Charlie Hickcox, James “Doc” Counsilman and Mark Spitz are three of the most legendary figures in Indiana and United States swimming history.
Hickcox was named the World Swimmer of the Year after winning four medals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic games. Counsilman coached at IU for more than 30 years and led the 1964 and 1976 U.S. Olympic teams to 17 gold medals.
Spitz, for his part, won a then-record seven gold medals at the 1972 games, all in world-record time.
The Hoosier swim program was dominant in the mid-20th century, but until recently lost its way. The Olympic medals and appearances were still there, but there was no Hickcox, Counsilman or Spitz to be a household name.
That is, of course, until Lily King and the 10 other Hoosier swimmers and divers competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and left their mark.
Ali Khalafalla and Marwan Elkamash competed for Egypt. Kennedy Goss, Anze Tavcar and James Connor competed for Canada, Slovenia and Australia, respectively.
Cody Miller, Lilly King, Blake Pieroni, Michael Hixon, Jessica Parratto and Amy Cozad all competed for the red, white and blue.
Five Hoosiers — King, Goss, Pieroni, Hixon and Miller — brought medals back to Bloomington.
Miller took bronze in the 100m breaststroke, touching the wall in an American record time of 58.87 seconds. He also won gold in the 400m medley relay.
Goss won a bronze medal for Canada’s 4x200 freestyle relay team, Pieroni earned a gold as part of the USA 4x100 freestyle relay team, and Hixon won a silver for the U.S. in the men’s synchronized 3m springboard dive.
And everyone knows what King did. She took home two gold medals, one in an Olympic record time of 1:04.93 in the 100m breaststroke, and the other in the 4x100 medley relay. King went on to win USA Swimming’s Golden Goggle Award for Breakout Performer of the Year.
Time and time again we see the hangover effect take place after big-time sporting events. No, not the one where you’re face-to-face with the toilet water, but instead the one where teams and players have a hard time staying motivated and locked in after a big win on a national or international stage.
We saw it when Wisconsin men’s basketball beat the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats in the 2015 Final Four and then went on to lose to Duke in the National Championship game. We almost saw it this past week when the Butler Bulldogs upset top-ranked Villanova at home but came out flat and sluggish in their next game against Georgetown. It’s one of those weird anomalies that takes place in athletics, and boy does it drive head coaches crazy.
The nine current Hoosier swimmers who competed in Rio have largely avoided any letdowns by getting faster, stronger and smarter.
Other programs may have been content to rest on the laurels of their Olympic success, allowing their athletes to enjoy their victories for a season or so while success at the NCAA level slacked. Not IU. Longtime coaches Ray Looze and Drew Johansen have their squads laser-focused.
It shows when a swimmer like King, who placed 12th in the Rio games in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:24.59, came back this season and won the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:05.64 at the USA College Challenge, nearly a 20 second difference. Or when she cut her Olympic record time in the 100m breaststroke down from 1:04.93 to 57.30.
And it’s not just King.
Elkamash won his second title and set his second Indiana record at the Winter Nationals. Tavcar came in second in the men’s 100m freestyle.
Hixon won the national title in the 1-meter dive at the USA Diving Winter National Championships, qualifying him to be one of two divers to compete for Team USA at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, this summer.
Goss was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 2, and Khalafalla cut his 50m time by nearly three seconds.
Nearly every one of IU’s Olympians have been furiously cutting their times in events and placing on a national scale.
With No. 13 Michigan, Purdue and Louisville left on the schedule, the challenges won’t slow for IU. Expect the team to rise to every challenge they face as they prepare for Big Ten and NCAA championships that await in the spring.
You’re not seeing any lack of focus or hangover from these Hoosier swimmers and divers. You’re only seeing them get better. With the women’s team riding a five-match win streak and showing a 13th ranking in the nation, and the men’s team 8-0 and ranked tied for 4th in the nation, don’t expect those win streaks to slow any time soon. In fact, be ready for more improvements. It’s only the beginning of things to come.
eliarnet@umail.iu.edu
@arnett35
