Obituaries

Passages: Don Sammons, Long-Time University of Illinois Coach, 90 Don Sammons, the former head coach of the University of Illinois swimming and diving team, died on Nov. 24. He was 90 years of age. Sammons coached the Illinois men’s team from the 1971-72 through 1992-93. He was the head coach of the...

Skip Kenney, Stanford University’s iconic swim coach has died. According to sources, Kenney died on Sunday night at age 79 after a short time in hospice care. Kenney was one of the most successful college coaches of all time. He was also the head Olympic coach in 1996 in Atlanta and was an assistant...

Passages: Nachum Buch, First Israeli Olympic Swimmer, Age 89 Nachum Buch, the first swimmer to represent Israel at the Olympics, died on Nov. 7 in his home in Australia. He was 89 years of age. Buch was a pioneer for Israeli swimming, representing the young nation at its first Olympics in 1952. He w...

Remembering Dr. Bob Treffene – A man At The Heartbeat Of  Swimming  For Five Decades Dr. Bob Treffene, a pioneer in the often complex world of sports science, was “a one of a kind” who helped transform the world of swimming. Swimming in Australia, Great Britain and around the world is saddened this ...

The Stanford men's water polo program mourns the loss of legendary head coach Dante Dettamanti, who passed away on Oct. 25. Dettamanti was 80. "It's hard to imagine any other coach having such a profound impact on their athletes, colleagues and community," said The Dunlevie Family Director of Men's ...

Michael Phelps Announces Father Fred Phelps Has Died Olympic champion Michael Phelps announced the death of his father Fred Phelps on social media. "You’ll always be my dad… And I’ll always be your son… Love you dad and I will miss you❤️❤️ rip dad," Michael Phelps posted on Instagram. View this ...

Passages: Two-Time Australian Olympic Medalist Allan Wood Passes Away At 79 Australia has lost one of its unsung heroes from the 1960 and 1964 Olympic swim teams with the passing this week of Commonwealth Games freestyle gold medallist Allan Wood. Aged 79, Allan passed away peacefully at John Flynn ...

Passages: Joe Bernal, Coach of Olympians Banned for Life, Dies Joe Bernal, who coached Olympians and had a successful stint at Harvard University before being banned for life by USA Swimming in 2016, has died. Bernal’s death was confirmed by his family. Bernal founded Bernal’s Gator Swim Club in Bos...

Passages: Arthur Lambert, U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame Coach, 86 Arthur Lambert, the Hall of Fame coach of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team, died on Aug. 26. Lambert was 86 years old. He died from complications of Parkinson’s disease. On the international stage, he led Team USA to gold at the 1967 Pan Am ...

Passages: Dick Jochums, Renowned American Swimming Coach, 81 Dick Jochums, the revered swimming coach who mentored some of America’s greatest stars over several generations, died on Aug. 19. He was 81 years old. Jochums was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of the Cla...

Passages: Brenda Fisher, Famed English Channel Swimming Pioneer, 95 Brenda Fisher, who gained international renown in the 1950s for crossing the English Channel, died on Aug. 2. She was 95 years old. She suffered from complications of a stroke. In 1951, the 23-year-old won the Channel Race, crossing...

Passages: Lily Ernst, University of Northern Iowa Swimmer, Age 21 Lily Ernst, a swimmer at the University of Northern Iowa, passed away on July 27, the school announced. Ernst was 21 years old. No cause was disclosed. [caption id="attachment_509771" align="alignright" width="250"] Photo Courtesy: UN...

Legendary Announcer Sam Kendricks Passes Away: His Voice Will Be Missed Sam Kendricks, one of the main voices on deck at major swim meets in the United States over the last two decades, passed away Wednesday after a nine-month battle with Merkel Cell Carcinoma. Kendricks discovered the cancer in Sep...

Olympic gold medalist Bill Woolsey died Saturday at 87. He was a legend of the sport as a swimmer and later as a coach. In 1952, Helsinki Games, the Hawaiian native was part of the U.S. Olympic gold medal winning 4 x 200 meter relay team. He also competed in the 1500 freestyle that year. "He was sup...

Australian Olympic Swimmer, Lifesaver And Platinum Coach Gary Winram Passes Away Aged 85 Australia has lost one of its greatest ever swim-surf stars, 1956 Olympian and 1958 Commonwealth Games medallist, Gary Winram, who has passed away peacefully on the Sunshine Coast. Gary was 85. Winram went on to...

Passages: Dick Fadgen, NCAA Champion and Long-Time Swim Coach, 86 Richard Dennis “Dick” Fadgen, an NCAA champion and American record-holder before a long coaching career, died on May 7 at age 86. Born in Rhode Island, Fadgen made a long career in the South, as a distinguished swimmer at NC State, th...

Jim Puleo, who coached swimming at all levels, and all over the world, has died. He was the Panama Olympic swimming coach in 2000. Puleo died on Friday at age 67 after suffering a pulmonary edema, which led to cardiac arrest, following heart surgery on Tuesday, according to a news release. Jim Puleo...

Passages: Joan (Langdon) McLagan, Canadian Swimmer from 1936 Olympics, Age 99 Canadian Olympic swimmer Joan (Langdon) McLagan died on March 15 at age 99. She was one of only two surviving Olympians from the 1936 Berlin Games. The death was first reported by Olympedia via the Oldest Olympians project...

International Masters Swimming Hall of Famer Tom Maine, 96, of Carbondale, died on Sunday, Feb, 27, 2022, at the Cottages of Lake St. Louis. He swam to 27 FINA Masters World Records, though not starting his masters career until age 70. He was elected to the U.S. Masters Swimming Hall of Fame in 2016...

Passages: Azusa Pacific Sophomore Swimmer Sydney Benveniste Sydney Benveniste, a sophomore on Azusa Pacific’s women’s swimming and diving team, died this week. The university confirmed the death on Wednesday with a statement of condolences. No cause of death or confirmed date of Benveniste’s passing...