In Memoriam: Remembering The People Swimming Lost In 2024

12/31/2024 09:00 AM

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to remember some of the people the swimming community lost in 2024.

The list of notable deaths in swimming this past year included numerous former Olympic medalists and some highly esteemed coaches, including Jon Urbanchek, the longtime University of Michigan head coach who served on numerous U.S. Olympic team staffs.

Below, find a list of all the notable deaths SwimSwam has reported in 2024. People are listed under the month of their death, not necessarily when it was reported, where possible.

JANUARY 2024

• Rich Thornton, a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 and the head coach of San Ramon Valley Aquatics in California, died at the age of 65 while surfing.
• Longtime swim coach Richard “Doc” Ludemann, who spent time at Yale, UCLA and Sacred Heart along with a long club and high school career, died at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer.
• Lance Larson, a two-time U.S. Olympic medalist in 1960 and three-time NCAA champion at USC, died at the age of 83. Larson won Olympic gold in the men’s 4×100 medley relay and silver in the 100 free in Rome, and also held world records in the 200 IM and 100 fly during his career.
• U.S. Navy SEAL and former collegiate swimmer Chris Chambers was declared dead at sea after an 11-day search and rescue mission was called off. Chambers, who swam for both the University of Massachusetts and the University of Maryland, jumped off a ship into the Arabian Sea to try and save a fellow SEAL, Nathan Ingram, on January 11. Both were weighed down by their armor and died. Chambers was 37 and Ingram was 27.

FEBRUARY 2024

• Eddie Sinnott, who served as the head coach of the SMU men’s teams for 30 years, died at the age of 70 after a brief battle with illness. He retired in 2019.

MARCH 2024

• Hall of Fame coach Miriam Sheehandied on March 17 at the age of 65. Sheehan was notably the head age group coach of five Olympians at Lake Forest Swim Club and was inducted into multiple Hall of Games, including the International Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
• Five-time Brazilian Paralympic medalist Joana Nevesdied at the age of 37 on March 18. Neves suffered cardiac arrest while in hospital, where she was undergoing tests to determine why she had recently been suffering seizures.
• Upper Arlington High School and Upper Arlington Swim Club assistant coach Gary Grantdied on March 22 in a single-vehicle crash at the age of 38.
• Lash Turville, founder of both the De Anza Swim Team and Reno Aquatic Club, died on March 26 at the age of 85.

APRIL 2024

• Alex Beiga, a 15-year-old high school swimmer from Illinois, died in an avalanche in Switzerland while skiing during spring break. Beiga swam for Naperville Central High School and the Academy Bullets Swim Club.
• Two-time Australian Olympian Neil Rogers died at the age of 70 on April 16. Rogers was also a five-time medalist at the Commonwealth Games and went on to coach and manage the Bondi Icebergs after his competitive career.
• Sean Dowden, father of Grenada national team swimmer Sara Dowden, died unexpectedly while attending the CARIFTA Aquatics Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.

MAY 2024

• Legendary swim coach Jon Urbanchek died on May 9 at the age of 87 after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Urbanchek was perhaps best known for leading the University of Michigan men’s swim team to 10 consecutive Big Ten Championship titles from 1986-1996 during his 22-year tenure that spanned from 1982 until 2024. He also led the Wolverines to the 1995 NCAA title, and served on the U.S. Olympic team staff as an assistant coach for five straight Games from 1988 until 2004 before he was a special assistant in 2008 and 2012.
  • Celebrating A Legend: The Swimming Community Remembers Jon Urbanchek
  • What Made Jon Urbancheck The Dean of College Coaches?
• Scottish native David Wilkie, an Olympic gold medalist in 1976 while representing Great Britain, died at the age of 70 after a battle with cancer. Wilkie became the first British man to win Olympic swimming gold in 68 years at the 1976 Games in Montreal, winning the 200 breast while also winning silver in the 100 breast. He also won silver in 1972 in the 100 breast and was a three-time world champion and two-time European champion in the breaststroke events.
• Austin College head coach Dan Snowdied at the age of 68 on May 11. A former Marine, Snow served as the team’s head coach for three seasons.
• Longtime swimming volunteer Russell White, who volunteered with USA Swimming for over 25 years, died on May 11 at the age of 82.

JUNE 2024

• Jon Jolley, the longtime head coach of the YMCA Seahorse Swim Team in Hickory, North Carolina, died at the age of 55 on June 4. Jolley was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year.
• Former International Swimming Hall of Fame CEO and President Brent Rutemiller, who also worked with Swimming World in various roles for more than 30 years, died on June 17 after a battle with cancer.
• Former Arizona high school state champion and All-Big 12 swimmer Devin Geordon Price died unexpectedly at the age of 32 on June 30. Geordon Price competed for Palo Verde High School before swimming collegiately with TCU from 2009 until 2013.
• Former Mission Viejo High School coach Mike Pelton died on June 18 from cardiac arrest. Between 1976 and 1999, Pelton led the Diablos boys’ swimming team to 20 CIF-SS titles, including a 13-year win streak from 1976 until 1988.
• Steve Jackman, who was formerly known as the “Fastest Man In the World” during his collegiate career in the 1960s, died on June 14 at the age of 83. Jackman previously held the American Record in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in both events in 1962 and 1963 while representing the University of Minnesota.

JULY 2024

• David Flood, who served as the Aquatics commissioner for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, died on July 4 at the age of 90. Flood was also an elite water polo player, winning national titles with the Olympic Club of San Francisco in 1957 and 1959 and then being inducted into the Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1986.
• Two-time Olympic medalist Carolyn Shuler Jonesdied on July 22 at the age of 81. Schuler Jones won two gold medals representing the United States at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, topping the women’s 100 fly and 4×100 medley relay at the age of 17.

AUGUST 2024

• International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductee Sam Greentham died at the age of 80 in August. Greentham formerly served as the Chair of the LEN (now European Aquatics) Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and was also on the FINA (now World Aquatics) Technical Open Water Swimming Committee. He worked in various roles at major international competitions, including being the Chief Referee of the open water events at the 2012 Olympics in London.
• Bob Platt, the head director of operations and National Group Assistant at the Scottsdale Aquatic Club in Arizona, died at the age of 58 on August 24. Platt, who started working with the Scottsdale Aquatic Club in 2012, served as the assistant manager for the U.S. team at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships.
• Former U.S. Olympian and Air Force head coach Casey Conversedied at the age of 66 in August after a long battle with cancer. While competing at the University of Alabama, Converse became the first man in history to break 15 minutes in the 1650 freestyle, clocking 14:57.30 at the 1977 NCAA Championships. He competed at the 1976 Olympics and went on to have a long coaching career, serving with Air Force from 1988 until 2017. In 2021, he was named as one of the 100 greatest collegiate coaches for the CSCAA’s 100-year anniversary.
• Serbian CrossFit competitor Lazar Ðukić drowned during the aquathlon event on the opening day of the 2024 CrossFit Games in Fort Worth, Texas. He was 28. The aquathlon featured a 3.5-mile run followed by an 800-meter swim. In November, CrossFit reaffirmed its stance that open water swimming events will be suspended from its event indefinitely.
• Robertas Zulpa, a Lithuanian swimmer who represented the Soviet Union internationally, died on August 30 at the age of 64. Zulpas won gold in the men’s 200 breaststroke at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, and he also won silver in the event at the 1982 World Championships and was a three-time European champion.
• Longtime swim coach Bob Peasedied at his home in Sequim, Washington in August at the age of 82. Pease had a long career in aquatics that included a stint coaching at NCAA Division II University of Missouri-Rolla, the Los Alamos High School team, and the Evergreen State College club team.

SEPTEMBER 2024

• Vladimir Bure, a four-time Soviet Olympic medalist, died at the age of 73 on September 3 due to complications from a heart attack. Bure won Olympic bronze in the men’s 4×200 free relay at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, and then won three medals at the 1972 Games in Munich, including an individual bronze in the 100 free. He later worked as a swimming coach at the Armed Forces Society from 1979 to 1985, and in the mainstream, is better known as the father of NHL players Valeri and Pavel Bure. Vladimir notably worked as a fitness consultant with the Vancouver Canucks (while Pavel was there) and later with the New Jersey Devils, where he won two Stanley Cups.
• Former LSU head coach Jeff Cavanadied at the age of 67 in early September. Cavana served as the head coach of the Tigers for four years, taking over in August 2000 after spending 10 seasons as an assistant.
• Olympic silver medalist Steve Greggdied at the age of 68 on September 10. Gregg won silver representing the United States at the 1976 Games in Montreal, doing so in the men’s 200 fly. He also won silver in the event at the 1973 and 1978 World Championships and the 1975 Pan Am Games. Gregg was also an accomplished collegiate swimmer at NC State from 1973 to 1977.
• Former Texas A&M swimmer Jessica Sloandied at the age of 28 on September 23 after a three-year battle with brain cancer. A native of Magnolia, Texas, Sloan competed for the Aggies from 2014 until 2018 and was working as a lead flight instructor when she was diagnosed in 2021.
• Brad Flood, a longtime swimming coach that included stints as an assistant at Iowa, Clemson and Texas A&M, died in September at the age of 69. Prior to his coaching career, Flood swam collegiately at NCAA Division II Rock State College, and he then took his first coaching job at the University of Iowa. There, he coached Polish Olympian Artur Wojdat, who won Olympic bronze in 1988 and won nine NCAA titles.
• Greg Harden, the longtime mental coach for athletics programs at the University of Michigan, died at the age of 75 in September. He held his role with the Wolverines for 34 years, working with thousands of athletes including Michael Phelps, who trained in Ann Arbor from 2005 to 2008.

OCTOBER 2024

• International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee Elaine Gray died in October in her 79th year. Between 1962 and 1965, Gray won 15 consecutive British Long Distance Swimming Association championships titles and five Amateur Swimming Association Championship swims. In July 1967, she crossed the English Channel in a new ladies world record of 10 hours and 24 minutes.

NOVEMBER 2024

• Mona Nyheim-Canales, the former head age group coach of Pitchfork Aquatics in Arizona, died in November at the age of 59 after a battle with brain cancer. In addition to her extensive club experience, Nyheim-Canales also spent time at numerous with college programs including the University of Houston, the University of Illinois, the University of North Texas, Colgate University and the University of Michigan.
• Two-time U.S. Olympian Sue Pitt Andersondied on November 22 at the age of 76. Anderson represented the U.S. at the Olympics in 1964 and 1968, swimming on the prelims of the American women’s 4×100 medley relay in 1964 that ultimately won gold (though medals weren’t awarded to prelim swimmers at the time). At the age of 15, Pitt Anderson broke the world record in the women’s 200 fly in 1963 (2:29.1), a mark that stood for almost a year.
• One of the world’s greatest diving coaches ever, Ron O’Brien, died in November at the age of 86. O’Brien coached famed American diver Greg Louganis to four Olympic gold medals and five world titles between 1978 and 1988. O’Brien competed collegiately with Ohio State, winning the NCAA title in the men’s 1-meter event in 1959.

DECEMBER 2024

• Estemeed Florida high school coach Bill Shafferdied on December 15 from a heart attack at the age of 58. Shaffer coached for 29 years at the all-boys Jesuit High School in Tampa and for 17 years at the all-girls Academy of the Holy Names, winning a total of six high school state titles.

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