Tonight, the Aquatic Capital of America Hall of Fame ceremonies were held in the Long Beach Yacht Club where a slew of aquatic athletes – from the rowing, sailing, pool swimming, open water swimming, diving, and water polo communities – gathered in the City of Long Beach where 11 different Olympic sports will be contested during the LA28 Olympics.

Hosted by 5-time Olympic medalist John Naber, each person mentioned how the City of Long Beach and its aquatic community touched them during and after their careers:

2026 ACOA Hall of Fame Inductees and Honorees

• Stesha Carle, 2026 Hall of Fame inductee for rowing, a 6-time world championship athlete with 1 gold, 3 silvers, 4th and 5th. “I feel so grateful for being brought up and lived in Long Beach.”
• Howard Hamlin, 2026 Hall of Fame inductee for sailing, silver at the 2026 World Championships at the age of 73 and winner of numerous North American, French, and British Championships. “So many great guys to sail with – and I am getting better as I get older.“
• Cathy Ferguson, 2026 Hall of Fame inductee for pool swimming for 2 Olympic gold medals with 5 world records. “Women have come a long way since we had to practice without goggles and lane lines and coached the first year that college swimming scholarships were made available. I used to have to sell donuts to raise money to go to the national championships.”
• Rich Foster, 2026 Hall of Fame inductee for aquatics who co-founded the Aquatic Capital of America and former USA Water Polo president. “Women’s water polo did not receive funding back in the 1990s. I supported a motion to support women and get it funded by the US Olympic Committee, but the bias against women at the international level was even greater. There was not support at the international level, but we finally got women’s water polo into the Olympics.”
• Lucas Jue, High School Achievement Award who broke the school record held by Olympic silver medalist and multiple world record holder Tim Shaw, 51 years ago
• Jon McMullen, Outstanding Achievement Award for his Catalina Channel crossing in 13 hours 53 minutes. “Thank you everyone who helped me across the channel. In the middle of the night, I was looking up at the stars and swimming above thousands of feet of water below me.”
• Stephanie McGee, Outstanding Achievement Award for her Catalina Channel crossing in 9 hours 40 minutes. “I love being in the dark in the middle of the night. Dark swimming is incredibly peaceful.”
• Brandon Samaniego, Outstanding Achievement Award for his Catalina Channel crossing in 9 hours 22 minutes. “Being able to swim together with everyone was incredible. I am still shell-shocked to this day, swimming tandem with Hank Wise.”
• Savannah Plaskon, Outstanding Achievement Award for her master’s world record 50m butterfly. “I was able to train 15 hours per week while doing my PhD dissertation. Thanks for my professors. The best times are with my newly found family at Long Beach Grunions and my friends at the University of California Irvine.“
• Long Beach Grunions, Organization of the Year that was also the 2026 US Masters Swimming Club of the Year. “We are over 200 members, everything run by volunteers, we work with the Special Olympics, kicked off water polo, do beach clean-ups.”
• Kristin Barth Kredell, Coach of the Year. “I try to create a positive environment for all the athletes, with sports and their lives. It is not about me, it is about this community. We need to keep inspiring the young people of this community,” said the daughter of the local coaching legend Klaus Barth.
• Bill Eldon, Lenny Arkinstall Community Service Award. “I cannot say no – and volunteered for many things after our children started rowing.“
• Adam Alexander Lucero Luco, Tom Shadden Citizen of the Year. “I started swimming 4 years ago and swimming has changed my life. I love waking up every day and being part of the water. Swimming has been a great gift in my life.“
• Steven Munatones, Masters Athlete of the Year. “I have written over 22,000 articles about open water swimming over the course of my career, but my very first article was about the Naples Island Swim, right here in Long Beach.”
• Keith Ives, Dick Miller Water of the Year
• Hank Wise, Athlete of the Year for completing 3 Catalina Channel crossings this summer. “If you are having fun, and I had fun the first time, so I decided to do it again. Early to bed, early to rise, cap on your head and goggles on your eyes. We have to have grit and gratitude, especially in the endless mode. Crossing #11 was my longest swim of my career.“

For more information, visit www.theaquaticcapital.org.

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

World Open Water Swimming Federation, a human-powered project