The Week That Was: Former USA Swimming President Jim Wood Passes Away At 68

Photo Courtesy: Kalina DiMarco

The first week of the new year saw the loss of one of USA Swimming’s most influential figures, Coach Jim Wood. Read about the legacy that Coach Wood has left and catch up on what else is happening in the new year below in the week that was.

The Week That Was #5 – TYR Pro Series Kicks Off This Week In Knoxville

allan jones-pool-tennessee — Photo Courtesy: Tennessee Aquatics

The first stop of the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series will feature some of the biggest names in the United States, with the top national team swimmers and the top junior team swimmers in attendance including big names like Katie Ledecky, Chase Kalisz, Kelsi Dahlia, and Kathleen Baker. If you want to see how stacked (like, really stacked) the lineup for the first Pro Series meet of 2019 is, check out the 5 (plus 2!) races that you shouldn’t miss from the upcoming meet here. You can see the full psych sheet for the meet here.

The Week That Was #4 – WADA Releases Prohibited Substance List For 2019

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced its 2019 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods. The list was initially published back in September of 2018, but officially went into effect as of January 1. The List, which is one of six International Standards that are mandatory for all Signatories of the World Anti-Doping Code, designates what substances and methods are prohibited both in- and out-of-competition, and which substances are banned in particular sports. You can see the major changes on the list from the 2018 version here.

The Week That Was #3 – Grant Shoults Undergoes Successful Shoulder Surgery

grant-shoults-mesa-2016-prelims — Photo Courtesy: Kara Sekenski

Stanford’s Grant Shoults revealed on social media that he has undergone successful shoulder surgery to treat chronic pain. The junior has been a member of the Stanford Cardinal since 2016 and has been a key piece of their middle distance and distance crew, two winning Pac-12 titles in the 500 free and finishing fourth in the same event twice at NCAAs. Shoults was also a member of the Pan Pacs team for the United States this summer after finishing second in the 400 free at Summer Nationals. He ultimately finished fourth in Tokyo, qualifying for next summer’s World Championships team. You can see Shoult’s announcement on social media here.

The Week That Was #2 – Erica Sullivan Deferring USC Enrollment To After 2020 Olympics

National team member Erica Sullivan announced shortly before the new year that she would be deferring her enrollment to USC until after the 2020 Olympics Games. The 18-year-old had committed to USC back in June 2017, and was intending to join the team officially starting January of 2019. However, she has decided to postpone joining the team even further past the 2020 Games. Sullivan is coming off of a breakout year where she made the United States Pan Pac team and finished just outside of the medals in the distance free and open water events in Tokyo. She also recently competed at the King Marlin Pro-Am Classic in Lewisville, Texas, where she posted a 15:36.52 in the 1650 and 9:17.32 in the 1000, which would rank her number one in Division I at this point in the year.

The Week That Was #1 – Former USA Swimming President Jim Wood Passes Away At 68

Former USA Swimming President Jim Wood passed away this week, leaving behind a huge legacy in American swimming. He was the Chairman of the USA Swimming Olympic International Operations Committee from 1992-2004 and was a member of the USA Swimming delegation for the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympic Games. He was elected as the first ever swim coach to become President of USA Swimming in 2006 and 4 years later he was elected to serve as President of United States Aquatic Sports. Wood was also inducted in the ASCA Hall of Fame in 2011 and in 2015 was voted as one of the “30 Most Influential People in Swimming Over the Past 30 Years.” Wood was 68 years old. You can read more about his legacy here and here.

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Crystal Sadler

5 years ago

So young and so sad! My prayers go out to his family, friends, and the whole swimming community.

Eileen Ryan Kurtz

5 years ago

Any of us who were lucky enough to swim for or work with Jim are better people for the experience. RIP Coach! ❤