Obituaries

Robert “Bob” Burnside, Founding President, United States Lifesaving Association and 2014 Paragon Award / Aquatic Safety passes away, December 11, 2019 (May 20, 1932 - December 11, 2019) Bob was perhaps the best known and most iconic lifeguard in the United States. His contributions to water safety a...

One of the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) pioneers, David Robertson, has died. Robertson was 93 years old.NISCA posted this obituary on its site: Obituary for David H. Robertson 12/5/1925-11/18/2019 The swimming world lost a great teacher, innovator, and gentleman, when Da...

István Szívós, Jr, Water Polo Legend, Has Died April 24, 1948 - November 10, 2019 István Szívós, Jr. - whose father was a two-time Olympic champion (in 1952 and 1956) and whose son, Marton, was a world champion and 2012 Olympian - has died in Budapest. Szívós took part in four Olympic Games and won ...

George Breen, a four-time Olympic medalist between the 1956 Games in Melbourne and the 1960 Games in Rome, died on Nov. 9 after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 84. Breen is considered one of the finest distance freestylers in the history of United States Swimming and was inducted into the Interna...

Patty Elsener (Homan), an Olympic diving medalist, died on Sept. 29 at age 89. Elsener won the silver medal on platform in the 1948 Olympics, also winning the bronze medal on the 3-meter board. She is an honoree at the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). In the summer of 1947,...

Dr. Julian Stein passed away on Sunday, September 22, 2019. He was ISHOF’s 1999 John K. Williams Jr. Adaptive Aquatic Award Winner. Stein became known internationally for his contributions in the area of physical fitness for individuals with mental and physical disabilities. Devoted to his ...

Brian Job, a two-time United States Olympian and the bronze medalist in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, has died at the age of 67. A former standout at Stanford University and for the Santa Clara Swim Club under coach George Haines, Job was found dead on Aug. 14 at the G...

Robert Nash “Pete” Higgins, one of the most accomplished high school swim coaches in American history, passed away at the age of 86 yesterday in Atlanta. His list of championships and accolades is legendary in the sport and he is recognized as the father of competitive swimming in the state of Georg...

Mike Troy 1960 Olympian October 3, 1940 – August 3, 2019 [caption id="attachment_387527" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Photo Courtesy: ISHOF[/caption] Mike Troy picked up the dolphin butterfly stroke where Bill Yorzyk left off and it didn't take long for the swimming world to find out it would ta...

Written by Robert Keilleen Graham Johnston Passes Away Legendary Swimmer was 88. May 15, 1931 - July 27, 2019 The world lost legendary swimmer Graham Johnston at age 88. Graham was born on May 15, 1931 and raised in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He learned to swim at the age of 4 and loved it, and all...

Mike Higgs, Britain Olympic coach, mentor to Olympic medallist, World short-course and Commonwealth Sarah Hardcastle, Worlds medallist and Commonwealth champion Jackie Willmott, multiple world short-course champion and Commonwealth champion Mark Foster and generations of swimmers for the best part o...

Former Olympic and University of Michigan Coach Gus Stager died on Saturday at age 92. "The entire Michigan swimming and diving community sends its condolences to the family of former head coach Gus Stager, who passed away on Saturday," the University said in a statement. [caption id="attachment_378...

Charlie Schlegel, the legendary high school swim coach, died on June 30, 2019 as a result of complications from open heart surgery. He was 89. Coach Schlegel, during his 25 years at Plainview Old Bethpage High School from 1960-1985, built his teams into a mecca of competitive swimming excellence in...

2014 International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee Dale Petranech passed away Friday morning from pancreatic cancer. He was 84-years-old. Petranech was honored in May 2019 with the ISHOF Service Award, which is given to an individual who has selflessly volunteered their time, energy and/or resources ...

Former Duke Swimming and Diving captain Dr. Charles van der Horst passed away Friday at the age of 67. Van der Horst entered the 120-mile multi-day swimming race down the Hudson River and went missing during the second to last stage of the event. According to the New York Daily News, first responder...

Former Michigan State University men's swimming coach Richard Fetters passed away on Saturday, June 1, in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He was 98. Coach Fetters was born in South Bend, Indiana, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy during WW II.  He served in the Pacific Theater and piloted TBF Aven...

Puget Sound mourns the loss of Hall of Fame Swimming Coach Don Duncan, who passed away Friday (May 31) at the age of 89. Coach Duncan started his Puget Sound career in 1956 as a pool manager and swimming instructor. After just one year at Puget Sound, he became the head coach of the Loggers' first s...

Dennis Miller of FIJI -  FINA Vice President from Oceania Swimming - passed at his home in Australia after battling cancer. FINA will honor Dennis this Evening Friday, May 31, during the Opening Ceremonies of the FINA Champions Series in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is a difficult day for the FI...

Don Hill, a former Michigan national champion and United States Masters Swimming (USMS) champion has died. He died Thursday, May 23, and was 87. Hill, who married USA Olympic swimmer Jane Swagerty, toasted his life with champagne, alongside his family the night before he died, according to sources c...

1999 ISHOF Paragon Award winner Don Leas passed away Thursday morning, his family was able to confirm to Swimming World. "He had suffered from an aortic aneurism for several years and it finally caused his death." He was 82-years-old. Leas had been around the sport of diving since starting high scho...