{"id":480719,"date":"2021-07-05T04:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=480719"},"modified":"2021-07-04T19:46:07","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T02:46:07","slug":"swimming-world-presents-takeoff-to-tokyo-iconic-moments-in-olympic-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-takeoff-to-tokyo-iconic-moments-in-olympic-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents – Takeoff To Tokyo: Iconic Moments In Olympic History"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest issue o<\/span>f Swimming<\/em> World Magazine<\/em><\/span>
\nis now available for download in the<\/span> Swimming World Vault<\/span><\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n

Non-Subscribers Can Download This Issue Here<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

Takeoff To Tokyo: Iconic Moments In Olympic History<\/span><\/h1>\n

By John Lohn
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In October of 2019, nearly a year prior to the original date of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Swimming World designed a series that would pay homage to the history of the sport on its biggest stage.<\/p>\n

Dubbed \u201cTakeoff to Tokyo,\u201d the series would feature some of the most-intriguing storylines from the more than 100 years of the Games.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, plans do not go according to plan, and when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and forced a one-year delay of the Olympics, \u201cTakeoff to Tokyo\u201d saw its life expectancy extended. The series ultimately grew into nearly a two-year endeavor, one that featured pieces on legendary figures, epic races and dark moments. Now, with the Olympics set to take place, it is time to say farewell to this project.<\/p>\n

For our final installment, we offer a look (in chronological order) at some of the most prominent moments in Olympic lore. While some of these entries have been explored in deeper profiles during the series, several are new additions to the TTT vault.<\/p>\n

We hope you enjoy this final chapter, and what has come before.<\/p>\n

THE INAUGURAL CHAMP (1896)<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn 1896, when the Modern Games debuted in Athens, Hungarian Alfred Hajos earned a distinction that will never be removed: First swimming champion. Jumpstarting what has been a rich history for Hungary in Olympic waters, Hajos captured gold in the 100 meter freestyle, a title that was later complemented by another gold medal in the 1200 freestyle. (It wasn\u2019t until 1908 that the event was contested over 1500 meters.)
\nIn the more than a century that has elapsed since Hajos raced to victory in the Mediterranean Sea, Hungary has produced legends such as Tamas Darnyi, Krisztina Egerszegi and Katinka Hosszu. But Hajos will always be his nation\u2019s first Olympic champ and viewed as the athlete who set the stage for future success.<\/p>\n

THE FIRST LADY (1912)<\/strong><\/span>
\nSixteen years after the Olympic Games were first held in their modern form, women competed in the sport of swimming at the 1912 Games in Stockholm. There, Australian Fanny Durack etched her name in the history books when she won the 100 freestyle and opened the door for fellow female athletes to show their skills.
\nThis summer in Tokyo, 109 years after Durack broke a gender barrier, the swimming schedule at the Olympics will be identical for men and women.<\/p>\n

THE BREAK OF DAWN (1956, 1960, 1964)<\/strong><\/span>
\nAt the 1964 Olympics, Australia\u2019s Dawn Fraser was already a legend, having won the 100 freestyle at back-to-back Games in 1956 and 1960. The sprint star, however, elevated her status even further in Tokyo, as she secured a third consecutive gold medal in the 100 free, this achievement despite Fraser nursing a neck injury from a car accident several months earlier that also claimed the life of her mother.<\/p>\n

Fraser remained the only member of the three-peat club until 1996, when Hungarian Krisztina Egerszegi won her third straight Olympic crown in the 200 backstroke. Michael Phelps finally gave the male gender inclusion at the 2012 Olympics, when he three-peated in both the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Four years later, at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Phelps made it four in a row in the 200 medley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put myself under a lot of pressure by deciding to go to Tokyo, and I also put myself under a lot of pressure to compete in the same event in three Olympics,\u201d Fraser said. \u201cI had, at the back of my mind, that this was for my mother because we were saving up for my mother to go to Tokyo with me. I just imagined that she was there and that I was doing it for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

FREESTYLE QUEEN (1968)<\/span><\/strong>
\nSo much is made of what Katie Ledecky has accomplished, and rightfully so. A case can be made for Ledecky as the finest female swimmer in history, and her gold-medal trifecta at the 2016 Olympics might be the best evidence for that claim. But before Ledecky came along, American teenager Debbie Meyer provided targets for all to chase.<\/p>\n

At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Meyer won the 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle and 800 freestyle. It is tough enough to pull off three wins in a single Olympiad, but Meyer also had to overcome asthma while racing at high altitude. More than a half-century later, Meyer\u2019s trifecta is still revered, and can be considered a motivational force as Ledecky replicated the feat at the 2016 Games.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTo read more historic moments in Olympic history,
\nClick here to download the full issue of Swimming World July 2021, available now!<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Swimming<\/a>[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


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 <\/p>\n

FEATURES<\/p>\n

010 | TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES: READY FOR IMPACT<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Dan D\u2019Addona, Matthew De George, John Lohn, David Rieder and Andy Ross<\/strong>
\nAs the United States was still selecting its Olympic swimming team in mid-June, most countries had already decided who would be competing at the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed Olympic Games this summer. Here are profiles of 10 swimmers from around the world who have been preparing to make an impact in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

022 | TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: ICONIC MOMENTS IN OLYMPIC HISTORY<\/strong><\/span>
\nby John Lohn<\/strong>
\nIn October of 2019, nearly a year prior to the original date of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Swimming World designed a series that would pay homage to the history of the sport on its biggest stage. For our final installment of \u201cTakeoff to Tokyo,\u201d we offer a look at some of the most prominent moments in Olympic lore.<\/p>\n

026 | AS GOOD AS IT GETS<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Dan D\u2019Addona<\/strong>
\nIn our Olympic preview of artistic swimming, Swimming World notes that Russia is a perfect 10-for-10, winning every Olympic gold medal possible\u2014duet and team\u2014since the turn of the century. Led by Svetlana Romashina and Svetlana Kolesnichenko, Russia will be tough to beat next month, Aug. 2-7, in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

COACHING<\/p>\n

20 | SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: MAXIMIZING SWIMMING VELOCITY (Part 3)\u2014MINIMIZING THE ARM ENTRY PHASE TIME IN FREESTYLE AND BUTTERFLY<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Rod Havriluk<\/strong>
\nThe non-propulsive time in a stroke cycle consists of the time for the entry phase and the recovery phase. This article presents strategies to minimize the entry phase time for freestyle and butterfly so that a swimmer can decrease stroke cycle time, increase stroke rate and increase swimming velocity.<\/p>\n

040 | A COACHES\u2019 GUIDE TO ENERGY SYSTEMS (Part 2)<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong>
\nLast month, Swimming World explored the concept of energy systems and how coaches can use them to maximize athlete development and performance. In Part 2, we examine how one incorporates his understanding of energy systems into a seasonal training plan.<\/p>\n

042 | Q&A WITH COACH SID CASSIDY<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

043 | HOW THEY TRAIN MEGAN MORONEY AND ASPEN GERSPER<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

TRAINING<\/p>\n

019 | DRYSIDE TRAINING: SUMMER SPEED<\/strong><\/span>
\nby J.R. Rosania<\/strong><\/p>\n

JUNIOR SWIMMER<\/p>\n

45 | UP & COMERS: KAYLA HAN<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Shoshanna Rutemiller<\/strong><\/p>\n

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS<\/p>\n

008 | A VOICE FOR THE SPORT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

018 | THE OFFICIAL WORD<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

027 | 2021 AQUATIC DIRECTORY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

046 | GUTTERTALK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

047 | PARTING SHOT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n