Fellow masters swimmer Jeff Farrell recounts his amazing experience dealing with an apendectomy operation six days before the 1960 Olympic Trials at swimmingworldmagazine.com.
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../30873.asp
Jeff Farrell will always be an icon in Swimming for the decision he made 52 years ago. USA Swimming should be proud of the good precedent he set when he refused a special exemption to be on the Olympic team. Because of this, a tradition has been set and we will never see a bad precedent that has been set by the USA Figure Skating governing body on how they selected the Olympians and did not choose to follow the Olympic Trial results.
I read the book "Six Days to Swim" when it was released and knew some of the people in the book being from the Detroit area. When I joined USMS in 1982, George Van was a local sportswriter and a masters swimmer and he did all of the stories on Jeff in the local press that were in the book. He passed away in 1984. The book was written by Jan Henning and her husband was the President of FINA back in the late 1970's and early 1980's.
From what I understand, Jeff will be releasing another book that updates the old one and has all of his accomplishments since that book was published. I was at Jeff's induction into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2011 at the Convention last year in Jacksonville and he was inducted with Rich Abrahams and that was a special evening for both swimmers and very well deserved.
From my knowledge, Jeff is the only swimmer in the history of the Hall of Fame to be inducted as a Swimmer and as a Masters Swimmer. There have been others that have been inducted in both Hall of Fames, but they were inducted in both as Masters Swimmers and not Swimmers from there days competing Internationally. I sure there will be others in the future but he is the first one.
Jeff Farrell will always be an icon in Swimming for the decision he made 52 years ago. USA Swimming should be proud of the good precedent he set when he refused a special exemption to be on the Olympic team. Because of this, a tradition has been set and we will never see a bad precedent that has been set by the USA Figure Skating governing body on how they selected the Olympians and did not choose to follow the Olympic Trial results.
I read the book "Six Days to Swim" when it was released and knew some of the people in the book being from the Detroit area. When I joined USMS in 1982, George Van was a local sportswriter and a masters swimmer and he did all of the stories on Jeff in the local press that were in the book. He passed away in 1984. The book was written by Jan Henning and her husband was the President of FINA back in the late 1970's and early 1980's.
From what I understand, Jeff will be releasing another book that updates the old one and has all of his accomplishments since that book was published. I was at Jeff's induction into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2011 at the Convention last year in Jacksonville and he was inducted with Rich Abrahams and that was a special evening for both swimmers and very well deserved.
From my knowledge, Jeff is the only swimmer in the history of the Hall of Fame to be inducted as a Swimmer and as a Masters Swimmer. There have been others that have been inducted in both Hall of Fames, but they were inducted in both as Masters Swimmers and not Swimmers from there days competing Internationally. I sure there will be others in the future but he is the first one.
