International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees By Last Name (D)

For the first time in history, the International Swimming Hall of Fame is recognizing a father and son as one, jointly in the same year. This honor goes to three-time Olympic water polo playersGiuseppe and Marco D’Altruiof Italy.

For the first time in history, the International Swimming Hall of Fame is recognizing a father and son as one, jointly in the same year. This honor goes to three-time Olympic water polo players Giuseppe and Marco D’Altrui of Italy.

She began her love of swimming at age three. At 11, her older sisters taught her “water ballet” and she was immediately hooked. She loved the music, the creativity, the artistry and best of all, swimming upside down! She then discovered the Washington Athletic Club Synchronized Swimming Team, where she competed through high school. After high school, she moved and competed with the reigning National Champion, Santa Clara Aquamaids. It was with the Aquamaids, she became a National Team champion in 1970.

Her first sport was figure skating. Then she saw rhythmic gymnastics on TV and she left the ice for the ribbon and mat, but not for long. At the age of six, her mother took her for swim lessons where she was exposed to synchronized swimming. She immediately loved the sport. Early on in her career, she was tested by her coach to see if she was really serious about synchronized swimming. She was asked to give up her favorite foods of chocolate, cakes and chips. She loved the sport more, gave the foods up and the rest, as they say, is history.

Inge de Bruijn is the most successful athlete of all time in Dutch sports history.

At the tender age of eight, this youngster started swimming at the Roeselare Swim Club. He was coached by his father for the first eight years of his life. Once he reached a certain level, his father thought he needed a more experienced coach and they found a Dutchman by the name of Ronald Gaastra. But even when he was competing at the elite levels, he did not have ideal training conditions.

Known as “Ivanych” to his teammates and “Killer” to his esteemed opponents, Alexander Dolgushin was one of the most feared defensive players during the 1960s and 1970s. Coaches praised his ability to oppose the most powerful opponents leading to his crowd-attention rivalry with Hungary’s giant scorer,Istvan Szivos, Jr., at the 1972 Olympic Games, resulting in the gold medal for his team.