The weekend kicked off Friday evening, May 17th with the 24th Annual Paragon Awards, sponsored by Pentair Aquatic Systems. The Paragon Awards are presented annually to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to aquatics in six categories.
The Paragon Award winners included Greg Eggert, Competitive Swimming, Bill Farrar, Diving, Carvin DiGiovanni, Recreational Swimming, Peter Davis, Aquatic Safety, Don Holbrook, Water Polo and Igor Kartashov for Synchronized Swimming.
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| 2019 Paragon and Award Winners |
Other award winners for the evening included, Ruth Meyer who received the John K. Williams Jr. International Adapted Aquatics Award; Jim Wood was given the Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously and was represented by his sister, Terry Commodore and his brother, Bob Wood. David S. Duda was awarded the Judge G. Harold Martin Award, and Robert Strauss was presented the Virginia Hunt Newman Award. Dale Petranech received the ISHOF Service Award for his many, many years of help and friendship to the Hall of Fame.
Peter Bick received the Al Schoenfield Media Award. Peter is a photographer who has taken many fabulous photos for numerous magazines, including Sports Illustrated, Time and Swimming World.
Carolyn Wood received the Buck Dawson Authors Award for her book, “Tough Girl”.
Dr. Joe MacInnis
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| Dr. Joe MacInnis |
of his underwater world and was the speaker at the luncheon. MacInnis, a speaker for numerous Fortune 500 companies, gave ISHOF guests a special treat. He spoke on leadership in high risk environments, telling stories of his adventures and expeditions.
The 55th annual Induction ceremony began Saturday evening at 6:00 pm at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa. 2019 marked the second year ISHOF has had a successful silent auction. With donations from swimming legends like Caleb Dressel, Natalie Coughlin, Anthony Ervin and Jason Lezak, just to name a few, the ISHOF Silent Auction was a huge hit among ISHOF guests and swimming enthusiasts that were able to bid online.
A special thank you to all those who donated to our 2019 Silent Auction. Besides swimming memorabilia, we had exciting items, like a 7-day vacation in Cabo San Lucas, thanks to the generosity of Drury Gallagher, an African Safari, A Napa Valley wine excursion and much more.
The ISHOF Silent Auction will now be an annual event during the Honoree weekend and a major fund-raising opportunity for ISHOF. Please consider ISHOF if you have any items that you might to donate for next year's event. Contact Meg Keller-Marvin at 570.594.4367 or meg@ishof.org if you would like to be part of the silent auction.
This year's Induction Class of 2019 included four swimmers, Jason Lezak (USA), Stephanie Rice (AUS), Britta Steffen (GER) and Otylia Jegrzejczak (POL); one diver, Li Ting (CHN); one synchronized swimmer, Olga Sedakova (RUS); one water polo player, Alessandro Campagna (ITA); one coach, Boris Popov (RUS); one open water swimmer, Marcella MacDonald (USA); one contributor, Dr. Ferenc Salamon (HUN) and one Pioneer, Alfred Nakache* (FRA). The Gold Medallion recipient for 2019 was Dr. Joseph MacInnis.
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| Jason Lezak and son Ryan |
The class of 2019 begins with the swimmer who anchored one of the most memorable races in history. Jason Lezak has competed in four Olympic games, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012, and has won eight Olympic medals, four gold, two silver, and two bronze. Lezak will always be remembered as the anchor of the U.S. 4×100m freestyle relay team that won the gold medal and set a new world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Lezak's split a 46.06, is the fastest 100m freestyle split in history by nearly six-tenths of a second.
