Swimming has lost another great with the passing of Charlie Hickox, who passed away last week from cancer at the age of 63. It seems like a swimmer from my era passes every year with Roy Saari and Don McKenzie passing away last year.
Hickox was a surprise winner of 3 gold medals at the 1968 Olympics in the 200 and 400 IM and the 400 Medley Relay. He also won the silver medal in the 100 Back behind Roland Matthes, who many consider including myself to be the greatest backstroke in swimming history.
He is considered by many to be one of the most underrated Olympians of all time. He is the first male swimmer to win both IM at the Olympics and his performance at the 1968 games was better than almost everyone excluding Debbie Meyer.
His greatest race in the 1968 Olympics was the 400 IM and he went stroke for stroke with a young HS junior named Gary Hall and touched him out by .3 for the gold. For his performances, he was named World Swimmer of the year for 1968.
He went to Indiana and swam for Doc Counsilman and was on Doc's first NCAA Championship team in 1968. At the 1968 NCAA Championships, he won the 100 back, 200 Back, and 200 IM. He won the 200 Back by 2.11 and the 200 IM by 4.05 and then went to the 1968 Olympic Trials and won the 100 Back, 200 IM and 400 IM. He set World Records in both the 200 IM and 400 IM at the 1968 Olympic Trials.
The 1969 NCAA Championship team is considered by many to be one of the greatest NCAA teams of all time. Mark Spitz was a freshman that year and won 3 events at the NCAA Championship after his disappointing 1968 Olympics. Hickox almost matched that with two wins and a second place in the 100 back by .02 to Fred Haywood. That was the only individual race he lost and won 7 of 8 races entered at the NCAA Championship meet.
He retired from swimming after the 1968 Olympics. What I found interesting back then and now is that he did not swim in HS because his HS did not have a pool and played basketball and tennis. He swam in the summer leagues and some AAU age group swimming. That was unheard of back then just like it would be now to progress to that level without the heavy HS and AAU background.
Here are some links about Charlie and what he meant to swimming and Doc Counsilman.
www.azcentral.com/.../20100615olympic-swimmer-charlie-hickcox.htmlnews.suite101.com/.../olympic-swimmer-charlie-hickcox-dies-from-cancer-in-san-diego-a250089sportsillustrated.cnn.com/.../index.htm
Charlie Hickcox was one of the fiercest competitors I ever knew. I had the honor of being both his teammate on the 1968 Olympic Team and his swimmer, as he coached me to my third Olympic Team in 1976.
In 1968, even though we were competitors in the 400 IM and I was the new kid on the block, not once did he ever try to intimidate me or psyche me out. In fact, he did nothing but support me and encourage me. We fought stroke for stroke in the finals of the 400 IM. When we both came up, gasping for air after the 350 meter turn, he breathing right and me breathing left, looking at each other eye to eye, I remember saying that on the next stroke, I would make my move, well ahead of the 375 meter mark, when I thought he would make his. I was wrong. When I looked up again I saw Charlie's shoulder and try as I did to catch him, I never did. He won the gold medal and was the best in the world. Charlie's treatment of me on that Olympic team was one of the main reasons I chose to follow him at Indiana.
While there, I chased his American record in the 200 IM, missing it by a long shot in my freshman year. I knew that Charlie's record in that event was considered his best by both him and Doc Counsilman, our coach at IU. Somehow, I managed to just sneak under it in my sophomore year at Ames, Iowa. When I finished the race on that first day of the NCAA finals, there was Doc on his knees with big tears in his eyes leaning over the side of the pool to congratulate me. It was a hard moment for him, as he loved Charlie so much, and yet still happy for me to break his record. The next day, I received a telegram from Charlie congratulating me on breaking his record. That is the kind of champion Charlie was.
I later hired Charlie to be the Head coach of the Cincinnati Marlins. I had no idea at the time that I would be swimming for him. But Charlie recognized that I still had something to prove and managed to tease me back into the water after Medical school classes for some short workouts. In the Spring he entered me in the Nationals in three events without my knowing it and talked me into swimming on some relays. I swam two of my fastest swims ever (and still are) and from there he convinced me to take a leave of absence from Med school and try for my third Olympics. Not only did I make it and medal (bronze in the 100 fly) but had the greatest honor of my athletic career by being named to carry our flag in the Opening Ceremony in Montreal.
I did not stay as close to Charlie throughout his life as I should have, since I owed him so much. But I can tell you that his life was filled with ups and downs, successes and failures, just like all of us. Through it all, he remained a caring, loving husband and father and one of the most humble people on the planet. Charlie Hickcox was the epitomy of the Olympic ideals and was a true champion.
Gary Hall Sr.
Charlie Hickcox was one of the fiercest competitors I ever knew. I had the honor of being both his teammate on the 1968 Olympic Team and his swimmer, as he coached me to my third Olympic Team in 1976.
In 1968, even though we were competitors in the 400 IM and I was the new kid on the block, not once did he ever try to intimidate me or psyche me out. In fact, he did nothing but support me and encourage me. We fought stroke for stroke in the finals of the 400 IM. When we both came up, gasping for air after the 350 meter turn, he breathing right and me breathing left, looking at each other eye to eye, I remember saying that on the next stroke, I would make my move, well ahead of the 375 meter mark, when I thought he would make his. I was wrong. When I looked up again I saw Charlie's shoulder and try as I did to catch him, I never did. He won the gold medal and was the best in the world. Charlie's treatment of me on that Olympic team was one of the main reasons I chose to follow him at Indiana.
While there, I chased his American record in the 200 IM, missing it by a long shot in my freshman year. I knew that Charlie's record in that event was considered his best by both him and Doc Counsilman, our coach at IU. Somehow, I managed to just sneak under it in my sophomore year at Ames, Iowa. When I finished the race on that first day of the NCAA finals, there was Doc on his knees with big tears in his eyes leaning over the side of the pool to congratulate me. It was a hard moment for him, as he loved Charlie so much, and yet still happy for me to break his record. The next day, I received a telegram from Charlie congratulating me on breaking his record. That is the kind of champion Charlie was.
I later hired Charlie to be the Head coach of the Cincinnati Marlins. I had no idea at the time that I would be swimming for him. But Charlie recognized that I still had something to prove and managed to tease me back into the water after Medical school classes for some short workouts. In the Spring he entered me in the Nationals in three events without my knowing it and talked me into swimming on some relays. I swam two of my fastest swims ever (and still are) and from there he convinced me to take a leave of absence from Med school and try for my third Olympics. Not only did I make it and medal (bronze in the 100 fly) but had the greatest honor of my athletic career by being named to carry our flag in the Opening Ceremony in Montreal.
I did not stay as close to Charlie throughout his life as I should have, since I owed him so much. But I can tell you that his life was filled with ups and downs, successes and failures, just like all of us. Through it all, he remained a caring, loving husband and father and one of the most humble people on the planet. Charlie Hickcox was the epitomy of the Olympic ideals and was a true champion.
Gary Hall Sr.
