A collection of photographic portraits and inspirational stories featuring 19 swimmers, some famous and some you've never heard of. But whether you have heard of them or not, after you read their stories, you will never forget them. While the obstacles confronted by each swimmer profiled in this book are individually unique, collectively these swimmers share uncommon traits and demonstrated extraordinary courage which enabled each to achieve their personal goals. The following are brief descriptions of the swimming experiences of the athletes who will be featured in Swimmers: Courage and Triumph Rich Abrahams. At 60 years old Rick swims faster than he did during the 1964 Olympic time trials. Rick is simply redefining the meaning of physical fitness after the age of 60. Melanie Benn. Melanie is a highly decorated US Paralympian who contracted bacterial meningitis as a college student resulting in the loss of her lower arms and legs. Greg Bonann. Greg has been a Los Angles County Lifeguard for more than 30 years and is also a Director and Executive Producer for the Baywatch television series. George Brunstad. On August 28, 2004 George became the oldest person to successfully swim the English Channel. George and his wife established the Center for Hope which is a charity benefiting the children of Haiti. Maritza Correia. In 2004 Maritza became the first African-American woman to be on the U.S. Olympic swim team and the first African-American woman ever to set an American record in swimming. Natalie Coughlin. At the 2004 Olympics, Natalie won five Olympic medals, tying for the most medals ever by a U.S. female athlete in one Games. Lynne Cox. In 1987 Lynne became the first and only person to swim across the Bering Strait, from the United States to Russia and helping to open the US Russian boarder. Dave Denniston. Dave was the 1999 NCAA Champion in the 200 breaststroke and member of the 2003 US World Championship team. On February 6th 2005 he was involved in a sledding accident in Wyoming that has left him without the use of his legs. Rowdy Gaines. In the 1980's Rowdy set 11 World Records and won Olympic gold medals. In August of 1991, at the age of 31, Gaines was inflicted with Guillan-Bare Syndrome. In 2008 he will be NBC's Olympic swimming commentator. Dawn Blue Gerken. Dawn overcame childhood lupus and aggressive chemotherapy treatments to become a 7 time All American swimmer and head swim coach at MIT. Jeff Keith. Jeff, who lost his leg to cancer as a young boy, founded the annual Swim Across the Sound event tot raise money for cancer treatment programs. Terry Laughlin. Masters swimmer Terry wrote the most successful book in swimming history. Total Immersion : The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier. Marcy MacDonald. In August 2001 she became the first American woman to successfully accomplish a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel. Mike Nyeholt. In 1981 Mike was a 3 time All American swimmer who became paralyzed from the chest down following a motorcycle accident. Mark Spitz. Perhaps the best known US Olympian of all time, in any sport. Christopher Swain. Christopher swam all 1234 miles of the Columbia River to raise awareness of the dislocated peoples and disrupted ecosystems of the Columbia River Basin. Jenny Thompson. Dr. Jenny is the most decorated US Olympian of all time. Noah White. Initially told he had no talent, Noah competed in the 2004 Olympic trails and in 2006 wasto be inducted into the Navy Athletes Hall of Fame. David Yudovin. David experienced cardiac arrest at the age of 27 during a marathon swim near Ventura CA. He has competed in dozens of marathon swims since.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Swimmers: Courage and Triumph captures the essence of what happens when the human spirit uses the element of water to overcome challenges, both mentally and physically, in order to break through boundaries set by the mind or body. This is a must read for anyone who is passionate about swimming. More importantly, this is a must read for anyone who needs inspiration to reach a life goal. The book inspires all readers to realize that all triumph originates with courage. The book does a fantastic job of detailing how each triumph has its place in history beginning with Mark Spitz's seven world records in the 1972 Olympic Games all the way to Lynne Cox's historical swim to Antarctica. Readers will enjoy learning about such people as Rich Abrahams who broke age barriers with his world record swims. Other stories such as the lives of David Yudovin who survived cardiac arrest and George Grunstad at age 70 who both went on to swim the English Channel are equally inspirational. Every reader will enjoy the stories shared in Swimmers: Courage and Triumph. I know I did." Brent Rutetmiller, Publisher of Swimming World Magazine --Book jacket / Swimming World Magazine
"Quick, where's my goggles? Halfway through these wonderful athlete profiles, I could stand it no more. I simply had to find the nearest pool and go for a swim! Each story is a motivator. Each voice remids us why we love this tough, honest sport of ours. If you take swimming seriously, you're ging to connect with these pages." PH. Mullen, author of Gold in the Water --Book jacket / Swimming World Magazine
"If you've ever wondered 'What is it about swimming that makes champions go through all that work and pain?' this book will provide the answer. I've been privileged to know many of the swimmers profiled herein, and I can honestly say, their stories are worth reading. Larry Thompson has assembled a fine collection of swimmers to profile in his book, Swimmers: Courage and Triumph and every swimming fan and reader will benefit from knowing their stories." John Naber, Olympic swimming champion, television announcer, author and motivational speaker "This book is a must read...It captures all the dimensions of the competitive spirit, the pain, the passion, the disappointments and the rewards. While seeking gold is often portrayed as the ultimate goal of the competitive sport the real value in seeking excellence, as told through the stories of individuals in this book, it is the process of daring to dream, to risk and to work hard without any guarantees." Donna de Varona, Olympic swimming champion, broadcast journalist, author and motivational speaker --book jacket / Swimming World Magazine
"Quick, where's my goggles? Halfway through these wonderful athlete profiles, I could stand it no more. I simply had to find the nearest pool and go for a swim! Each story is a motivator. Each voice remids us why we love this tough, honest sport of ours. If you take swimming seriously, you're ging to connect with these pages." PH. Mullen, author of Gold in the Water --Book jacket / Swimming World Magazine
"If you've ever wondered 'What is it about swimming that makes champions go through all that work and pain?' this book will provide the answer. I've been privileged to know many of the swimmers profiled herein, and I can honestly say, their stories are worth reading. Larry Thompson has assembled a fine collection of swimmers to profile in his book, Swimmers: Courage and Triumph and every swimming fan and reader will benefit from knowing their stories." John Naber, Olympic swimming champion, television announcer, author and motivational speaker "This book is a must read...It captures all the dimensions of the competitive spirit, the pain, the passion, the disappointments and the rewards. While seeking gold is often portrayed as the ultimate goal of the competitive sport the real value in seeking excellence, as told through the stories of individuals in this book, it is the process of daring to dream, to risk and to work hard without any guarantees." Donna de Varona, Olympic swimming champion, broadcast journalist, author and motivational speaker --book jacket / Swimming World Magazine
About the Author
John Lohn is a sports journalist for the Delaware County Daily Times, located just ouside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of La Salle University. He handles collegiate, scholastic and Olympic sport coverage for the newspaper and is the senior Olympic reporter for Swimming World Magazine. Kary Lydersen is a staff writer for The Washington Post out of the Midwest bureau in Chicago. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism in 1997 and where she was a member of the swim team. She also freelances for Swimming World Magazine and various publications and is a youth journalism instructor and professor at Columbia College. Jeremy Shweder is the former editor of MetroSports New York and MetroSports Washington magazine and has written hundreds of articles about endurance sports and about athletes of all shapes, sizes and speeds. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College where he was a nationally ranked tennis player, and he also earned a graduate degree from Northwestern University School of Journalism. He currently lives in New York City and studies law. Larry Thompson is the photographer and editor of the book. Although never a competitive swimmer, Larry has long been captivated by the purity of the sport and the character of those who make it great. Larry lives in Connecticut with his family. Bill Volckening is the United States Masters Swimming (USMS) National Publication Editor of SWIMER Magazine. Before participating in the creation of SWIMMER, Volckening worked for five years as USMS Editor of SWIM Magazine with noted swimming journalist Phil Whitten. Volckening has written hundres of articles for publications including SWIM Magazine, Swimming World Magazine, Swimming Technique, Fitness Swimmer, and Triathlete magazine. He also contributed to the book "It's Never to Late" by Gail Kislevitz, and served for two years as a special web correspondent for USA Swimming. Volckening is the recipient of the 1999 USMS Newsletter of the Year Award, the 2000 and 2002 USMA Fitness Award, the 2001 Dorothy Donnelly USMS Service Award and the inaugural Phillip Whitten Pioneer Award for Journalism. Phillip Whitten served as editor and Chief Media Officer for Swimming World Magazine for nearly 20 years. He is the author of The Complete Book of Swimming (Random House) and is the author or coauthor of eighteen books and over one hundred major articles on a wide variety of topics. He has lectured throughout the United States and several foreign countries on swimming and on fitness, health and the aging process. He has published pioneering studies on exercise, aging, sexuality and on the effects of exercise in forestalling biological and psychological aging. Dr. Whitten is acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on swimming. He is also a top Masters swimmer, having set several national and world records. An athropologist and gerontologist, Whitten earned an interdisciplinary doctorate for Harvard University and has taught at Harvard University, Bentley College and Endicott College.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
can't argue w/sam's results, but you can argue his technique,
By elshafto@hotmail.com (monroe, louisiana) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Swimmers: Courage and Triumph (Paperback)
a general quide to training sprinters (usually college level)... the two best things within are his inspiring stories about his athletes, and the constant emphasis he places upon 'hammer down' full-bore sprinting in workouts throughout the book... in general, sam's methods are worth repeating, although a few outdated technical points must be altered... his interesting dryland methodologies are worth revision by any coach for total, or limited incorporation into any program... i gave it four stars (out of five) due to technique errors, but would recommend this book to anyone in terms of training 'jet-fuel' sprinters... dedicated middle distance swimmers shouldn't neglect speed work either... look for sam coaching at u. of hawaii...
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very entertaining and motivating book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Swimmers: Courage and Triumph (Paperback)
I was surprised at the content of Sam's book... I thought it was going to be mostly tutorial, but there was a lot more to it! The personal stories and bios about his swimmers were inspirational and entertaining. (especially for a swimming book!) This book is a motivator and may help many coaches pay attention to important aspects of coaching, not just in the pool (i.e. mentality). Sam is a great coach and after reading this book, it is easy to see why.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
sam is the man,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Swimmers: Courage and Triumph (Paperback)
A great read with a lot of useful info for swim coaches. I support Sam and his techniques because his success cannot be denied. He is the man. buy the book.
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