Obituaries

John Conner, a member of the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame, passed away this past Saturday at the age of 91. Born on November 5, 1929 in Weir, W.Va., Conner twice earned All-America honors as a diver at Duke in 1949 and 1950.  He was a three-time Southern Conference champion (1949-50-51) and posted to...

Heydar Shonjani, who represented Iran at the Olympics as a swimmer and a water polo, died Sunday. He was 74 years old. Shonjani was the first Iranian swimmer at the Olympics, participating in the men’s 100-meter freestyle at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He transitioned to a career in water polo, helping...

Sara (Barber) Jenkins, who represented Canada at two Olympic Games, passed away on Oct. 22 due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 79 years old. Jenkins competed for Canada in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. She was just 15 years old when she qualified for the Melbourne Olympics, where she ...

Tributes Flow For Don Talbot - Coaching Icon Leaves Lifetime Legacy For Swimming In Australia Tributes have poured into Swimming Australia following the passing of one of Australia’s greatest ever sporting coaches with the death yesterday of legendary former National Head Coach Don Talbot, AO, OBE. ...

Frank Legacki passed away on October 16, 2020 at the age of 81 years. The cause of death was Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Frank had an amazing life. He lived an active, interesting life, certainly a life with a great deal of panache. He gave as much, if not more than was given to him in life. Rest as...

Navy Athletics is mourning the passing of Lee Lawrence, who was a member of the men’s swimming coaching staff for 36 years and also served as instructor in the USNA physical education department.  Lawrence passed away this weekend in Florida. Service information for Lawrence, age 82, has not been an...

Charley Siroky, a standout at the University of Arizona who swam on national teams and medaled in international competition in the 1980s, died at the age of 56. He died unexpectedly on Sept. 17, but his family announced his passing this week head of a memorial scheduled for Oct. 17. Siroky was one o...

University of Michigan swimmer, and former Michigan high school state champion, Ian Miskelley died unexpectedly on Monday. He was 19. "The University of Michigan swimming and diving program is deeply saddened to report that men's swimmer Ian Miskelley passed away on Monday," Michigan swimming releas...

18-year-old high school senior Jakob Mumper out of Bloomington North High School in Indiana was shot and killed in an apparent murder-suicide by his father, 61-year-old Jeff Mumper, according to a report from WTHR in Indianapolis. Police believe that early Sunday inside the family’s home, the 61-yea...

Andy Burke, a long-time administrator for water polo who served on numerous U.S. and international committees, passed away last Friday at the age of 91. For his efforts on behalf of American water polo, in 2018 Burke was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) for his substanti...

Scott Allen Sherwood, 48, of East Lansing, Michigan, passed away on August 3, 2020, at Waipahu, Hawaii. He was born February 19, 1972, in Lansing, Michigan. He served and worked at the Hawaii Swim Club, Oahu, coaching kids to the Olympics and National level, earning multiple collegiate scholarships...

Barry Watson, who held the record for the fastest English Channel crossing from 1964 to 1977, died this week at age 81. A native of Crossflatts, West Yorkshire, Watson swam the channel in 1964 at age 26. His time of nine hours, 35 minutes to cover the 21 miles from England to France held for nearly ...

Charles "Charlie" Arnold, former head coach of the James Madison University men's swimming and diving program, died on Monday, Aug. 10, in nearby Penn Laird. He was 93. The school announced his death on Tuesday. Arnold joined JMU Athletics in the fall of 1973, becoming the first head coach for the m...

Passages: Sholto's Fierce Fighting Spirit Lives On As McKeown Sisters Honour Their Late Father No matter where Australia’s swimming sister act, Taylor and Kaylee McKeown swim next they will carry with them the inspiration and fighting spirit of their greatest fan – their Dad, Sholto who sadly lost h...

Jean Hurring (nee Stewart), who won bronze in the women’s 100 backstroke at the 1952 Olympics and competed at the 1956 Games, died Sunday in her native New Zealand. She was 89 years old. Hurring, competed then under her maiden name Jean Stewart, won bronze in the 100 back in Helsinki, finishing behi...

Legendary swim coach Gennadi Touretski passed away on Friday at his home in Switzerland, according to a report from the Russian Swimming Newsletter. Touretski was 71 and suffered a fatal stroke. [caption id="attachment_443202" align="alignleft" width="259"] Photo Courtesy: Darrin Braybrook / Swimmin...

Mimi Jones, an activist who was appeared in an infamous 1964 photograph that played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement, died this week at age 73. As a teenager who grew up in Georgia, Jones took part in various demonstrations as part of the Civil Rights Movement, including the 1963 March on Was...

Kieth Pike, who’s served as a swimming official in Southern California for more than half a century, died on July 19. Pike started officiating high school meets in 1962 and continued until 2017, a 56-season tenure. The Westminster, Calif., resident worked CIF Southern Section swimming championships,...

Benny Liang was always in involved in swimming. He was a college swimmer, later a coach — even an intern at Swimming World. Liang was an intern at Swimming World in 2017, writing several articles for this publication. Most recently a part-time swimming coach at Carmel Swim Club, Liang ...

Dan Flannery, the longtime Ames High School swimming coach, died on Tuesday, the school district announced. “Dan was Ames High Pride. He loved our students, our high school, and our community. This is a huge loss for not only our school community, but the swimming community in Ames and across Iowa,”...