By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
As 2023 comes to a close, we take a look back at all of those the swimming community has lost over the last 12 months.
*Note that the month someone is listed under is (usually) when their death was reported rather than when it occurred.*
JANUARY 2023
- 17-time ACC title-winning coach at NC State, Don Easterling died at 90.
- 16-year-old Carmel swimmer Michael Jent died after a single-vehicle car crash.
- Gyorgy Tumpek, the first-ever European champion in the 200 fly, died at the age of 92.
- Norman Trusty, a member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Game, died in January in his 90th year.
FEBRUARY 2023
- Longtime Pepperdine coach Nick Rodionoff died at 87.
- Former Pacific water polo player Calvin Behm, 23, died in car crash.
- 1997 Pan Pacific Championship gold medalist Jamie Cail died in the U.S. Virgin Islands at 42.
- University of Arizona swimmer Ty Wells died at the age of 23.
- Former Grosse Point South High School swimmer Brian Fraser was killed in a mass shooting on Michigan State campus.
- Peter Jurzynski, one of the oldest swimmers to successfully cross the English Channel, died at the age of 71.
MARCH 2023
- Air Force associate head coach Anthony Boettcher died at 60.
- Shiro Hashizume, Japan’s oldest Olympic medalist, died at the age of 94
- Grant Stoelwinder, who coached Eamon Sullivan to world records, died at 52.
- Olympic diving legend Pat McCormick died at the age of 92.
- Two-time British Olympian John Martin-Dye died at the age of 82.
- Ron Good, the first women’s swim coach at Virginia, died at 79.
- Greta Andersen, the oldest surviving Olympic swimming champion, died at the age of 96.
- Veteran swim coach Jerry Kasim died during the swim portion of an Ironman triathlon at the age of 49.
APRIL 2023
MAY 2023
- An unnamed female swimmer died during a club meet in Kapolei, Hawaii at the age of 17.
- Swimmers Daniella (11) and Sophia Mendoza (8) were among those killed in the shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas.
- Mesa High School head swim coach Mike Haney died at the age of 54.
- John Narcy, Michigan State’s first diving coach, died at 87.
- ASCA Hall of Fame coach Kathy McKee died at the age of 69.
JUNE 2023
- Two-time French Olympian Véronique Jardin, the mother of Beryl Gastaldello, died at 56.
- Australian sports journalism legend Wayne Smith died at the age of 69.
- Minnesota swimming great and NCAA champion Virgil Luken died at 80.
- British Olympic diver Edna Child died at the age of 100.
- UNCW swimming founder (and savior) Dave Allen died at the age of 75.
JULY 2023
- Former Wilmington Aquatic Coach and ASCA Hall of Famer Bob Mattson died at 92.
- 1940 Olympian Mary Ryan Caldwell died at the age of 98.
- Shawnee Mission High School swimmer Will Ensley, 17, died in a nine-car crash.
AUGUST 2023
- British Olympian Helen Smart (Don-Duncan) died unexpectedly at the age of 42.
- Ben Kredich, son of University of Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich, was killed after being hit by an impaired driver at 24.
- Former US National Team swimmer Jamie Cali died in the US Virgin Islands at the age of 42.
SEPTEMBER 2023
OCTOBER 2023
- Penn State commit and Central Bucks East High senior Marcus Papanikolaou died in a car crash at the age of 17.
- Israel international swimmer Eden Nimri was killed in the war with Hamas and Nahal Oz at the age of 22.
- Australia’s first Olympic swim coach Ursula Carlile died at the age of 86.
- Legendary York Suburban High School coach Richard Guyer died at 77.
- Former Indiana University All-American Ken Nakasone died at the age of 82.
NOVEMBER 2023
DECEMBER 2023
- Illinois high school swimmer James Oliver died in hospital nine days after suffering a brain hemorrhage during practice.
- Former Boulder City-Henderson Heatwave head coach Bob Swift died at 72 four months after suffering a heart attack.
- Former Swimming Canada President and Olympic rowing champion Dean Crawford died at the age of 65.
To all those others in the swimming community who lost a loved one this year, may you find peace and comfort in the community of the pool.
SwimSwam: In Memoriam: Remembering The People Swimming Lost In 2023
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