Swimming World Presents The 10 Most Impactful People of 2016

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10 Most Impactful People of 2016:

“Our sport is graced with great people. As appropriate for this time of year, I want to recognize 10 people who are making an impact in our sport. Thanks to the following for their contributions and inspiration.” — Brent Rutemiller, publisher of Swimming World Magazine.

1. Richard McLaren sent ripples through the entire Olympic movement just weeks before the opening ceremonies of the Rio Olympic Games when he issued his independent report on systematic doping in Russia. His findings proclaimed that it was “beyond a reasonable doubt” that there was systematic doping going on in Russia and that it went to the highest levels of government.

Canadian law professor Richard McLaren speaks at a news conference in Toronto on Monday, July 18, 2016 to present his findings into allegations of a state-backed doping conspiracy involving the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn ORG XMIT: FNG509

2. Lilly King captured world attention when she wagged her finger at the image of Yulia Efimova on a television monitor. Efimova had just won her semifinal race and started to shake her index finger in the air. King responded by doing the same at the television. The world interpreted it as calling out Efimova on her doping history, setting a showdown between the two in the finals. King went on to win and said, “It just proves that you can compete clean and still come out on top.”

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3. Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in swimming after tying Canada’s Penny Oleksiak in the 100 freestyle. She accepted the mantel of being a role model, but put it into perspective when she said, “I want to be an inspiration, but I would like there to be a day when it is not ‘Simone, the black simmer.’”

Swimmer Simone Manuel poses for a portrait at the 2016 Team USA Media Summit, March 7, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 5-21. / AFP / VALERIE MACON / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)

4. Shirley Babashoff was back in the news as a spokesperson for clean athletes. Her Olympic story from 1976 took on new life when USA Swimming featured her and her teammates in a documentary called The Last Gold this summer. Her call for change in the sport gained national attention when the California Senate passed a resolution urging the IOC to address the 1976 Olympic wrongs. Babashoff continues to remind us all that justice in sport should have no limitations.

Shirley-Babashoff-2016

5. Chris Lundie, founder and producer of TakeItLive.com, continues to be the pioneering backbone to streaming swimming events over the internet. He was the main force behind streaming major competitions for USA Swimming, USA Diving, USA Masters and USA Synchronized Swimming.

Chris-Lundie

6. Dave Durden continues to show outstanding leadership on an NCAA level as head coach at Cal, and on the Olympic level as an assistant coach for the USA Men’s Olympic team. His athletes at Rio brought home nine medals, including four by Nathan Adrian and three from Ryan Murphy, who set a world record in the 100 back leading off the medley relay.

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7. Bess and Joe Auer from Florida Swim Network took a giant leap into the world of mainstream media by starting an AppleTV channel called “Your Swim Channel.” The media model opens a new category in the swimming industry.

bess-auerJoe-Auer

8. Eric and Carrie Snell are founders of a family-run business called SwimmersBest.com. It is a unique training and equipment company in which every level of the company is run by their offspring. All aspects—from product development to engineering, production, sales, marketing, pat- ent, trademark and graphic design—are accomplished “in-house.”

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9. Josh Davis continues to influence parents and athletes around the country as a motivational speaker and instructor for his camps and day clinics. The five-time Olympic medal- ist is a master clinician and motivator. His message through Joshdavis.com is always positive and educational.

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10. Mike Unger has been a major force behind almost everything that has USA Swimming’s name attached to it for the past 23 years. Unger successfully oversaw the U.S. Olympic Trials and worked closely with NBC during the Rio Olympics this past summer. Stepping outside of his comfort zone, Unger’s crowning achievement was being the co-producer of The Last Gold documentary.

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FEATURES:

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014 AMERICAN SWIMMING TEAM: PAST (Part I)
by Chuck Warner
Beginning with the December 2016 issue of Swimming World Magazine, we will take a quick look over the next several months at the American Swimming Team past and present, and will provide some thoughts on the future.

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2016 2016 SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
by Taylor Brien, Annie Grevers and David Rieder

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World/American: Katie Ledecky & Michael Phelps

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European: Katinka Hosszu & Adam Peaty

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Pacific Rim: Rie Kaneto & Kosuke Hagino

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African: Kirsty Coventry & Chad le Clos

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024 10 BEST PERFORMANCES OF 2016
by David Rieder
During an Olympic year, there’s a plethora of performances that could rank among the year’s best. And that’s not even taking into account the record-breaking swims around the world during the lead-up to the Games…or the stellar short course yards performances in the United States. Needless to say, we had some good options from which to choose for the top 10 races of the year.

COACHING
010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: BILL SWEETENHAM
by Michael J. Stott

038 ART OF THE WARM-UP
by Michael J. Stott
Whether it is summer league, age group, club, high school or college swimming, proper warm-up is absolutely imperative for successful meet performance.

041 Q&A WITH COACH JACK BAUERLE
by Michael J. Stott

042 HOW THEY TRAIN KRISTY KOWAL & MARK DYLLA
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING
028 DRYSIDE TRAINING: HAPPY, HEALTHY HOLIDAYS
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER
045 UP & COMERS
by Taylor Brien

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
029 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
040 DADS ON DECK
046 GUTTER TALK
048 PARTING SHOT

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KSchwim
KSchwim
7 years ago

Ummm hello?. Michael Phelps? Katie Ledecky? But I guess they would have to accomplish a little bit more to be considered “impactful”….

John
John
7 years ago
Reply to  KSchwim

Both MP and KL were honored in previous years

Caitlin Garrison
Caitlin Garrison
7 years ago
Reply to  John

So?

Florida Swimming LSC
7 years ago

Congrats @FlaSwimNetwork on your 7th place ranking in list. Great job!!! https://t.co/IU6KaOMOjL

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