{"id":422815,"date":"2022-10-09T06:25:35","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T13:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=422815"},"modified":"2022-10-09T09:21:02","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T16:21:02","slug":"craig-beardsley-belonged-in-moscow-he-belongs-in-the-hall-of-fame-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/craig-beardsley-belonged-in-moscow-he-belongs-in-the-hall-of-fame-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Hall of Fame Week: Craig Beardsley Belonged at the Olympic Games; At Least Now, Hall of Fame Induction Awaits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Craig Beardsley Belonged at the Olympic Games; At Least Now, Hall of Fame Induction Awaits<\/strong><\/p>\n

In less than a week, former American star Craig Beardsley will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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His contemporaries received their due. Rowdy Gaines<\/strong>. Tracy Caulkins<\/strong>. Mary T. Meagher<\/strong>. Their inductions into the International Swimming Hall of Fame<\/strong><\/a> arrived at different points in the 1990s, celebrations of the vast success they enjoyed in the pool. Their enshrinements, too, hailed their perseverance, all having endured the United States boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games<\/a> in Moscow to eventually claim gold at a home Olympiad in 1984.<\/p>\n

Craig Beardsley<\/strong> was not as fortunate.<\/p>\n

History views Beardsley as an American great in the 200-meter butterfly. He was preceded by Carl Robie<\/strong>, Mark Spitz<\/strong> and Mike<\/strong> Bruner<\/strong>. He was followed by Mel Stewart<\/strong>, Tom Malchow<\/strong> and Michael Phelps<\/strong>. But Beardsley is missing the Olympic gold medal they all possess, and by no fault of his own. He was a victim of circumstance and political turmoil.<\/p>\n

At the height of his career, like many of his United States teammates, Beardsley was poised to capture gold in the 200 fly at the 1980 Games. He was the Pan American champion in 1979, earning him favorite status for Moscow. But when President Jimmy Carter<\/strong> announced the United States would boycott the Olympiad, Beardsley\u2019s dream was crushed.<\/p>\n

His nightmare only grew darker four years later, when in pursuit of redemption, Beardsley placed third in his prime event at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The finish locked him out of a trip to Los Angeles and led him into retirement. It was also the first year in which nations were limited to two athletes per event, rather than three.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lesson I learned from that was actually a very good life lesson,\u201d Beardsley once said of his boycott ordeal. \u201cSometimes, you do everything in your power, you do everything you\u2019re supposed to do, but sometimes things are just out of your control. You\u2019ve got to learn to put that behind you, let it roll off your shoulders, and just move on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even without an Olympic appearance and hardware, Beardsley constructed a career portfolio that was Hall of Fame-worthy.<\/p>\n