The 58th International Swimming Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2023 will be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 30th.
Stéphane Lecat of France (shown below in his competitive heyday) and Elaine K. Howley of the USA are the only open water swimmers among all the honorees.
The timing of Lecat’s induction could not be better with the first point-to-point Olympic 10K Marathon Swim held at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lecat has been a visionary and profound leader of the open water swimming world, especially within France. His reach and influence has been felt at mass participation events within France and elite competitions around the world.
Elaine Howley will be honored with the Buck Dawson Author Award for her book, A Life Aloft, co-authored with Tom Gompf. Gompf, both a competitive diver and a pilot in the Vietnam War and as a commercial airline pilot, is considered the father of synchronized diving with an enduring legacy. In A Life Aloft, Gompf reflects on how he pushed himself as well as pushing the boundaries of the sport of diving.
The Paragon Awards that have been a long mainstay at the ISHOF Induction Weekend. The Paragon Awards have been renamed as the ISHOF Aquatic Awards – Presented by AquaCal – and will be held on September 29th at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale. The recipients include:
ISHOF Aquatic Awards – Presented by AquaCal
- Swimming: Mike Unger (USA)
- Diving: Ellie Smart (USA)
- Water Polo: Mark Koganov (Azerbaijan)
- Synchro: Maria Jose Brunel (Spain)
- Aquatic Safety: Cullen Jones (USA)
- Recreational Swimming: Sophia Forte (USA)
ISHOF Specialty Awards
- John K. Williams Jr. Award: Gail M. Dummer (USA)
- Judge Martin Award: Norm Taplin (USA)
- ISHOF Service Award: Laura Voet (USA)
- Buck Dawson Author’s Award: Elaine K. Howley (USA) and Tom Gompf (USA)
- Al Schoenfield Media Award: John Lohn
- Virginia Hunt Newman Award: Amanda Gawthrope
- Sammy Lee Award: USA Diving/Duraflex
58th ISHOF Class of 2023 Honorees
- Bob Bowman (USA) Honor Coach
- Chris Carver (USA) Honor Coach
- Cesar Cielo (Brazil) Honor Swimmer
- Kirsty Coventry (Zambia) Honor Swimmer
- Missy Franklin (USA) Honor Swimmer
- Natalia Ischenko (Russia) Honor Synchronized Swimmer
- Kosuke Kitajima (Japan) Honor Swimmer
- Heather Petri (USA) Honor Water Polo Player
- Michael Phelps (USA) Honor Swimmer
- Wu Minxia (China) Honor Diver
- Sam Ramsamy (South Africa) Honor Contributor
- Stéphane Lecat (France) Honor Open Water Swimmer
- Trischa Zorn (USA) Honor Paralympic Swimmer
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