Passages: Legendary Diving Coach Ron O’Brien Dies at 86; Leaves Unmatched Legacy
By Meg Marvin
Dr. Ron O’Brien, a legend in the sport of diving, has died at the age of 86. As a coach, no one can compare to the resume O’Brien created in the sport of diving. He was an eight-time USA Olympic diving coach, seven-time head coach, beginning in 1968 and continuing through every Olympiad until his last in 1996. He was a seven-time USA World Championships head coach, four-time USA Pan American Games head coach and seven-time USA World Cup head coach.
O’Brien coached numerous Olympians who combined to win five gold, three silver and four bronze medals. He will probably be best remembered for the 1988 Olympic Games, when he coached Greg Louganis to his second double gold medal performance in the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform events, making Louganis the only man to accomplish back-to-back double gold medals in Olympic diving history. All totaled in major competitions, O’Brien divers won 196 gold, 113 silver and 106 bronze medals.
His coaching career began after a brief stint at Minnesota, when O’Brien was named the head diving coach at his alma mater, the Ohio State University, where he coached from 1963-1978. He eventually moved to Southern California in 1978, where he became head coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadores. It was in Mission Viejo that O’Brien won an astounding 38 team titles. In 1984, the United States swept all four gold medals at the World Championships, the only time this has ever been accomplished and the first time any country has swept a major international world class event since 1952. The divers were all coached by O’Brien.
In 1985, O’Brien headed to South Florida to coach at a brand new facility called Mission Bay in Boca Raton, where he stayed until 1990. He hit the ground running. The next year in 1986, all 12 United States Diving individual national titles were won by Ron O’Brien divers. O’Brien won 16 team titles while at Mission Bay and was soon inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) as an Honor Coach in 1988.
In 1990, The City of Fort Lauderdale, home to ISHOF, hired O’Brien as the Director of Diving and Head Diving Coach at the Hall of Fame Aquatic Complex. There, O’Brien won 20 team titles, and a majority of his athletes competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, with O’Brien serving as head coach. Pat Jeffrey, Karen LaFace, Kent Ferguson, Scott Donie, Jenny Keim, Mary Ellen Clark, and David Pichler were all members of the Fort Lauderdale Diving Team.
In addition to coaching Olympians in Fort Lauderdale, O’Brien served as the National Technical Director for USA Diving from 1991-2004.
After the 1996 Olympic Games, O’Brien retired from actively coaching on deck. In 1996, he was named Diving Special Events Coordinator at the Hall of Fame Aquatics Complex for the City of Fort Lauderdale, where he remained until 2008. He was named High Performance Director for USA Diving in 2004, where he served for the next four years. Once retired, he created and operated “Divers to College,” an online college recruiting website, exclusively for divers and diving. He was always looking to help the “diver.”
O’Brien produced a United States national champion in 25 of his 30 years as a coach and had a national champion for 24 consecutive years, from 1973 through his last year in 1996. Awards started almost immediately in his career. In 1974, O’Brien was presented the Mike Malone Award, given for outstanding contributions to United States Diving. In 1976, O’Brien was given the Fred Cady Award for coaching an Olympic champion and the James A. Rhodes Award for participation in the 1976 Olympic Games.
He was awarded the Mike Peppe Memorial Award an unprecedented 14 times, first in 1979, and the last time was his final year of coaching, in 1996. In 1993, he was given the WHOSAM Award, which is given for commitment to excellence and dedication in the sport of diving. In 1996, he won the United States Olympic Committee’s Diving Coach of the Year, as well as the Phil Boggs Award, given for outstanding contributions to United States Diving.
In addition to ISHOF in 1988, O’Brien was inducted into The Ohio State University Hall of Fame in 1984; he was a 1996 Inductee into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame; in 2004, he was inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame. Most recently, O’Brien was inducted as part of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame Class of 2019 as an Honor Coach, one of only six coaches to ever be inducted.
On May 23, 2015, the city of Fort Lauderdale inducted Dr. Ron O’Brien with a star embedded on Fort Lauderdale Beach on the City’s Walk of Fame as part of its sixth annual Great American Beach Party celebration. The City followed up on January 7, 2020 by proclaiming it Ron O’Brien Day in the City of Fort Lauderdale.
O’Brien was born in Pittsburgh, PA, on March 14, 1938. He became interested in diving and gymnastics at the Pittsburgh YMCA, where he began his athletic career. He went on to attend college at the Ohio State University, earning six varsity letters in both diving and gymnastics. He became the NCAA champion on the 1-meter board in 1959, and was an NCAA All-American on both the 1- and 3-meter in 1957, 1958, 1959, and the AAU National Champion on the 3-meter in 1961. In 1960, at the U.S. Diving Olympic Trials, O’Brien placed third, missing making the Olympic Team by one place. Not making the team sent him into coaching and created a coaching legend who may never be replicated. On May 20, 2010, Ohio State University named their diving well, the Ron O’Brien Dive Well, in his honor.
Dr. Ron O’Brien leaves behind his wife of over 60 years, Mary Jane, daughter Anne, son Tim, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
“I am grateful for the unconditional love he showed me,” said Louganis. “I was an instrument of his creation. He told me, ‘Greg, they will forget you and what you did, but they will always remember your records.’ He is the only reason they exist. Thank you Ron, for your love.”
Other tributes are below…
“Ron was the gentleman’s coach. A class act, humble and quiet. But boy did he know just what to say at the right moment. He coached and helped so many top divers and other coaches in the sport of diving. He was beloved around the world and will be greatly missed.” — Michelle Mitchell, 1984, 1988 Olympic Silver medalist.
“Ron was a legendary Coach, but an even better person and friend. We will all miss him dearly.” –Steve McFarland, former President USA Diving, World Aquatics Technical Diving Committee
“I didn’t know Ron that well, as I was a Michigander and Ronnie was from Ohio State, but I absolutely admired the way he worked with his divers and the person he was.” –Bobby Webster, two-time Olympic gold medalist, 1960, 1964, 10-meter platform
“To be coached by Ron was such an honor. He was a class act coaching his athletes to their potential while teaching life skills through mentorship. He helped the world of diving step into excellence with grace and humbleness. Ron was motivated by coaching the entire person so we could learn the life lessons through sport to then help the next generation by paying it forward. Ron was a leader through action, a man with a plan and my dear friend in life. I am forever blessed for Ron changing my life. Heaven is so lucky to have such a gentleman in Ron O’Brien, a star in life and now, among the stars.” –Mary Ellen Clark, 1992, 1996, Olympic Bronze medalist
“Ron O’Brien was the most professional diving coach I have ever known and that’s saying something. He added stature to be a diving coach; just the way he presented himself at diving competitions. He was a benefactor to the sportand he will be sorely missed.” –Tom Gompf, lifelong friend, former President USA Diving, FINA Technical Diving Chairman
“Ron O’Brien was one of my oldest and dearest friends in the diving community. When I started diving at Ohio State, I lived in same rooming house as Ron. I was coached by Ron, along with Don Harper, and I attribute any success that I had in the sport to him and will continue to miss him.” –Lou Vittuci, lifelong friend and 1964 Olympian, 10-meter platform
“Ron O’Brien was the ultimate coach for every diver. He dealt with all the fears young athletes had in a way that put them at ease and allowed them to build self-esteem/confidence where they were lacking. Truth be told, he was a genius when it came to reading people.” –Cynthia Potter, 4-time Olympian, Olympic Diving Commentator
Ron’s achievements as a coach spanned four decades and included Olympic success by some of the most accomplished divers to ever compete in the sport. But most importantly, he was a devoted husband and father, who was humble, kind, and generous throughout his life. Ron truly was an icon of the sport of diving and will be missed profoundly by all in aquatics worldwide.” –Dale Neuburger, World Aquatics Treasurer
“Ron was everything. Kind, generous, smart. An unmatched eye for detail. But his greatest quality was how much he cared about each and every one of us. And that level of caring leads to magic.” –Scott Donie, 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist, 10-meter Platform