A new era starts at Swimming World today as we celebrate Independence Day in the United States. It is only fitting that we also celebrate the freedom of the press and independent journalism on this day by welcoming Craig Lord and John Lohn back to the fold to oversee Swimming World’s media platforms.
Lord takes the title of Swimming World Editor-in-Chief and Lohn is the Associate Editor-in-Chief. The title of Swimming World Editor-in-Chief has been vacant since 2005 when Phillip Whitten left Swimming World to become Executive Director for the College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The Associate Editor-in-Chief is a newly created position.
Lord will be based out of Europe and Lohn out of New Jersey, allowing Swimming World to have bases on both sides of the Atlantic. They will be leading a news staff of 15 employees, numerous international correspondents, and select interns. Lord and Lohn have both worked as writers at Swimming World over the years. Most recently, they were the force behind the popular SwimVortex website that went off-line a year ago.
Their appointments are a part of wider moves to capitalize on the ongoing merger of Swimming World and the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). Brent Rutemiller will remain as Publisher of Swimming World but will devote more time to his role as CEO of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
These two professionals are the best in the business of aquatic journalism. Lord brings with him a lifetime of experience, including three decades as the Swimming and Olympics writer for The Times and Sunday Times in London. He has been associated with Swimming World off and on for decades and has written for multiple publications including starting his own website called SwimVortex.com – which had a huge following. He has been a core member of ISHOF’s Honoree Selection Committee for at least a decade.
Tokyo 2020 will mark Lord’s eighth Olympic Games as a journalist. Down through those years, he worked at major desks, both at home and foreign, covering sports and business news. Of late, swimming readers will know him through his work with the late Nick Thierry (father of World Rankings) at SwimNews and the SwimVortex site Lord founded in 2012.
In the past 30 years, Lord has not only covered the action in the pool but been at the forefront of breaking stories related to doping and corruption in swimming. In 1998, he broke the story of Michelle Smith’s brush with anti-doping authorities, a tale which led to her suspension from the sport. Lord is a recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Al Schoenfield Media Award and the American Swimming Coaches Association Media Award.
Lohn is an award-winning and world-recognized journalist specializing in aquatics. He was Swimming World’s Senior Writer in the early 2000’s and traveled to Beijing to cover the 2008 Olympics. Lohn has gone on to cover two other Olympic Games and has contributed to multiple news outlets. He is the author of four books through Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, including The 100 Greatest Swimmers in History and The Most Memorable Moments in Olympic Swimming
“Craig Lord is the number one authority on swimming today. John Lohn is equal in status. Combined, these two giants in journalism will bring facts and perspectives that are often lost in today’s short form media. More importantly, Lord and Lohn will capitalize on the rich content housed at the International Swimming Hall of Fame to further the reader’s perspective and enhance the sport. The goal is to elevate aquatic sports.” – Brent Rutemiller, Swimming World Publisher and ISHOF CEO
Craig Lord can be reached at Lord@SwimmingWorld.com
John Lohn can be reached at Lohn@SwimmingWorld.com
About his appointment as Swimming World’s Editor-in-Chief, Lord said: “I’m thrilled and grateful to have been asked by Brent to provide editorial direction in a digital age of plenty in which quality and context, let alone accuracy and proximity to and knowledge of the subject and its matter, have been somewhat crushed under the weight of trying not to miss a mention of ‘everything that’s out there’.
“The Swimming World team is brimming with energy and talent. I look forward to working on some exciting coverage and new ventures with all involved over the coming months and years. The chance to work once more side by side with John Lohn across The Pond makes the prospects all the brighter.”
Lord read his first copy of Swimming World magazine “cover-to-cover … back in the days of Debbie Meyer, at 7 or 8 years old”.
“Having grown up in swimming and a swimming family reading my father’s copies of Swimming World magazine, I’m delighted to have been given this opportunity, particularly at what is a critical, watershed moment for the sport of swimming, swimmers, coaches and the players and mentors, backers and supporters of all aquatic sports.
“Swimming has been one of the biggest draws at the Olympic Games consistently for what will be 124 years as Tokyo welcomes the world to the planet’s premier multi-sports event. Those Games will witness the first swimming program that boasts absolute parity of events for both genders in the pool, 108 years after Stockholm welcomed women to the water for their inaugural Olympic races.
“The sport celebrates its ‘Bilbo Baggins birthday’ this year: ‘eleventy-first’, or 111 years since the foundation of FINA. Governance issues abound, athletes and coaches are not only building on what’s been and testing new frontiers of preparation but they’re finally finding their voice, too.
“Challenges ahead? You bet. But thrilling, exciting times, too. As 2020 approaches, Swimming World and ISHOF, both with untapped assets aplenty, have a great opportunity to embrace the pioneering spirit of the founding fathers of both those entities, honor their legacy and write new chapters they would be proud of – and we will be proud of.
“We aim to be a daily habit for the worldwide swimming community and will seek to be good and progressive guardians of the legacy of the likes of Peter Daland, who in 1960 handed his Junior Swimmer magazine project over to Al Schoenfield, who a year later joined forces with Bob Kiphuth’s Swimming World magazine; the legacy of the likes of Buck Dawson and those who followed him at the helm and among other leaders of ISHOF, which collectedly sought to keep the thread of Aquatics history alive, often against the odds, since 1965.
“Those people cared; they embraced the history and the contemporary, spoke to the past, the present and of what both those things might mean for the future. And so shall we!” – Craig Lord Swimming World Editor-in-Chief
“I am thrilled and honored to be returning to Swimming World, which gave me my start in covering the sport on the national and international level back in 2000. It is an exciting and important time in the sport, both in and out of the water, and I look forward to overseeing and providing coverage on a variety of topics and events. Finally, to join forces again with Craig Lord, who was a tremendous mentor and partner during our time at SwimVortex, is a stroke of good fortune. Off the blocks we go.” – John Lohn Swimming World Associate Editor-in-Chief
Statement from The Publisher
Swimming World (SW) built its reputation as an independent media outlet. The hiring of Lord and Lohn will continue that core practice of independence. There will be times when SW will take on tough issues that may be uncomfortable for those associated with ISHOF as sponsors, supporters, or governing bodies. In the quest to present the truth in a balanced and responsible manner, Swimming World’s editorial Philosophy will be the following:
- Promote the lifestyle, culture and benefits of swimming
- Showcase past, present and emerging athletes on an elite international level
- Seek expert opinions
- Support freedom of speech with 3rd party commentaries
- Create a trusted network that always goes to the source for controversial issues
- Support the integrity of independent journalism through balanced reporting
- Encourage and support change in the sport in a positive way
- Tell both sides to every story
- Controversial commentaries will be “Voiced” by an editorial board
- Separate commentary from news and avoid agenda-driven journalism
- Avoid personal attacks
- Be a uniting force for the sport vs a divisive one
- If SW highlights a problem then it also must highlight solutions
- Be the number 1 source for news, historical facts, and stories on aquatic sports
With this over-arching philosophy, Swimming World staff will continue to excel, demonstrating the highest form of respect, integrity, and ethics in the sport. Swimming World should set the standard for balanced and professional journalism in Aquatic Sports. – Brent Rutemiller, Swimming World Publisher
Good move!!
Congratulations to all of you!! Craig you are such a great journalist when I found you on Vortex I only read your column! John Long, and Phil Whitten I’ve followed and read there columns and Phil was the first person I think talked to me about swimming!! The Best of everything !!?♂️?♀️??
Will every single article mention “State Plan 14:25” no matter how unrelated? Along with using the word ‘helm’ as often as possible, that is what I remember about every Swim Vortex article!
Your memory is pretty poor, then ?
And we will see his borderless love in Katinka, too. ?
I can’t stop smiling! Congratulations to Brent, Craig and John. What an A Team!
Congratulations Brent, and thank you to Craig and John for setting up a Quantum Leap in todays aquatic journalism!!! What a great staff!
Looking forward to the new team! More international coverage and stop creating an article for every single verbal commit to a US college (or at least create a new section called USA college or NCAA and off of the home page please:) That is what I loved most about Swim Vortex!