1984 Olympic gold medalist Steve Lundquist has joined the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s ‘One in a Thousand’ campaign, which is designed to help the Hall of Fame thrive during the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This keeps me connected with the Hall of Fame,” Steve Lundquist sad. “I think the hall of fame is a wonderful way to perpetrate the knowledge of where swimming came from and where it is going. It is basically our encyclopedia and our knowledge base of swimming itself. There are some great swimmers that came before me and some great swimmers that have come behind me. I’m just happy to be a part of it and see the history.”
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“I come (to Fort Lauderdale) every year for the boat parade,” Lundquist said. “We have a condo there where we hang out over the river and this year they cancelled it, so we said, ‘let’s go to the boat show.’ I was at the hall of fame last December for the Christmas boat parade – we waved at it because we were by the Bahia Mar and the progress on the new pool looked pretty awesome!”
Steve Lundquist with SMU coach George McMillion. Photo Courtesy: Swimming World Archive
Steve Lundquist had a near perfect record internationally in breaststroke races when he competed in the early 1980s. He broke out at the 1979 Pan American Games at 18-years-old with a gold medal in both the 100 & 200 breaststroke as well as the 4×100 medley relay before heading off the college at Southern Methodist University.
As a Mustang, Lundquist won all four NCAA titles in the 100 breaststroke from 1980 – 1983, becoming the first man to win the event four times. In his senior year, Lundquist’s 1.61 second margin over Stanford’s John Moffett remains the largest margin of victory in the 100 breaststroke in NCAA history. In the 200, Lundquist won two titles in 1981 and 1982, and also swam the breaststroke leg on the winning 400 medley relay as a senior in 1983.
Steve Lundquist on the cover of Swimming World in January 1982.
In 1980, the Moscow Olympic boycott affected Lundquist as he won the “Olympic Trials” in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:02.83, which was faster than the gold medal winning time of Great Britain’s Duncan Goodhew that summer. Flash forward four years later, and Lundquist was one of the lucky 1980 Olympians to make the team for Los Angeles as he finished second to long-time rival John Moffett in the 100 breaststroke.
Ahead of the final in Los Angeles, Moffett was the heavy favorite to capture the 100 breaststroke gold medal, but tore a muscle in his leg during his heats swim. Although he broke the Olympic record, he spent the entirety of the day trying to figure out if he could swim, as chronicled in Bud Greenspan’s “16 Days of Glory.” Moffett received an injection of a local anesthetic in between the heats and the final and was able to swim, but there was speculation over if he could still win a medal despite the strong swim in the morning.
In the 100 breast final, Lundquist stormed to the lead out in lane 2 and never relinquished it. The American won in a new world record time of 1:01.65 with Moffett placing fifth. Lundquist was one of the dominant breaststrokers of his era, as only one man has ever won back to back Olympic golds in the 100 breaststroke – Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima. Lundquist swam the breaststroke leg on the gold medal winning 4×100 medley relay for the United States, keeping the unbeaten streak alive that continues into 2021.
Steve Lundquist was also awarded by this publication as World Swimmer of the Year in 1982 and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1990.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to know if you are one in a thousand? We think you are! Show how special you are and become a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club. Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of support to show how special you are and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to water sports. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
