Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Bruce Wigo, President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, added to the global tributes that are being expressed about International Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Open Water Swimmer David Yudovin who unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack over the weekend.
“David was one of the most remarkable solo open water swimmers in history and was enshrined into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in September of 2014.
David’s achievements in the water speak for themselves. But David was not only a remarkable athlete, he was a remarkable person who will be missed by all of us at the ISHOF and the entire swimming community.”
While Yudovin was in the midst of training for his next swim, he presented a plan of action to improve the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and was appointed to revamp the organization.
“His passing leaves so much at both halls of fame in a state of flux for David’s energy, enthusiasm, leadership skills and personality are truly irreplaceable in one person. For now, our thoughts are with Beth and David’s family and many friends around the world and we look forward to preserving his legacy and continuing what he has started.”
Yudovin was one of one of the smallest communities in the aquatic world – dual inductees in two separate Halls of Fame: the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
The crème de la crème of the swimming world are honored as dual inductees. The elite group includes the following individuals:
1. Captain Matthew Webb (Great Britain), 1963 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1965 ISHOF Honor Swimmer
2. Gertrude Ederle, 1963 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and1965 ISHOF Honor Swimmer
3. Greta Andersen, 1964 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1969 ISHOF Honor Swimmer
4. Cavill Family (Australia), 1967 IMSHOF Honour Swimmers and 1970 ISHOF Honor Contributors
5. Florence Chadwick, 1966 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1970 ISHOF Honor Swimmer
6. Lynne Cox, 1982 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2000 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
7. Annette Kellerman, 1965 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1974 ISHOF Honor Contributor
8. William Forest “Buck” Dawson, 1993 IMSHOF Honour Contributor and 1986 ISHOF Honor Contributor
9. John Kinsella, 1978 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1986 ISHOF Honor Swimmer
10. Penny Lee Dean, 1980 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1996 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
11. Abdul Latif Abou Heif, 1964 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1998 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
12. Gerald Forsberg, 1965 IMSHOF Honour Administrator and 1988 ISHOF Honor Pioneer Open Water Contributor
13. Horacio Iglesias, 1968 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2003 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
14. Cynthia Nicholas, 1978 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2005 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
15. Alison Streeter MBE, 1985 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2006 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
16. Shelley Taylor-Smith, 1989 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2008 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
17. Herman Willemse (Netherlands), 1963 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2008 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
18. Kevin Murphy (Great Britain), 1977 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2009 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
19. Paul Asmuth (USA), 1982 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2010 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
20. Michael P. Read MBE, 1978 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2011 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
21. Chad Hundeby, 1996 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2012 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
22. Cliff Lumsdon (Canada), 1969 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2013 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
23. Mercedes Gleitze, 1969 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2013 ISHOF Honor Pioneer Open Water Swimmer
24. Sandra Bucha, 2014 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2014 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
25. Judith van Berkel-de Njis, 1964 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2014 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
26. Jon Erikson, 1981 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2014 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
27. David Yudovin, 1999 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2014 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
28. George Young, 1963 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2014 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
29. Dale Petranech, 1995 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2014 ISHOF Honor Contributor
30. Claudio Plit (Argentina), 1981 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2014 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
31. Irene van der Laan (Netherlands), 1985 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 2015 ISHOF Honor Open Water Swimmer
32. Donald Watson (USA), 2013 IMSHOF Honour Administrator and 2015 ISHOF Honor Coach
33. James “Doc” Counsilman, 1981 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1976 ISHOF Honor Coach
34. Drury Gallagher, 2010 IMSHOF Honour Administrator and 2012 International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Administrator
35. Jim Moran, 1985 IMSHOF Honour Administrator and 1995 ISHOF Gold Medallion Award
36. Keo Nakama, 1967 IMSHOF Honour Swimmer and 1975 ISHOF Honor Swimmer
37. Johnny Weissmuller, 1970 IMSHOF Honor Administrator and 1965 ISHOF Honor Swimmer
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