Obituaries

Passages: Joan Harrison, South African Olympic Gold Medalist, 89 Joan Harrison, who won the women’s 100-meter backstroke at the 1952 Olympics for South Africa, has died on May 20 at age 89. Harrison made history in Helsinki by winning the first South African gold medal in the 100 back. It held as th...

Passages: Presley Bard Anderson, Former US National Teamer, Dies After Lung Cancer Battle Former U.S. National team swimmer Presley Bard Anderson died on April 30, 2025, at age 34. Bard Anderson had been battling lung cancer for the past three years. The news was announced on the family's GoFundMe p...

The swimming community mourns the passing of Kati McDermott, coach with Orinda Aquatics. McDermott died on Feb. 20, 2025, at age 55, after a battle with cancer. "Kati lived to coach, and had an innate ability to nurture young swimmers and to care about everyone. It was truly her soul's work, and her...

Passages: Iris Cummings Critchell, Oldest Survivor of 1936 Olympics, Dies at 104 Iris Cummings Critchell, a swimmer who was the last surviving athlete from the 1936 Olympics, died on Jan. 24. She was 104 years old. Cummings Critchell’s death was confirmed by Harvey Mudd College, where she spent thre...

Passages: Colleen Lischwe, Water Polo Coach at McKendree University, 34 Colleen Lischwe, the head men’s and women’s water polo coach at McKendree University, died Wednesday in an automobile accident. She was 34 years old. The university confirmed the death on Thursday. Lischwe was named the head coa...

Passages: Heinz Kluetmeier, Olympic Photographer and International Swimming Hall of Famer, 82 Heinz Kluetmeier, who photographed 11 Summer Olympics and was the first photographer inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2017, died on Tuesday. He was 82 years old. Kluetmeier photographe...

Passages: U.S. Olympic Team Massage Therapist Brian Campbell Dies USA Swimming announced in an Instagram post Monday evening that Dr. Brian Campbell, a massage therapist and chiropractor who worked with three Olympic swim teams, has passed away. Campbell was also the head massage therapist at UCLA, ...

Passages of 2024: Remembering Those We Lost in the Swimming World This Year Annually, Swimming World takes a look back at those who passed away during the previous year. In 2024, the swimming community lost Olympic swimmers, legendary coaches like Jon Urbanchek and former Swimming World Publisher Br...

Passages: Two-Time Olympian Susan Pitt Anderson Dies at 76; Impact Felt In and Out of Pool The swimming world is in mourning at the news that Susan Pitt Anderson, a two-time Olympian, passed away on Friday, November 22. Pitt Anderson had an impact on the sport first as an elite athlete and later in ...

Passages: Bryan Robbins, SMU Hall of Fame Diver and Coach, 78 Bryan Robbins, a Hall of Fame diver and diving coach who had a storied career at Southern Methodist University, passed away on Nov. 2. He was 78 years old. Robbins was an All-American diver at SMU and coached Team USA at the 1976 Olympics...

Passages: Patrick Woepse, Former UCLA Men’s Water Polo Player, 31 Patrick Woepse, a former water polo player at UCLA and the husband of U.S. women’s national teamer Maddie Musselman, died on Oct. 10 after a 13-month battle with cancer. He was 31 years old. Musselman posted news of Woepse’s passing o...

Passages: Robertas Zulpa, 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist, 64 Robertas Zulpa, the 1980 Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 200 breaststroke, died on Aug. 30. He was 64 years old. Zulpa was born in Vilnius is what is now Lithuania but represented the Soviet Union. He won gold in the men’s 200 breast at the...

Passages: Steve Gregg, 1976 Olympic Silver Medalist, 68 Steve Gregg, a silver medalist at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, died on Sept. 11. He was 68 years old. Gregg won silver in the men’s 200 butterfly at the 1976 Olympics, his time of 1:59.54 under the existing world record of East Germany’s Roger P...

Jeff Cavana, a former head coach of the LSU Swimming and Diving program for four seasons, died this week. He was 67. Cavana became LSU’s head swimming coach in August of 2000 after serving as an assistant coach for the Tigers for 10 seasons. Cavana joined LSU as an assistant to then-head coach Rick ...

Passages: Vladimir Bure, Olympic Medalist Swimmer and Famous Hockey Father, 73 Vladimir Bure, who won four Olympic medals in the pool for the Soviet Union, died on Sept. 3. He was 73 years of age. Bure represented the Soviet Union at three Olympics, in 1968, 1972 and 1976. He won bronze in the 100 f...

Scottsdale Aquatic Club coach Bob Platt died on Saturday at age 58. Platt has been an inspiration in the swim community through his coaching and also his advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and any other people he felt were marginalized. No cause of death has been released. He has coached several el...

The Gift of Casey Converse; Distance Legend Passes Away at 66 By CHUCK WARNER Legendary United States distance swimmer and coach Casey Converse lost his battle to cancer earlier this week at the age of 66. Here is a tribute to Casey, written by Chuck Warner.  Are you a swimmer or coach with an attit...

Passages: Swimming in Australia Mourns The Passing of Pioneer Swim Coach Myee Baumer Swimming in Australia is mourning the loss of much-admired coaching pioneer, Myee Baumer, who has passed away peacefully at Narrabeen’s RSL Retirement Village, in Sydney. Myee was 85. [caption id="attachment_59492.....

Passages: Carolyn Schuler Jones, Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist The current Olympics are a time to look back on Olympians of the past, especially those the sport has recently lost. Carolyn Schuler Jones was a two-time Olympic gold medalist at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. She died on July 22, 2024...

Manly Olympian Frank O’Neill, The First Australian To Break 60 seconds for 110 Yards and who taught Greta Garbo How To Swim, Dies Age 97 One of Australia’s oldest surviving Olympians and Commonwealth Games medallists, Frank O’Neill, has passed away peacefully at home in his beloved suburb of Manly,....