{"id":481809,"date":"2021-07-19T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T17:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=481809"},"modified":"2021-07-19T10:17:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T17:17:00","slug":"ymca-announces-adolph-kiefer-ymca-youth-character-award-winners-alexa-petrie-marshall-lochridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ymca-announces-adolph-kiefer-ymca-youth-character-award-winners-alexa-petrie-marshall-lochridge\/","title":{"rendered":"YMCA Announces Adolph Kiefer YMCA Youth Character Award Winners: Alexa Petrie, Marshall Lochridge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, as part of the Y\u2019s commitment to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) and the Adolph Kiefer family selects<\/span> two individuals from submitted candidates to receive the Adolph Kiefer YMCA Youth Character Award.<\/p>\n

The scholarship resulted from the establishment of the Adolph Kiefer Memorial Fund, made possible by the generosity of the Kiefer Family. Adolph Kiefer<\/strong> is a legend in the history of the swimming. He first fell in love with the water at Chicago\u2019s Wilson YMCA, where he learned to swim. The 1936 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter backstroke lost only one time in over 2,000 races, making him one of the most successful swimmers of all time. Some of his most enduring gifts to swimming came in the form of technological advancements. He is the owner of 14 U.S. patents, including the first kickboard, non-turbulent racing lane lines and the nylon swimsuit!<\/p>\n

Each year, the award recognizes one male and one female for their excellence in academic achievement, demonstration of the YMCA core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility as well as their commitment to strengthening their community through participation in the YMCA competitive swimming program.\u00a0 The selected individuals will each be granted $2,500, to be issued directly to their respective institutions for higher learning for the 2021-2022 academic year.<\/p>\n

The YMCA and the Adolph Kiefer Family are honored to announce that Alexa Petrie<\/strong> and Marshall Lochridge<\/strong> were selected as this year\u2019s recipients of the 2021 award.\u00a0 Ryan Held offered college advice to the two Adolph Kiefer Youth Character Award winners as they head off to their respective schools in the fall. See the presentation session here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ryan Held<\/strong>\u00a0is the Adolph Kiefer Ambassador, designated by the\u00a0International Swimming Hall of Fame<\/a>\u00a0to honor the memory of\u00a0Adolph Kiefer,<\/strong>\u00a0and recognize his long association with the YMCA.\u00a0 Like Adolph Kiefer, Ryan is a USA Olympic Gold Medalist. Ryan is also the only YMCA National Champion to have won an\u00a0Olympic Gold Medal<\/a>, earning gold in the 2016 Olympics as a member of the 4 x 100m freestyle relay.<\/p>\n

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2021 Award Recipients: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n