NOTE: Disabled swimmers from South Africa have set numerous world records, but the early (pre-1992) history of paraplegic/disabled sports in South Africa is largely unknown to the public today (2024), Even the results from the Stoke Mandeville Games (1948-59) also do not seem to exist, although some newspaper archive do contain published results of paraplegic/paralympic sports.

This not in any way a definitive history of disabled swimming in southern Africa. Much more research is required to capture the stories of these brave athletes.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Natalie du Toit (above) proved that disabled swimming was part of the sport of competitive swimming at the highest level when she competed against able-bodied swimmers in the Olympic 10km open water marathon event. Natalie won 13 Paralympic gold medals (2004 - 2012).

Since paraplegic athletes (paralysed in lower limbs) started to participate in competitive sports in the late 1940s, South Africans and Rhodesians have achieved considerable success, particularly in swimming. During the sports boycott era, Rhodesians continued to compete in South African events as a province, including paraplegic sports. 

Both countries were allowed to continue participating in international paraplegic sporting events for much longer than their able-bodied countrymen. South Africa won 5 medals in swimming at the 1976 Paralympic Games in Toronto, although the Canadian government refused to grant visas for the Rhodesian Paralympic team to attend the 1976 Toronto Paralympics.

In 1972 Willie Bosch won the gold at the Paralympic Games held in Heidelberg, West Germany and set a new world record, and Hester du Preez achieved the same at the 1978 South African Games in Bloemfontein. 

Damon Kendrick(below) lost a leg due to a shark attack, yet he still represented  Western Province as a provincial-level diver in the 1970s, and still does open water swimming races in 2024. 

In 2000 Terence Parkin, a deaf swimmer from Natal, won a silver medal in the 200m IM at the Sommer Olympic Games in Sydney. 

In 2020, Alwyn Uys is a paraplegic athlete who swim from Robben Island to Bloubergstrand. (Click here to see a trailer for his movie - Against All Odds: The Alwyn Uys Story. In March 1977 Coreen Swanepoel of Stellenbosch was the first paraplegic swimmer to achieve a Robben Island crossing.

The Netherlands, the host country of the 1980 Summer Paralympics, adopted a motion declaring South Africa's participation in the 1980 Games "undesirable". South Africa was subsequently absent from the Paralympic Games until 1992.

Tadhg Slattery competed as part of the South African Paralympic swimming team at six Paralympic games. His first games in 1992 gave him his first Paralympic gold medal in the 100m breaststroke in a world record time.

SOUTH AFRICAN SPORTS ASSOCIATION FOR PARAPLEGICS AND OTHER PHYSICALLY DISABLED

March 1979

Sport vir gestremdes staan onder beheer van die Suid Afrikaanse Sport Assosiasie vir Parapleëen en ander Liggaamlik gestremdes. Sport soorte ingesluit word genoem, die geskiedenis van sport vir gestrem des word kortliks geskets en die prestasies vein Suid-Afrikaanse sportlui op die gebied word bespreek. Kom petisie met normale sportlui vind nou ook plaas.

Sport for the disabled in South Africa is governed by the National Council of the South African Sports Association for Paraplegics and Other Physically Disabled.

Competitors from the Southern Transvaal, Western Transvaal, Northern Transvaal, Orange Free State, Griqualand West, Eastern Province, Natal, Western Province, South West Africa, Rhodesia, Transkei and Ciskei take part in the annual National Championships, where they compete in the following sports: archery, field events (discus, shot-put, javelin, precision javelin, club-throwing), swimming, weight-lifting, table tennis, basketball, snooker, bowls, wheelchair races (100m, 400m, 800m and 1 500m) and wheelchair slalom. In January 1977 the National Association of Blind Bowlers was accepted as an affiliated member.

In 1965 the Association registered its emblem with the Bureau of Heraldry. It depicts a springbok leaping through the wheel of a wheelchair and the badge is awarded to anyone selected to represent South Africa at an international meeting.

Sport for athletes with an impairment has existed for more than 100 years, and the first sports clubs for the deaf were already in existence in 1888 in Berlin.

It was not until after World War II, however, that it was widely introduced. The purpose of it at that time was to assist the large number of war veterans and civilians who had been injured during wartime.

In 1944, at the request of the British Government, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Great Britain, and in time, rehabilitation sport evolved to a recreational sport and then to competitive sports.

On 29 July 1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Guttmann organised the first competition for wheelchair athletes which he named the Stoke Mandeville Games which was a milestone in Paralympic history. They involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery. 

Paraplegic sport (which the Paralympics is named after) grew after that 1948 event.  Beginning in 1960 during Summer Olympic years, the International Stoke Mandeville Games (ISMG) were held in the same host city as the Summer Olympics. These particular editions of the Games were retroactively recognised as being the first four Paralympic Games. The Games were otherwise hosted in Stoke Mandeville in all other years. Beginning in 1976, the Paralympic Games began hosting events for amputees and the visually impaired; at this point, the Paralympics were no longer credited as being editions of the ISMG, but the ISMG went on hiatus during Paralympic years. 

After the Paralympics expanded to include events for disability classifications other than wheelchairs, the ISMG for wheelchair athletes continued to be hosted annually in Stoke Mandeville, and later other countries, in all non-Paralympic years.

1949 saw the second of the Stoke Mandeville Games, in which 37 individuals participated. In addition to a repeat of the previous year’s archery competition ‘net-ball’ was added to the programme for these Games. This was a kind of hybrid of netball and basketball played in wheelchairs and using netball posts for goals. Only one team fielded a woman in their team, 21-year-old Margaret Harriman (neé Webb), who at age 19, she sustained a fractured spine in a tractor accident. She emigrated to Rhodesia and later to South Africa, becoming one of the most successful Paralympians between 1960 and 1996. 

An unnamed patient from Southern Rhodesia participated in the 1951 event, and a similarly anonymous South African competed in 1953 when swimming was also added to the list of sports at the Games.

In 1955 South Africa sent a team and in 1956 won its first Stoke Mandeville Games swimming gold medal when Neville Cohen won the breaststroke final. 

In 1962 the South African Paraplegic Games Association was established. It was only for persons with spinal cord injuries.

South Africa first competed in the International Stoke Mandeville Games, which in an Olympic year became known as the Paralympic Games, in 1962.

The Paralympics concept was introduced in South Africa in 1963 and was included in the first South African National Games held in Johannesburg in March 1964.

In November 1964 South Africa sent a team to the 1964 Paralympic Games, as they were now called. Paradoxically, South Africa began to compete at the Paralympics after being barred from participating in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964. South African Gordon Popperwell (Western Province) won a silver medal in breaststroke, while in the women's events, A. Somerset won a gold and two silver medals. N. Thesen won a bronze medal. Rhodesians Lynette Gilchrist and Leslie Manson-Bishop won 6 medals of which 5 were gold.

1968 - Karen Steele of Natal paraplegic swimmer at the South African Championships in Kimberley.

Willie Nel broke two world records at the 1968 South African Paraplegic Championships in Kimberley and then won a gold medal at the 1968 Paralympic Games held in Tel Aviv. David Lewis, a pupil at the Elizabeth Conradie School in Kimberley, also swam in these Paralympic Games, winning two medals. Despite setting two world records at the Games in Kimberley, Riana van der Schyff did not get to swim at the Paralympics. At the SA Paraplegic Championships in 1969, Riana set three new world records!

The 1972 Paralympic Games, the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972, two weeks before the Summer Olympics held in Munich. South African swimmers, four male and five female, won a total of 18 medals - eight of which were gold. The Rhodesians won 9 medals - two gold - and Sandra James set a world record. She also won a gold medal in the Women's javelin throw.

The outstanding athlete of these Games was Riana van der Schyff from South Africa who won four gold medals in swimming and two silver and a bronze medal in athletics field events (discus, javelin and shot put). Willie Bosch (1) and M. van der Riet (2) won gold in the men's swimming. 

1976 was the last time the Springbok Paralympians were allowed to compete at the Games, even though the Rhodesians were refused visas to enter Canda. M. Schaefer won bronze in women's backstroke while M. van der Riet (first names unknown) won two silver medals and a bronzem with J. Crouse also winning a second place silver medal. 

The Rhodesians were allowed back to compete in 1980 - as Zimbabwe - winning 4 medals in swimming. 

Tadhg Slattery

1992 Paralympic Games - Barcelona

Ebert Kleynhans

1996 Paralympic Games - Atlanta

Jean-Jaques Terblanche

1996 Paralympic Games - Atlanta

Charl Bouwer

2008 Beijing and 2012 London Paralympic Games

Hendrik ven der Merwe

South African Medallists Paralympics 1964 - 1976

24 Oct 2000: Darren Leach (bronze)of Great Britain, Ebert Kleynhans (gold)of South Africa and Yoshikazu Sakai (silver) of Japan during the medal presentation for the Mens 100M Freestyle S12 Final held at Olympic Park during the Sydney 2000 ParalympicGames, Sydney, Australia.

Women

Men

After deep plunge stocks are starting to recover

Wall Street crisis

Michael Phelps seems unimprressed by the South African's victory in the 4x00 Frresyle relay - depriving him of an expected 9th gold medal.

Peter Rowan Williams (born 20 June 1968) attended Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, where he was coached by Tom Connell. Swimming for Eastern Province, Peter won the 100 and 200 freestyle events at the 1987 South African swimming championships. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Nebraska in 1987 - ten years before Penny Heyns would follow in his footsteps to Lincoln, Nebraska.

He set a new world record in the 50-meter freestyle in a Time Trial the day after the 1988 NCAA Championships, on 10 April 1988. Williams covered the distance in 22.18 seconds, knocking .05 off the mark held by Tom Jager. Even though the International Swimming Federation (FINA) did not recognize South Africa, it had recognized previous records by South Africans, notably the 100-meter mark set by  Jonty Skinner.

In 1991 Peter competed at the South African swimming championships, held at the Newlands Pool in Cape Town, representing his old team Easter Province. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Peter fished tied 4th in the 50m freestyle. Tom Jager (USA) took the bronze medal in 22:30, although his best was the WR he set at 21:81, set in 1990. Peter's 1988 world record time of 22:18.

Peter returned to South Africa, where he set up the Waterborn swimming club in Johannesburg.

Peter, back at Grey High, with coach Tom Connell.

By the end of the 1988 season, Peter Williams could hardly be considered an overnight sensation but he was sensational. The then-freshman at the University of Nebraska had proven all season long that he was one of the top collegiate swimmers in the United States. But on April 10, he was on top of the world. Competing in an all-comers time trial meet following the NCAA Championships, Williams, then 19, stunned the swimming world when he set a world best in the 50-meter freestyle. His time of 22.18 made him the fastest swimmer in history when he eclipsed the old mark of 22.23 set in March by former UCLA national champion and 1988 Olympian Tom Jager.

During his first full season of competition, Williams was ranked high on the national charts, qualifying for the NCAA meet in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle. When the water had calmed in Indianapolis, the site of the NCAA meet, Williams had earned All-America honors with a third-place finish in the 100-yard free and honorable-mention merit in winning the consolation final of the 50-yard free for ninth place. He was also a member of the Huskers' 400 medley and 400 and 800 free relays that earned honorable-mention All-America recognition.

In all, Williams scored 25 of the Huskers' team-record 125 points in leading them to 10th place, their best-ever NCAA finish. As a freshman phenom, he began turning heads in December when he turned in a 22.63-clocking in the 50-meter free at the U.S. Open on Dec. 21. It was the eighth-fastest time in history at the time. In addition to the world's best, he has also posted times of 22.38 and 22.57. Prior to his arrival in Lincoln, Williams' previous best in the 50-meter free was 23.27, with a best of 51.91 in the 100-meter free. He has since lowered that to 50.72. A native of Port Elizabeth, South Africa Williams came to Nebraska as an unheralded recruit with a limited background in swimming let alone the sprint freestyle events.

Without the benefit of modern facilities near his home, Williams' training was much less than year-round. But while his training was limited, his talent was not. Williams won three gold medals at the 1987 South African National Championships and came to Nebraska with the potential to help the Huskers in three different strokes. He ended the 1988 season as the team's No. 2 swimmer in the 100-yard breaststroke after finishing fifth at the Big Eight Conference Championships.

However, because of his South African citizenship and his country's policies, Williams will be unable to compete in the Olympics and select international competitions. It's a fact that he is resigned to living with, but one that has not diminished his goal to be the best and fastest—ever. With Chapter One of his career now closed, Williams, now 20, has started re-writing the record books in the sprint free and has helped usher in a new era of swimming in Husker history. A top-10 finish as a team has put Nebraska on the national map, and individual success has put Peter Williams on top of the world.

Wikipedia: Peter Williams' 1988 time was officially recognized, but not as a world record, because South Africa was banned from international competition at the time.

Discussion:

...thru the last 20 years this has been a very controversial subject. The obvious case of this is when Peter Williams set the World Record in a Time Trial the day after the 1988 NCAA Championships on 4-10-88. About 15 days prior to this at the Nationals in Orlando, Tom Jager broke his own WR in the 50 Meter Free of :22.32 and went a :22.23 swimming against Matt Biondi who went :22.42 in this 8 swimmer heat.

Peter Williams competed at the NCAA Championships and didn't final in the 50 Yard Free and went :19.89 and swam to first in the consolation heat at :19.78 swimming for Nebraska. The day after the meet the bulkheads were moved back and swimming in a time trial 50 meter Free all by himself he went :22.18 to break Tom Jager's 15 day record. There was a lot of outcry about this swim because the SCY time really didn't match up to the LCM time. Tom Jager and Matt Biondi criticized this World Record if it were to stand. At that time South Africa was an apartheid nation and there was a rumor that the record would not count for that reason.

There were sensionalized stories about the conditions of the race and the swim was bogus. I happen to talk to Dale Neuburger about this about 4 weeks ago and he was there at IUPUI Natatorioum when this swim took place and said every FINA requirement was made in this World Record breaking swim. Peter Williams was not very big or tall and that would probably explain the reason why his short course swim did not match this World Record effort. FINA was suppose to review this and render a decision. A decision was not made by the 1988 Olympics and there Matt Biondi broke the record by .04 with a :22.14 and won the gold medal in the 50 Meter Free.

Peter Williams did not swim in the Olympics because South Africa was banned then. To this day the swim was never recognized as a World Record but remains in lists of the top 100 times of all time for the 50 Meter Free. Most people assume that because FINA did not count this as a World Record it was because he was from the country of South Africa and not because it was from a time trial. Others think with the public outcry that maybe FINA did not want to count this swim from the time trial as a World Record.

There was never a press release explaining any of this and it was just kind of forgotten. In the modern era of FINA World Records since 1957, Peter Williams would be the only swimmer in history to be discriminated against getting a World

....  As I remember FINA was supposed to make a decision on this but by the time they did, Tom Jager had already broken the World Record and it was a moot point. I am not sure if they ever took the record off the books. Rowdy Gaines, had broken the American Record of :49.99 held by Jim Montgomery in 1980 with a time of :49.61 in a competitive USS swimming meet. The next time he broke the American Record was at a time trial after the Longhorn Invitational in April 1981 and he went :49.47 for a new American Record but fell short of the World Record of :49.44 by Jonty Skinner of South Africa. On his second attempt at the time trial, he went :49.36 and set the World Record which stood until Matt Biondi came along in 1985.
  http://forums.usms.org/showthread.php?9385-21-64  - search for Peter Williams

1991 - South African championships, Newlands, Cape Town. Peter Williams had returned from Nebraska to swim at the South African championships, representing his old team Easter Province. Seen here at Newlands with Larry Kreel and a Western Province official. Below is the start of the men's 50 m freestyle in the very shallow end of Newlands pool, and the finish shows his new national record time of 22,95. Bottom is Peter Williams in Eastern Province colours collecting his gold medal.

In March 1992 the South African Olympic Trials were held in the King's Park Pool in Durban. 

Los Angeles  Times 

July 10, 1991 

SOUTH AFRICA’S RETURN TO THE OLYMPICS

Getting Teams Ready to Be Toughest Task : Aftermath: Track and field athletes are ready to compete, but those in other sports face difficulties.

For 31 years, South African sports officials sought to get back into the Olympic Games, an arena that was closed as part of an international ban preventing South African athletes from leaving their country to compete against the rest of the world.

Tuesday, South Africa finally reached its goal. The nation is now cleared to compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics at Barcelona in July. However, South Africa’s first Olympic opportunity could come at the 1992 Winter Games at Albertville, France. Some Olympic officials have said that there would not be enough time for South Africa to prepare a team for those Games, which are only seven months away.

...

Peter Williams, who in 1988 swam a world-record time for the 50-meter freestyle (the record was not recognized because Williams is South African), said he learned much while competing for four years at the University of Nebraska.

Williams, who has returned to South Africa, said he discovered that being an athlete who grew up in South Africa made him different from others: His dreams did not, or could not, include the Olympic Games.

“After the 1988 Olympics, all my American friends approached me and said: ‘Gee, you must be so disappointed that you didn’t get to go to the Olympics. You must be so sad that your record was not ratified.’

“My response to them was that it didn’t matter. Here, you grow up without the possibility of the Olympics. You can’t carry on entertaining this notion that you are going to the Olympics.

“It’s not going to happen, and you will get yourself frustrated. If I had those thoughts and dreams inside my head, I would have been crushed as a sportsman.”

Today, Williams is allowed to dream.

The spawning of a 'New Generation'

In 2008 Peter's Waterborn swimming club published this, quoted from a Supersport website:

Despite all the melodrama of the past few weeks South Africans, athletes, and the general populace, have finally realized what a monstrous event the Olympic Games is. However, despite controversy, there has been a spawning of a new generation of athletes.

South African middle distance freestyle ace, Jean Basson impressed with his mature, articulate and consise pre games interview on Supersport which was not only a credit to this talented athlete but to his excellent support mechanism that has been his extended Waterborn family.
His comments about progress and more specifically the advice his coach Peter Williams gave, knocked my sox off !
Good on you Peter.
Nice touch Jean.

After the semi-final of the 200m freestyle event, Basson sent this text message to Williams,

“How many people would have thought that Waterborn would have had two guys in the final of the 200 free at the Olympics? I know of three for sure – me, Dom and you! Congrats Pete. It’s a tribute to your awesome coaching abilities and what an amazing person you are! I am so proud to represent you and Waterborn.”

So mission accomplished and history will record that Basson went on to gain South Africas highest placing at the Beijing Olympic Games in the pool with a creditable fourth in amongst some of the greatest freestylers the world has known.

But where did it all start.

Peter has responded in the Waterborn monthly newsletter which was passed onto me and I feel duty-bound to share this with you :
"It’s a privilege to have watched an Olympic Games in its entirety.

During South Africa’s sports isolation, we were fortunate to watch any international events. My coach was Scottish and sourced BBC recordings of the Olympics which we would watch many months later (though always after training and maybe if the water temperature dipped below 10º C).
In 1988 as a World Record Holder I hoped to see my name on the Seoul Olympic events programme. However, a last-minute protest by the United States had Tom Jager’s name reinstated in the programme (South Africa was not an official member of FINA). I chose not to watch and instead applied pent-up energy into training that week.

In 1992 South Africa’s last minute (you have no idea) readmission allowed me to participate in the first international competition of my athletic career. In order to stay focused on my event, I spent my time and creative thoughts in Barcelona’s art museums rather than get caught up in the catastrophe that was taking place in the South African residence in the Olympic Village (some of our relays and individual entries had been omitted). I had a great time in the best city in the world and was proud of my performance despite not having trained much during my 3 years prior to Barcelona (I had stopped swimming owing to injuries and insufficient means or motive to continue training).

I missed the 1996 Atlanta Olympics despite having achieved the qualifying time. I was unfairly victimized for publicly criticizing Swimming South Africa and N.O.C.S.A.. I was subsequently victimized by being unlawfully banned from competitions during my build-up to Olympic Trials owing to an article I had written commenting on the pedantic Olympic support programme. While many of my friends from all over the world were competing, I treated myself to a trans-continental road trip cruise across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, the Pacific North West and Alaska. Treat yourself to something similar at least once in your lifetime…..

By 1997 I was coaching and promised myself to not watch any international swimming event until one of my swimmers was participating. Sydney 2000 was a yawn since my training programme had not yet produced a qualifier (can anyone tell me something interesting about Australia?). Besides I lived in a commune with mates at the time and nothing could have distracted us from fun!!!

By 2004 Waterborn’s 8-year plans had kicked in. Dominic Meichtry became the training programme’s first Olympian. The good-natured Swiss and generous Meichtry family treated coach and athlete to 3 months in Europe before the Olympics. Dom and I enjoyed a unique life opportunity to share a special period of our lives together. I traveled to Athens solo where Dom achieved a semi-final in the 200m Free. Happily I saw the S.A. 4 x 100m freestyle World-Record and Olympic gold performance after having humorously argued with the American relay coach shortly beforehand that they stood no chance against South Africa. Not to be outdone though, or underdone, I celebrated in fine style at the Zurich Love Parade with 1.5 million other highly spirited folk.

The 2008 Olympic games however had me glued to the television, albeit at 4 a.m.

The Beijing Olympics has been the most significant international swimming event in history. The quality of athletes participating, depth in performance, World and Olympic Records and of course Michael Phelps’ superhuman effort have left the international swimming fraternity agasp; with good reason. The sport of swimming has experienced a watershed event. Never again will a swimmer be internationally competitive purely because of physical talent. Swimming has been a late arrival in the world of professional sport but has announced its arrival in an unprecedented and mind-blowing style.

South Africans (athletes and the general populace) have finally realized what a monstrous event the Olympic Games is.
And amidst all the melodrama of the past few weeks two extremely calm and collected, well prepared, and well-rehearsed young Waterborn 200m freestylers Cooley went about their races with the maturity of post gold-medalist world record holders. Dom and Jean have quietly become the 7th and 8th fastest 200m freestyle performers of all time.

You may be excited by an All-Black / South African encounter or some other sporting event. Fortunately, I realized early in my coaching life that watching one’s protégé outperform themselves, at whatever level of competition, is the biggest thrill.
So, despite numerous debates in the public arena about malcontent amongst administrators, coaches and athletes, inadequate financial resources, mismanagement, false confidence, under-preparedness and disorganization, Waterborn’s two undersized 200m freestyle specialists maintained their focus throughout and sensibly managed their emotional intensity with the good sense Waterborn and their respective families have instilled in their competitive psyche.

By consistently applying great technique, developing a healthy self-esteem and positive attitude towards overcoming life’s obstacles, rehearsing superior race-strategy and following a well-planned, structured scientific-based training programme you can upset the world’s best, and ultimately outperform yourself.

Nothing beats positive life-force……it costs nothing, and everything you put into sustaining it makes you stronger and wiser for the next life challenge.

Jean and Dom choose to believe in themselves. They have each overcome immeasurable odds to achieve international status as specialist free “stylers”. In the crazy world of competitive chaos, they have created order and understanding. As their coach and friend, I am humbled by their conviction and faith in the Waterborn process.

Life has affirmed the relationship between the three of us. We share an unbreakable bond. Jean and Dom have helped me complete one of life’s circles. Thank you!

With kindest regards
PETER WILLIAMS

John Alexander Skinner was born in Mowbray, Cape Town on 15th February 1954 and matriculated from Selborne College in East London. His father was the well-known local swimming coach Doug Skinner.

 His early swimming efforts were concentrated on surf lifesaving, where he was soon to become a dominant figure. After winning his Springbok colours on the 1971 tour to Australia and New Zealand, he made an almost complete clean sweep of titles at the 1972 SA Surf Lifesaving Championships.

 That year also showed the first sign of things to come when he finished second in the 100m freestyle at the 1972 Port Elizabeth nationals. On a Springbok swimming tour to Germany, he beat a world-class field in a time of 52,99, which placed him 5th in the world rankings. 

 At the 1973 SA nationals in Bulawayo, he won the 100-metre freestyle event and backed that up by winning the event again at the 1974 National Championships. He was awarded the title of South Africa Athlete of the Year and was also awarded Springbok Colours in Swimming and Life Saving.

 Accepting a scholarship to swim at the University of Alabama, Jonty left for the USA after winning the 100m freestyle at the 1974 Bloemfontein nationals. At the 1975 Division I NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, he won the 100 yards freestyle in an American record time of 43,92 (the record is 43,15 in 2014) and was voted Alabama's most valuable swimmer in 1975, 1976, and 1977. He was also voted as Alabama's Athlete of the Year.

 During the university summer breaks, Jonty swam with coach Bill Palmer at the Central Jersey Aquatic Club in Asbury Park, which club he was representing at the AAU nationals in 1976. 

 In 1976, he weighed 185 pounds, stood 6'5", and had a good chance of taking the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Unfortunately, South Africans were banned from the Olympics - hence making Skinner ineligible to compete.

 However, after the completion of the Olympics, at the 1976 United States, Summer National Swimming Championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and after just qualifying for the final, Skinner broke Jim Montgomery's 20-day-old world record in the 100-meter freestyle by 0.55 seconds beating home the Olympic champion and Joe Bottom who won silver in Montreal. His record stood until 3 April 1981 when Rowdy Gaines swam the distance in 49.36 seconds in Texas. In addition to his world record, he set three American records in the 100-yard freestyle.

 In 1985, he was recognized by the swimming world when he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honour Swimmer.

 After his swimming career ended, Jonty followed in his father's footsteps and became a swim coach and consultant to various countries - including being a US Olympic coach.

 From 1981-1988, Skinner served as head coach at the San Jose Aquatic Club, where he won five junior national championship team titles and one national championship team title.

 From 1994-2000 Skinner served as USA Swimming’s Resident Team Coach, which involved coaching some of the nation’s top swimmers at the elite national and international level.

 Before he arrived at USA Swimming, Skinner served as head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming teams at the University of Alabama. Under Skinner’s guidance, both the men’s and women’s swimming programs finished in the top 10 nationally in 1994. That same year Skinner won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Women’s Coach of the Year award.

Jonty Skinner (RSA)

Honor Swimmer (1985)

The information on this page was written the year of their induction.

FOR THE RECORD:  WORLD RECORD: 1976 (100m freestyle); AAU NATIONALS (4): 1976, 1977, 1978 (100yd, 100m freestyle; 1 relay); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1975 (100yd freestyle); U.S. OPEN RECORDS: 3 (100yd freestyle); SOUTH AFRICAN CHAMPION: 1973, 1974 (100m freestyle); Awarded South African “National Colours” in Swimming and Life Saving.

John Alexander Skinner, better known as Jonty, was born in South Africa, educated at Alabama and now coaches the San Jose Aquatic Club in California.  He weighed 185 pounds, stood 6’5″ and was the fastest sprinter in the world, but it was 1976, and South Africa was non-grata in the Olympic Games.  Jonty watched his friends go one, two, three in the Montreal Olympics on television.

Jonty’s big chance came on “The Day,” August 14, 1976 at Philadelphia’s John B. Kelly Pool.  It was the U.S. Nationals, held as an anti-climax.  It was hard to get oneself up for a race after the Olympics, as many Americans found four years later trying to beat the times they could have swum if not for the Moscow Olympic boycott.  Jonty Skinner knew this was the only chance he’d have to prove he was the world’s best sprinter, even if no one was watching.

Skinner was strictly a hundred sprinter. In addition to his World Record, he won the U.S. Nationals three times, the N.C.A.A.’s once and set a U.S. Open Record and three American Records.  He was voted Alabama’s most valuable swimmer three straight years and was both Alabama and South Africa Athlete of the Year.

https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-jonty-skinner/

Happy Birthday Jonty Skinner!!

https://ishof.org/happy-birthday-jonty-skinner/ 

February 15, 2024

By Rob Marvin

Philadelphia, August 14, 1976. The stands were packed at Kelly’s pool in Philadelphia. It was 4:30 in the afternoon and the air was hot. It was 91°F (33°C) and the air was trembling.

Behind the starting block for the 100m freestyle race was a tall, slim young man with straight posture, a pronounced chin, and a dark mustache. Someone familiar with British comedy would probably detect a certain resemblance to John Cleese. The blue letters “CJAC” on his orange shirt indicated that he competed for the Central Jersey Aquatic Club. The John Cleese look-alike was in great shape. He spun his arms and looked down the 50-meter pool. The only thing on his mind was the 100m race ahead of him. He’d swum this race before—at least once a day for the past six months.

A downside of the meet was the quality of the pool, far from the standards of the recent Olympic pool of Montreal. The pool in Philadelphia had no wash-through gutter and was only 3 feet (0.9 m) deep in the shallow end. It was very wavy and had just enough room to perform a flip turn without head injury. The Philadelphia Department of Recreation later filled up Kelly’s and replaced it with a lawn bowling court.

That week in August was one long, massive celebration of the American Olympic team, which had won every single medal except one at the men’s events at the Montreal Olympics a few weeks before. Olympic gold medalists such as John Naber, Peter Rocca, John Hencken, and Shirley Babashoff earned a lot of applause, along with the women’s team, which had beaten the fiercely powerful East German team in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay final.

At the races that day, however, there were two other swimmers who brought the sport back to the future: Jonty Skinner and Jesus Vassallo. Jonty Skinner was the name of the John Cleese clone. He stood 6’6” (198 cm) tall and swam for the University of Alabama, where he’d won the NCAA championship in the 100m freestyle a year prior. At that time, the men’s college championships (NCAA) was the fastest swimming competition in the world.

However, Jonty Skinner, a South African, had not been permitted to participate in Montreal. Since the South African Minister of Interior, Jan de Klerk, had proclaimed that its Olympic team would only consist of white athletes, South Africa had not been welcome to participate in the Olympics.

With Skinner absent, Jim Montgomery, who trained in the old home pool of Mark Spitz in Indiana, had won the 100m freestyle in great style. He became the first swimmer to complete a 100-meter race with an average speed of over two meters per second. With this speed, he was able to butcher Mark Spitz’s Olympic record (51.22), and his 49.99 was a whole 0.82 second better than Jack Babashoff, who came in second—and coincidentally used to train with Skinner in Alabama.

Skinner was thrilled to be standing there at Kelly’s pool in the summer heat. He’d been training throughout the whole summer and was in the best shape of his life. As he wasn’t allowed to compete in international championships, he’d never before focused on swimming fast in a 50-meter pool. When asked about his swimming, he’d replied, “Whatever the winning time in Montreal, I will swim faster in Philadelphia.” Skinner was a pioneer in the use of mental visualization. Time and time again, he’d gone through the race in his mind—what it would feel like, what he should focus on, how he would be able to fight the shocking muscle rebellion that breaks out in a swimmer’s body in the second half of a 100m race.

When asked about his swimming, he’d replied, “Whatever the winning time in Montreal, I will swim faster in Philadelphia.”

Jonty Skinner’s leg kick had never been anything to write home about. Other 100m swimmers typically have a constantly pounding leg kick. Skinner’s left foot kicked down once his right hand entered the water, and his right foot went down once his left hand did the same. In between, he let his feet casually rotate around each other—a style he’d developed in his young teens when training under his father, Doug, back home in Cape Town. Other swimmers who’ve used the same type of kick include Anders Holmertz and today’s long-distance champions, Gregorio Paltrinieri and Katie Ledecky. These days, however, practically no one uses Skinner’s technique when swimming the 100m freestyle.

The drawback of this two-stroke leg kick is that it doesn’t provide all that much forward momentum. Nor is it particularly good at lifting the body, especially if the body is more muscular. Jim Montgomery’s 195 pounds were distributed over his 6’3” frame. Jonty Skinner’s slim 6’6” body weighed no more than 185 pounds and was therefore better suited to the two-stroke leg kick. A benefit of using this leg kick is that it saves a lot of energy as long as your feet and legs don’t stick out too much. It may also help your balance, which is why it’s beneficial if you tend to go wide when returning your arms to the water.

Skinner’s technique and mental preparation turned out to be more than sufficient for this race of the year—perhaps even the decade. He crushed the Americans who’d made their way to Philadelphia. Montgomery, the Olympic hero, wasn’t there, but Skinner beat his world record (49.99) with a time of 49.44. This was also the first African world record in swimming and it stood until 1981.

Skinner’s fierce dream race broke the norm of the dominance of the American men’s team in the 1970s. The United States had won 12 out of 13 events at the 1976 Olympics, losing the 200m breaststroke to John Hencken from the United Kingdom. At that time, participating nations were allowed to field three swimmers per event. That meant that there were 33 individual medals up for grabs. The Americans took 25 of these.

https://lithub.com/barred-from-the-1976-olympics-these-swimmers-still-beat-olympic-records/ 

My son Jonty Skinner

By Doug Skinner

Lean, loose-limbed, 1,95m tall Jonty Skinner flew home from the USA in early December. A gentle giant with a slow Southern drawl and complete indifference to the swimming fame that surrounds him.

A slow-moving figure in faded denims and a tatty T-shirts at the pool belies the tremendous athletic ability that galvanizes into action when Jonty is in the water.

His crawl arm stroke has very little dependence on the legs and comprises a 90% power mass ratio arm effort.

He reaches out with the full extension of the arm and shoulder at 30-degree angle. He digs the hand down to push up the elbow to engage the shoulder. This forms the lever and he almost lifts himself over the water so the exit of the hand occurs at the same place it enters.

Jonty broke the world record in most unfavourable conditions at 4:30pm with the air temperature at 90 degrees centigrade so I guess this has to make him the greatest.

His latest academic results are 2 A’s and 4 B’s + 1 C which was pretty good. He is at present the Captain of the Alabama University swim team and his immediate object is to recapture the 100 yards indoor title and improve on his 100 yards record of 43,92.

2022 - Jonty Skinner with sister Leigh, and Greg Carswell, who won the 100m freestyle at the 1977 SA Championships in Cape Town. Both old Selborne College pupils

Jonty is a former world record holder and NCAA champion who has been coaching for over 30 years. Throughout his world-renowned coaching career he has been very technical and detail-oriented. The past 10 to 15 years he has been studying the brain and has been reading up on research and experimenting with new techniques with elite level athletes.