic Systems, the awards are presented ea...

Save the Date: October 14 and 15, 2022 for ISHOF Honoree Induction Ceremonies Mark your calendars now!  The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) has selected the dates for the 2022 Honoree Induction Ceremonies and the Paragon/Awards Weekend. The 57th Annual ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend wil...

Bob Duenkel’s greatest contribution to swimming, was his 40+ years of dedication and service to the International Swimming Hall of Fame, which he began in 1976. As ISHOF CEO, Buck Dawson’s assistant, he absorbed the history of swimming like a sponge, and not just from Dawson, but from the real great...

Russian synchronized swimmer, Elvira Khasyanova - now living in the United States, was a member of the Russian National Team from 1999 through 2011. She participated in three Olympic Games, winning gold medals in the team competition in 2004 in Athens, 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.  She won th...