Victory in the Pool
How a Maverick Coach Upended Society and Led a Group of Young Swimmers to Olympic Glory
Zusammenfassung
The ultimate underdog story of a swim coach who could not swim, a swim club that accepted minorities when others would not, and a group of young swimmers who became Olympic champions.
Before the United States was the swimming power it is today, a novice coach named Sherm Chavoor formed a swim club that accepted all swimmers—no matter their religion, race, or social status—and started a dynasty. Following Chavoor’s intense and unorthodox coaching methods, his young swimmers quickly began dominating competitions across northern California—and then the world.
In Victory in the Pool: How a Maverick Coach Upended Society and Led a Group of Young Swimmers to Olympic Glory, Bill George tells the inspiring story of Sherm Chavoor and his dedicated athletes who rose from obscurity to win twenty Olympic gold medals during the 1960s and ‘70s. They triumphed in two of the most tumultuous and dangerous Olympic Games ever held, the 1968 Mexico City Games and the 1972 Munich Games marred by the terrorist attack that killed eleven Israeli athletes. Mark Spitz and Debbie Meyer were the two most prominent members of the team, but they were challenged every step of the way by teammates and fellow Olympians Sue Pedersen, Mike Burton, John Ferris, Jeff Float, and more.
Featuring exclusive interviews with the athletes and with Sherm Chavoor before he passed away, Victory in the Pool delivers an inside look at this unparalleled time in Olympic history. But more than that, it is the story of young people overcoming incredible odds—often in the face of insults and bigotry and under the intense glare of the spotlight—and coming out triumphant.
Schlagworte
Olympics swimming 1984 Olympics Nisei POC swimmers Mike Burton Sue Pedersen Sullivan Awards Tak Iseri Sherm Chavoor Sacramento Santa Calra Swim Club Vicky King YMCA Mark Shelley Mark Spitz Debbie Meyer Arden Hills Swim Club Don Schollander Donna de Varona Japanese American Swimmers John Ferris Beth Kaufman Jeff Float Jewish Swimmers 1968 Olympics 1972 Olympics Black Swimmers George Haines Guillermo Echevarria olympic swimmers polio hydra-therapy california- Kapitel Ausklappen | EinklappenSeiten
- i–xii Preface i–xii
- 53–58 8. PAIN AND AGONY 53–58
- 69–80 10. THE GAUNTLET 69–80
- 125–128 17. BEAT ’EM, MURDER ’EM 125–128
- 129–136 18. INDIANA CALLING 129–136
- 137–148 19. “EVERYBODY’S SON” 137–148
- 167–182 22. TACT IS OVERRATED 167–182
- 193–200 24. “I LOVE YOU” 193–200
- 201–222 NOTES 201–222
- 223–224 REFERENCES 223–224
- 225–232 INDEX 225–232
- 233–234 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 233–234