Theresa Andrews captured two US Olympic Gold Medals in the 1984 Games held in Los Angeles. Claiming victory in the 100m backstroke and being awarded with her first Gold, Theresa presented it in a private ceremony to her brother, honoring his courage after being paralyzed at age 19 in a bicycle accident. Her second medal was earned in the 400m medley relay. Today, Theresa is highly sought after as a speaker by corporations, conferences, community groups and schools. Her speeches touch upon the potential of individual performance and the importance of teamwork in achieving those goals. She has also spoken on the values inherent to the Olympic Movement. With a bachelors in therapeutic recreation from the University of FL and a masters in clinical social work from Ohio State, Theresa was employed for several years as a CSW, specializing in pediatric hematology and oncology. Currently employed by MBNA America in Northern CA as an assistant vice president on the Internet Operations Team, Theresa remains active on the US Olympic Committee. In 2008, she was chosen as the recipient of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. It is with tremendous pride we say that Theresa has been involved with SAA for nine years. [back to top]

Brooke Bennett, a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in distance swimming, realized her Dream Come True in the Atlanta Games of .96, when she touched first in the 800m free. Four years later in Sydney, Brooke brought home two more, both freestyle in the 400m and 800m. In 1995, she was named USOC Sportswoman of the Year and became a 14-time US Champion. Official legendary status was applied to Brooke when she graced the Wheaties Box cover. Based in FL, Brooke continues her quest to be the best, participating in open-water competitions and training for future Olympiads. Missing Athens by only three seconds, she is churning away towards Beijing. A devoted dog lover, Brooke's pride and joy is her miniature pincer named Indy. In addition to Indy, she has owned numerous pets, including a pot-bellied pig, wallaby, horse and donkey. Introduced to swimming by her maternal grandfather James Lane, who built a pool for her as a youngster, Brooke dedicated her winning Atlanta performance to him, as he had passed just months before. Brooke has participated in three SAA events.  [back to top]
Carlton Bruner, considered amongst the world's top ten 800m and 1500m freestylers between 1992 and 1996, earned a coveted spot on Atlanta's US Olympic Swimming Team. Born and raised there, he finished 13th in the 1500. As a former member of the Dynamo Swim Club, now one of the nation's premier groups, Carlton went on to amass several championships and record titles. In 1993 and 1995, he placed third at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and in .95 first in the Pan American Games, all in his favored 1500m. Carlton joined forces with SAA in 2005 for the Boston Harbor Swim and has been dedicated ever since.  [back to top]

Craig Beardsley was heavily favored to win the 200m butterfly as a member of the 1980 Olympic Team, only to be forced from competition when politics intervened, and the US boycotted Moscow's Summer Games. Between .80 and .83, Craig held both the World and the American Records in the 200m butterfly, and he won Gold at the Pan American Games in both 1979 and .83. A nine-time US National Champion, Craig captured another Gold in the same event at the NCAA Championships while an All-American at the University of FL. A proud and devoted father, he and his two children Carter and Caroline live in NJ. Having been an inspirational SAA swimmer for 12 years, Craig also sits as a member of our current Board of Directors.  [back to top ]

Ray Carey, a 200m butterfly specialist, swam that event while representing the US during Atlanta's .96 Summer Games. Ray also enjoyed success in education, obtaining both a BA and an MA from Stanford; in business, as a principal in communications infrastructure technologies with Azure Capital Partners; and in real life, as a happily-married father of two. After swimming in three Boston Harbor events, Ray was thrilled when SAA introduced itself to the West Coast, inaugurating San Francisco Bay, thereby according he and his family the opportunity of sharing the experience just a short drive from home. Ray's enthusiasm and smile are contagious, proving a valuable asset to our organization.   [back to top ]

Chris Cavanaugh started his Olympic career like many of this honorable list, falling victim to the US 1980 Olympic Boycott in Moscow.  Fast forward to LA in .84 ... Chris found himself atop the highest podium, receiving Gold for the 400m freestyle relay.  During his seven years spent on the US National Swim Team, Chris was a finalist at the .82 World Championships, .83 Pan Am Games, and numerous other USA Swimming competitions. A 22-time All-American at USC, he graduated in 1986 with a degree in industrial and systems engineering.  He now coaches masters, USA and club swimmers of all levels while residing in Santa Monica, CA. In addition to his continued competition in open-water swims like the Alameda Aquatic Masters, Chris has participated in SAA for xxx years.  [back to top]

Jeff Float seemed destined to swim. “With a name like Float,” he joked during an interview with USA Swimming, “what else was I going to do?” Jeff first discovered his gills when he joined Sacramento's Arden Hills Swim Club, home to "big kids" Mark Spitz, Debbie Meyer and Mike Burton, all of whom were trained by legendary US Olympic Coach Sherm Chavoor. The pool proved itself the perfect outlet for this seven-year-old's pentup energy and frustration; for at 13 months of age, Jeff contracted viral meningitis and consequently lost his hearing. Soon he was flying through the ranks of regional swimming. After winning the State champs with Jesuit High School, Jeff chose to attend USC, from which procured a BA in psychology. A member of both the .80 and .84 Olympic teams [peer-elected team captain in LA], Jeff had the great fortune of swimming in his "home pool" at USC. On Day One of competition, he placed fourth in the 200m free. One Day Two, swimming his retirement race, he and his 800m free-relay teammates stunned the West Germans, smashed the World Record by five seconds, and captured Gold. Now employed by Spare Time, Inc., as an aquatics director, "Coach Jeff" enjoys age-group rec and year-round USA Swimming programs as well as conducting one-on-one personal training and group clinics. Also a popular motivational speaker, Jeff is the inventor of an ondeck training device called Floatwister, which was featured in Sports Illustrated. Residing in Sacramento with his wife Jan, Jeff considers it an honor to have participated in SAA swims for the past 14 years.  [back to top]

Geoff Gaberino likewise earned Gold in LA's .84 Olympic Games, having boosted the 800m free-relay team to experience that proverbial Thrill of Victory. Geoff was also an American and World Record holder in the same event. A 14-time All-American at the University of FL, Geoff was named team captain and NCAA champion in 1983 and .84. Before that time, as a standout swimmer at Baylor School in Chattanooga, TN, he led the team to an Eastern Prep School Championship in 1980. Geoff received his BS from FL in 1984 and an MBA four years later. He and his wife Susan live in NJ, where he is currently employed by AT&T. Geoff has been an integral member of our SAA family for nine years. [back to top]

"Rowdy" Gaines was simply the fastest man in the swimming world throughout the early 1980s, holding 11 World Records during a four-year span. Were it not for the US Boycott of Moscow's Summer Games, Rowdy might well have been one of America’s most famous and decorated Olympians. At the age of 25, Gaines won three Gold Medals in the .84 Games in LA, including the 100m free in which he set a new Olympic Record, .45 seconds shy of his own World Record. Rowdy also swam on the Gold-Medal winning 400m free and 400m medley relays, both which set World Records. In .84, he was named World Swimmer of the Year. During his education at Auburn, Rowdy was a five-time NCAA All-American and honored as the Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Year. It was in 1991 that Gaines was diagnosed with Guillan-Bare Syndrome, a neurological disorder that paralyzes the entire nervous system, and told that even if he lived, he might never walk again. Then hospitalized for two-1/2 months, Gaines fully recovered from the life--threatening condition, despite no known cure. Even more astounding? Gaines was back in the pool less than a year later and was ranked in the top ten for several freestyle events. In 1996, at the age of 35, he was the oldest swimmer to qualify for the Olympics. Gaines, however, chose not to compete, as he wished to remain with his family. Instead, he became NBC’s Olympic Games Swimming Commentator, filling that role in all Olympics and major competitions since. Rowdy is also a spokesperson for The Children’s Miracle Network, HealthSouth, Disney, Rayban, Speedo, and John Hancock ... in addition to touring the world as a motivational speaker. He was inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame and is active as the Director of Outreach for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Rowdy and his wife Judy have four daughters: Emily, Madison, Savanna and Isabelle. In addition to serving on our advisory board and assisting in numerous public-relations projects, Rowdy has swum with SAA since its inception in 1987.  [back to top]

Mark Henderson competed in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, earning a Gold Medal in the 400m medley relay as well as finishing ninth in the 100m butterfly.  Mark was a member of the US National Swim Team from 1989 to .97, representing our country in over 15 international competitions. While serving as Chairperson for the USOC's Athletes' Advisory Council, Mark testified before Congress in 2005. That same year, he jumped aboard with us for the Boston Harbor Swim and is committed to helping SAA on the West Coast as we celebrate San Francisco's inauguration. All told, Mark has been an inspirational participant for the past three years.  [back to top ]

Chris Jacobs, a triple medalist at the 1988 Olympics Games in Seoul, Korea, carried home Gold Medals awarded in both the 400m medley and free relays and Silver in the individual 100m free. Growing up in NJ, Chris attended Livingston’s Newark Academy, where he set a National Record in the 200m freestyle, becoming a 12-time Prep School All-American and National Prep School Champion. Chris went on to captain the varsity swim team at the University of TX, where he was a 25-time NCAA Division I All-American and the member of many record-setting relays. Staying involved is important to Chris, who continues his passion for swimming as a clinician for top NYC clubs. Since 1990, Chris has worked in the financial services industry and is currently employed by JP Morgan Chase as a trader specializing in distressed bank debt. Chris is the proud father of four: Elizabeth and triplets Ian, Patrick and Margaret. As a participant in eight events, Chris also sits on the Board of Directors for Swim Across America.   [back to top]

Scott Jaffe and his USA Olympic Swimming Teammates proved themselves strong competitors in the 4x200 free relay in Barcelona, being awarded with Bronze Medals for their efforts in those .92 Summer Olympic Games. Since then, we are pleased that Scott has swum with us in xxx SAA events, including Boston Harbor and the Hudson River.  [back to top]

Janel Jorgensen, a member of the 1988 Olympic Team which traveled to Seoul, Korea, earned a Silver Medal for the US in the 400m medley relay. The year prior, Janel was awarded Gold at the Pan Am Games and, in 1991, was a member of the Pan Pacific Games Team. In 1993, Janel became an NCAA champ in the 200m butterfly for the Stanford Cardinals, where she swam with fellow SAA participants Jenny Thompson and Lea Loveless Maurer. She has the most All-American honors of any Stanford athlete and still owns the school records for both the 100m fly and 400m IM. In addition, Janel formerly held American Records in four separate events. Residing in Boston, Janel is currently employed as the National Executive Director of Swim Across America as well as playing a key role in the Boston Harbor swim for the past 17 years.  [back to top]

Adolph Kiefer became the first man to break the one-minute mark in the 100yd back while competing as a 16-year old in the Illinois High School Championships of 1936. One year and 23 records later, Kiefer represented the US at the Berlin Summer Olympics. Kiefer came home an Olympic champion with a Gold Medal and began touring with other medalists throughout Europe, China, Japan, and South America, during which he challenged every great swimmer in the world to an individual race. In over 2,000 such races, Adolph lost only twice. Shortly thereafter, Adolph was asked to audition for the role of Tarzan but answered the call of arms instead, joining the US Navy to serve as a chief petty officer. He quickly moved through the ranks, becoming a first lieutenant by the war’s end. When the Navy realized that it was losing more lives to drowning than to enemy bullets, Adolph was appointed to a committee tasked with setting new guidelines for safety and training. During the remainder of his service, Adolph taught water survival to more than 33,000 Naval personnel. In 1946, Kiefer established Adolph Kiefer & Associates in Chicago, which has been providing swimmers with training and safety equipment ever since. His company was responsible for the development of the Nylon Tank Suit in .48, a marked improvement over the wool and cotton suits available at that time. Adolph subsequently devoted himself to community service, combining swimming and philanthropy in extremely innovative ways. In the 1960s, he worked with Mayor Richard J. Daley building swimming pools across the inner city of Chicago to provide needed facilities for thousands of children to both learn to swim and come together as a community. One of the first inductees into the Swimming Hall of Fame, Adolph, who will be 90 this year, has maintained this charitable and active mindset. He has participated as a sexagenarian and octogenarian in xxx SAA events. [back to top]

Kim Linehan was favored to win the 200m butterfly, 400m free and 800m free as a member of the 1980 US Olympic Team. She, too, suffered the loss of that opportunity due to our boycott of those Moscow Games.  Rallying back for the .84 LA Games, Kim finished fourth in the 400m free. She participated in many of the SAA Nantucket swims back in the late 1980s.  [back to top]

Lea Loveless Maurer is the third SAA participant who achieved membership status on both the 1992 NCAA Championship-winning Stanford Cardinals and the .92 USA Olympic Swimming Team which struck Gold in Barcelona. Lea swam in the 400m medley, setting an American Record for her split, and also won Bronze in the 100m back. Dating back to 1988, Lea has been on 12 US National Teams. Currently, Lea, her husband Erik and two children live in Menlo Park, where she is employed as the Stanford Women's Head Swimming & Diving Coach. Lea received both her BA in American Studies and MA in education from Stanford, and she has swum in four events with Swim Across America.  [back to top]

Steve Lundquist -- in swim speak, “Lunk the Hunk” -- also lost out on competing with his USA Team in Moscow in 1980. But in .84 at the LA Olympic Games, Steve emerged as the best American breaststroker in the history of international swimming. There he earned two Gold Medals while setting two World Records in the 100m breast and 100m medley relay. Throughout his swimming career, Steve broke World and American Records on 15 occasions. An inductee into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1990, he was honored again six years later by being the flagbearer for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. With much media exposure and experience, including many talk-show appearances and TV credits, Steve is civic-minded, involving himself in innumerable charities. His BBA and MBA were put to good use when Steve opened his own company, Digipak, in Georgia. He has been known to liven the party while swimming in SAA events for the past xxx years.   [back to top]

Tim McKee found himself immersed in what the Guinness Book of World Records termed “the closest race in the history of sports,” when he and Sweden’s Gunnar Larson both finished the 400m IM in 4:31.98 at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. After eight long minutes of consultation, officials named Larson the Gold Medalist by two one-thousands of a second ... ten times faster than the blink of an eye. Tim brought home a Silver which, by today's standards, would be considered a tie for the Gold. That was not his sole hardware, as McKee earned another Silver in the 200m IM. Four years later in the Montreal Summer Olympic Games, Tim did it again: He was awarded Silver in the 400m IM. As the former holder of six back and IM American Records, McKee attended the University of FL. Today he works as a Miami Beach Safety Officer and has proudly participated in 16 SAA events.   [back to top]

Glenn Mills, also named to the 1980 USA Swimming Team bound for Olympic glory in Moscow [only to be told No Go], continued on to become a 1982 US World Championship Finalist and .83 NCAA Champion at the University of AL. Today Glenn is president of Go Swim Productions, LLC, and www.goswim.tv, successfully producing a line of instructional DVDs featuring some of the world's greatest swimmers. He is also the technical advisor for Swimming World Magazine and serves as assistant coach to the University of MD's swimming and diving programs. Glenn, who captains Team Kyle which swims in memory of his older brother, has participated in six SAA events. He and his wife Wendy are proud parents to twins Samantha and Kyle.  

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Betsy Mitchell was out-touched by fellow SAA participant and USA teammate Theresa Andrews in the 100m back at the 1984 Olympic Games in LA. As this was Betsy's first major international competition, she took Silver by less than one-tenth of a second. Nevertheless, she came away rewarded with Gold after Betsy and her teammates won the 400m medley relay. She later transferred from UNC to the University of TX, where she was coached by the legendary Richard Quick, and then swam her way to seven NCAA National Championships. Betsy was named Collegiate Swimmer of the Year in 1987 and USS Swimmer of the Year in .86, when she shattered the World Record in the 200m back by 1.3 seconds ... a record that stood for seven years. She was also inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Armed with a BS and MS in education, Betsy was employed as the Head Women's Swimming Coach at Dartmouth College and then as Athletic Director at the Laurel School in Ohio. Now self-employed, Betsy Mitchell Consulting offers leadership and team-building workshops, sportsmanship seminars, et al.  She has participated in xxx of our swims.   [back to top]

Diana Nyad would most assuredly own some serious Olympic hardware had long-distance open-water swimming been official events. In 1979, Diana swam an incredible 102.5 miles nonstop from the island of Bimini in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. This accomplishment thrust her onto the world stage, but not before constituting two full days of constant swimming. This distance remains unprecedented. Diana was recognized in 1986 by the National Women’s Sports Hall of Fame and in 2003 by the International Swimming Hall of Fame. She is also an accomplished print, television and radio journalist, currently hosting Savvy Traveler for NPR, documentaries for Outdoor Life Network and The Score for KCRW. Previous work includes a senior correspondent for Fox Sports News and host of a CNBC show. Diana is also credited with authoring a weekly column for NPR's Morning Edition. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and Self Magazine. Also on Diana's agenda is working on a series of children’s books devoted to athletes who overcame youthful obstacles. A graduate of Lake Forest College, Diana, who fluently speaks four foreign languages, has been with Swim Across America since our start in 1987. As she once said in an interview, “There is nothing greater than touching the shore after crossing some great body of water knowing that I've done it with my own two arms and legs.” We couldn’t agree more ... unless you're simultaneously raising awareness and money for cancer research!  [back to top]

Jeff Rouse was ranked as the No. 1 100m backstroke swimmer in the world from 1989 through 1996 –– a unique status that places him on par with Hall of Famers Roland Matthes, Krisztina Egerszegi and Adolph Kiefer as the only others to claim an eight-year dominance in the stroke. Since age 11, Jeff has been setting national age-group records, being designated as Swimming World’s Age-Group Swimmer of the Month in 1983. In his first year at Stanford University, Jeff won the Pan Pacifics in the 100m backstroke, the first of four such titles. He also secured seven NCAA National Championships in individual events. In 1991, Jeff realized his first World Record, bettering the 54.51 posted by David Berkoff, his opponent famous for a 33m underwater dolphin kick known as the Berkoff Blastoff that was limited by FINA to 10m. Rouse swam their 100m event in 54 flat. In his Olympic debut in 1992, Jeff was out-touched by Hall of Famer Mark Tewksbury, which made him vow to return in 1996 for the Gold. At the Games in Atlanta, Rouse delivered on his promise. In total, he collected four medals, including two Gold in World-Record setting performances in the 100m back and 400m medley relay. Jeff has always been conscious of doing The Right Thing, a quality that empowered his role as captain of both the Stanford and 1996 USA Olympic Teams. He has also spearheaded a drive to foster athlete integrity by instituting random drug tests in swimming, and he frequently talks to schools about the value of sports and benefit of demanding and delivering 100%. Today, part of Jeff's being a role model includes participating in Swim Across America, which he has done xxx times. 

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Summer Sanders is another outstanding member of the extremely successful 1992 USA Olympic Swimming Team which competed in Barcelona. Summer won Gold Medals in both the 400m medley relay and 200m butterfly, Silver in the 200m IM, and Bronze in the 400m IM. In that process, Summer also became the first woman in 16 years to swim four individual events in the same Olympiad. While a Stanford Cardinal, Summer captured six individual NCAA titles and four relay championships, earning her back-to-back NCAA Swimmer of the Year Awards. She also assisted Stanford taking the .92 NCAA National Championships. Since officially retiring from swimming, Summers has enjoyed being an on-air personality for NBC, including co-host of NBA Inside Stuff and special Olympic correspondent since 2002. Having appeared in numerous segments for MTV, Summer was also the host of Figure It Out, a popular children’s game show on Nickelodeon. Married to three-time Olympian and World Cup downhiller Erik Schlopy, they are the proud parents of Skye and Robert. Now at home in Colorado, Summer has participated in xxx events with SAA. [back to top]

Ashley Tappin, at the tender age of 13 in 1988, was the youngest swimmer ever to compete in the US Trials, finishing 50th. Ashley was awarded one Gold in the .90 World Championships and three in the .91 Pan American Games. In 1992, while competing as a member of our Olympic Swimming Team in Barcelona, Ashley earned Gold in the 400m free relay. Injured during the 1996-97 season, she officially retired from the sport ... before diving back into the pool and winning four US National Championship titles. This startling achievement earned Ashley the prestigious Sandy Nellson-Bell Comeback Award. During her time off, Ashley began a successful modeling career and was offered a part on Baywatch, which she refused when they moved the set from CA to HI. Now Head Coach of Women's Swimming and Diving at the University of New Orleans, Ashley has participated in xxx SAA events in Boston Harbor.  [back to top]

Jenny Thompson is, quite simply, the single most highly decorated US Olympic female swimmer ever, having earned 12 medals in four Olympiads. In the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Jenny was awarded Gold Medals in both the 400m free and medley relays and Silver in the 100m free. In .96 Games in Atlanta, Jenny grabbed Gold in both the 400 and 800m free relays as well as the 400m medley. In the 2000 Games in Sydney, she helped set World Records and capture Gold in both the 400m free and medley relays ... and Jenny again took the top spot, Gold around her neck, in the 800m free relay. While a biology major at Stanford, in .92 she helped her team to the NCAA National Championships by winning the NCAA title in both the 50m and 100m free. Jenny was named the 1999 USOC Sportswoman of the Year, the 2000 Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year, and the .93 and .98 USA Swimmer of the Year. In 2006 Jenny received her medical degree from Columbia University, is in the process of completing internship at NY's Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center, and plans to practice anesthesiology at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Thompson has participated in eight SAA events.   [back to top]

Dara Torres is currently training for Beijing, focusing her amazing efforts on becoming the first swimmer ever to compete in five Olympics and, at age 41, the oldest female. Dara already holds the record for being the first woman to medal in four different Olympiads, including the five she won in Sydney's 2000 Games. In 1984, Dara earned Gold in LA in the 400m free relay and, in .88, a Bronze in Seoul in the same event. Back again in .92 in Barcelona, Dara again brought home Gold for her role in the 400m free relay. She then retired from swimming. Seven years later, under the guidance of coaching legend Richard Quick, Dara trained with an eye toward Australia ... and qualified for five events, registering the world’s third-fastest time in the 100m fly. She went on to collect Gold in the 400m free and medley relays and Bronze in the 50m free, 100m free and 100m butterfly. In between Olympic competitions, Dara became the first athlete to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 1994. She's also appeared in numerous television shows, including Fox Sports Sunday, and as a fitness spokesperson for Self Magazine and Turner Sports. Parents Dara and David have a young daughter, Tessa Grace. Dara has also managed to find time to participate in SAA for xxx years.  [back to top]

Dan Veatch, who made his first SAA appearance in San Francisco's inaugural swim, has been on multiple national teams, including attaining victories in the 200m backstroke at the Pan Pacific Games in Brisbane in 1987 and in Tokyo in 1989. Dan was a member of the 1988 Swimming Team which represented our country in Seoul, where he placed seventh in his signature event. Focused on Barcelona in 1992, Dan pulled his hamstring just 10 minutes before the 200 back in the Olympic Trials, thwarting his chances of bringing home hardware. Still the holder of his event's record at alma-mater Princeton University, Dan makes San Francisco home. With a BA from Princeton and an MBA from UC Berkeley, Dan is managing director and CFO of Savvian. He also enjoys swimming with the USF Masters, joining its ranks in .93. 2008 will mark Dan's third year of participation with us.   [back to top]

Eric Wunderlich enjoyed competing in the 1996 Olympic Games in his hometown of Atlanta, where he placed seventh in the 200m breaststroke. In .95, Eric was awarded Gold in the 100m at the 1995 Pan Pacific Championships and, in .94, Silver in the 200m at the World Championships. Like fellow SAA Olympian Carlton Bruner above, Eric began his swimming career as a Dynamo. While attending the University of MI, he just missed clinching a spot on the .92 Barcelona Olympic Team. It was at this time that Coach Bob Bowman [of current Michael Phelps' fame!] came calling, luring him to CA for concentrated training in anticipation of the .96 Games. Now happily anchored in CO with his wife and two children, Eric is employed as the general manager of Alumicolor. He has been active with Swim Across America, first in Boston and then Chicago, for four years.   [back to top]