One Hit Wonders

In a way, it's unfair to call any of these swimmers one-hit wonders because all rose through the ranks, worked their way to the top, and had several great swims along the way. In terms of the Olympics, I think Nelson Diebel is my favorite one-hit wonder. Diebel had a pretty good run, but it didn't last long. He didn't do much after he won the gold in the 100 *** at the 1992 Olympics. Diebel also won a gold on the medley relay, but I think of his 100 *** Olympic gold as an Olympic one-hit wonder. He also had a couple good "b" sides, like his 53.84 in the 100 yard *** when he was still in high school. Diebel's teammate, Royce Sharp was another Olympic one-hit wonder. After he broke the American record in the 200 back (in 1992) he failed to final in Barcelona and never returned to the Olympics...and even though he was on some great teams at Michigan, he didn't have too much international success after his AR in 1992. Diebel and Sharp attended my Almer Mater, the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, where they were part of one of the most dominant high school swimming programs in history. BJ Bedford was also on that team, as was Jim Wells and Jane Skillman. And even though he didn't have his greatest success at the Olympics, you could probably add Roque Santos to that group. His participation in Masters demonstrates longevity that is not really characteristic of a one-hit wonder. But on the international scene, Roque's crowning moment was the upset win over Barrowman in the 200 *** at the '92 trials. One last favorite one-hit wonder was Sean Killion, the former American record holder in the 800 free (and 1992 Olympian in the 1500). He held the record for several years, but only went to the Olympics once, in one event, and didn't final. When I say he "only" went to one Olympics, that is of course a little tongue in cheek! Sean and I swam on the Willingboro Country Club team, and later at Jersey Wahoos. SB

In a way, it's unfair to call any of these swimmers one-hit wonders because all rose through the ranks, worked their way to the top, and had several great swims along the way. In terms of the Olympics, I think Nelson Diebel is my favorite one-hit wonder. Diebel had a pretty good run, but it didn't last long. He didn't do much after he won the gold in the 100 *** at the 1992 Olympics. Diebel also won a gold on the medley relay, but I think of his 100 *** Olympic gold as an Olympic one-hit wonder. He also had a couple good "b" sides, like his 53.84 in the 100 yard *** when he was still in high school. Diebel's teammate, Royce Sharp was another Olympic one-hit wonder. After he broke the American record in the 200 back (in 1992) he failed to final in Barcelona and never returned to the Olympics...and even though he was on some great teams at Michigan, he didn't have too much international success after his AR in 1992. Diebel and Sharp attended my Almer Mater, the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, where they were part of one of the most dominant high school swimming programs in history. BJ Bedford was also on that team, as was Jim Wells and Jane Skillman. And even though he didn't have his greatest success at the Olympics, you could probably add Roque Santos to that group. His participation in Masters demonstrates longevity that is not really characteristic of a one-hit wonder. But on the international scene, Roque's crowning moment was the upset win over Barrowman in the 200 *** at the '92 trials. One last favorite one-hit wonder was Sean Killion, the former American record holder in the 800 free (and 1992 Olympian in the 1500). He held the record for several years, but only went to the Olympics once, in one event, and didn't final. When I say he "only" went to one Olympics, that is of course a little tongue in cheek! Sean and I swam on the Willingboro Country Club team, and later at Jersey Wahoos. SB