Shirley Babashoff - (Tag)

Swimming Siblings: When Two (or More) Members of One Family Achieved International Success When a child dives into summer league or club swimming for the first time, he or she often has familiar company with a sibling: a few years older, a few years younger or even a twin. When a swimmer reaches eli...

By Proteeti Sinha, Swimming World College Intern. We all can agree that swimming is the best sport in the world. We also know that many athletes enjoy reading as a way to enrich their minds and draw inspiration. What better way to engage with your favorite sport while motivating yourself to achieve ...

Without NCAA Action, the Effects of Lia Thomas Case Are Akin to Doping As the NCAA Board of Governors prepares to meet to discuss, among other topics, its policy regarding the inclusion of transgender athletes, Swimming World is re-running this column that was previously posted in response to the Li...

By Kaylie Williams, Swimming World College Intern. Swimming continues to be a cornerstone event of the Olympic Games. But have you ever stopped to think about how the sport has evolved to the cutting-edge competition we witness today? Who was the first nation to introduce competitive swimming? Who h...

Olympic Champions Among 2024 ISHOF Inductees — Watch Full Induction Ceremony The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) held its annual induction ceremony this weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., enshrining a series of accomplished aquatic performers and contributors. The list included three indi...

2016 is the 40th Anniversary of 1976 Olympics. The following article reflected on those games and the truth about that era.  It was first published January 9, 2007 and Swimming World wants to share some of those painful lessons with today's readers.  USA Swimming produced a documentary on the 1976 W...

It has been a long time since East Germany ruled the Olympic games with performance-enhancing drugs. The issue in swimming has been brought to the forefront as Shirley Babashoff and the 1976 women’s swim team in the documentary “The Last Gold.” The documentary tells the story of the swimmers affecte...

When American John Naber finally ended the nine-year reign of East German Roland Matthes on backstroke at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games and the two men, though poles apart on the geo-political map of the world, hugged in the way rivals who understand the value of mutual respect do, they could hard...

By Andy Ross, Swimming World College Intern The Rio Olympics are quickly approaching and the swimming community is buzzing with excitement. Swimmers under the age of 10 will be viewing their first Olympics and people around the world of sports will be paying attention to the sport. Ask any swimmer o...

By Kaylie Williams, Swimming World College Intern. A teammate will remember your personality, achievements, work ethic, and - if you're lucky enough to have one - a legacy. But what will you choose to do after your career is over? Will you continue that legacy to give back to the sport that gave you...

Through Jim Thorpe Decision, IOC Has Opened Door to Right Wrongs of East German Doping So, the door is ajar? Is that what the International Olympic Committee has suggested? Seems to be the case. A few days ago, in what can only be described as a terrific decision, the IOC declared American Jim Thorp...

Barrier Busters: Fierce Female Firsts In a sport that obsesses over milliseconds, time barriers matter. Most swimmers remember breaking a minute for the first time in the 100 free. What a rush! Then you move on to getting under that threshold in the other strokes. But many of swimming's greats have ...

FORT LAUDERDALE –Jack Nelson, who was a major force in coaching the American women to gold over the East Germans in the 400 free relay at the 1976 Olympics, passed away this morning from complications from Alzheimer’s disease at 82 years old. Though Nelson had a storied coaching career across four d...

Commentary by Brent T. Rutemiller. When I stepped into the pressroom there were only a few people in the room. At first I thought I came at the wrong time or perhaps the wrong room. I glanced around and saw three middle-aged blonde women chatting and goofing around in the back. It was Jill Sterkel, ...

Mark Schubert has accepted the position as the Associate Head Coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadores. For Schubert, his career will be coming full-circle as he returns to the post he thrived in for 13 years in the 1970s and 1980s. "My job description will be running the club. Bill and I have a great r...

With all the buzz over USA Swimming's Last Gold Documentary, Swimming World republished a rarely heard audio interview with Jack Nelson.  Nelson, was a major force in coaching the American women to gold over the East Germans in the 400 free relay at the 1976 Olympics.  He had a storied coaching care...

By Proteeti Sinha, Swimming World College Intern. While sprinters swim one, two or four lengths of the pool, distance swimmers often swim up to 30 lengths of the pool for one race. That’s a lot of swimming and a lot of staring at the black line. Even though it can sometimes get boring, distance swim...

After making history at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games by becoming the second woman in history to win the 200, 400, and 800 freestyle individual events five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky has been making the rounds visiting various media outlets. Ledecky's most recent appearance was on The Ell...

Mark Schubert Steps Down as Head Coach at Mission Viejo Nadadores Mark Schubert has been through the drill nearly a dozen times, perhaps more than any coach in swimming history. When an Olympic cycle culminates, there’s a rest and a re-evaluation before committing to the next four years. There’s a r...

New Book 'Unfair Play: The Battle For Women's Sport' is Released “This book is dedicated to my family, who’ve had to put up with my crusade for justice these last few years. “It’s also for the wonderful men and women who have taken on the abuse and fought alongside me for fair play, safety and the r...