Rarely – if ever – has there ever been a collection of aquatic sports luminaries outside of the pool and open water than there was this past Saturday night at the Parker Playhouse in the American panhandle city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Among the headliners of the 13-strong inductees for the Class of 2023 was USA’s Michael Phelps. Retiring after the Rio 2016 Games with 28 Olympic medals (23 gold) and 33 World Aquatics Championships podium trips (28 to the top step), the 38-year-old’s remarks looked forward rather than to the past.
“Let us continue to push the boundaries in what’s possible in sports,” Phelps said. “Let us strive for excellence — not just for our own glory, but for the betterment of our future and future generations of athletes. Together we can ensure that swimming and all sports continue to evolve, thrive, and inspire. Thank you so much for the support and may the waves of change we’ve set in motion ripple through generations, creating a brighter, more promising future for all.”
“Let us strive for excellence — not just for our own glory, but for the betterment of our future and future generations of athletes."
Joining Phelps in the 2023 Class was his career-long coach Bob Bowman, along with five-time Olympian Kirsty Coventry, the first and so far, long individual Olympic medallist for Zimbabwe who took seven medals at the Games (two gold) and three World titles in backstroke.
Making history in the Hall of Fame isn’t easy – especially with this year’s class being the 58th to enter the Hall. Yet that’s what Trischa Zorn-Hudson – the most decorated Paralympian in history with 55 medals – did on Saturday night when she became the first Paralympian inducted into the ISHOF.
Also entering the Hall of Fame this past weekend were swimmers Missy Franklin, Kosuke Kitajima and Cesar Cielo, diver Wu Minxia, artistic swimmer Natalia Ischenko, water polo player Heather Petri, open water swimmer Stèphane Lecat, artistic swimming coach Chris Carver and special contributor Sam Ramsamy.
Franklin, a backstroker and freestyler who called time on her career in 2018, won four gold and a bronze at the London 2012 Olympics before her senior year of high school. The California native followed that up by winning six golds at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona.
Considered one of the all-time greats in breaststroke, Kitajima swept the 100m and 200m events at the Sydney 2004 and Beijing 2008 Games in addition to winning 12 medals at the World Aquatics Championships. Along the way, he inspired future Japanese greats, particularly in the breaststroke events.
Cielo won Brazil’s first and to date lone Olympic swimming gold medal, taking the 50m freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Games. Cielo’s best remains the standard in swimming’s fastest race with his 50m free World Record still standing today.
One of two divers to win five Olympic gold medals, Wu helped usher in China’s near-total dominance of the sport.
The Russian artistic swimmer Ischenko never experienced defeat at the Olympics, winning five golds in the Team and Duet events from Beijing 2008 to Rio 2016. She similarly dominated at the World Aquatics Championships, earning 21 medals and 19 titles in solo, team, and duet events from Montreal 2005 to Kazan 2015.
Petri helped lead a dominant run of USA women’s water polo in a career that included winning Olympic gold at London 2012 as well as three World titles (Barcelona 2013, Melbourne 2007, Rome 2009) before heading into coaching.
Open water swimmer Stephane Lecat enters the Hall with 19 wins on the World Cup, a World bronze medal and the 2000 European Championships 25km title.
Chris Carver brought groundbreaking choreography to artistic swimming. Leading the U.S. National team, Carver coached American athletes to every gold medal in elite global competition between the 1991 Pan-Am Games and the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.
World Aquatics Vice-President Ramsany joins the Hall for his lifelong contribution to aquatics, including fostering global support to end apartheid in his native South Africa and fighting discrimination across sport.