By Adam Swiatkowski, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2020, Business: Finance and Marketing
Between 1957 and 1990, Doc worked tirelessly to study swimming mechanics, training methods, and athlete psychology, pushing his athletes to unparalleled success. Doc’s superior training led to IU swimmers, at one time or another, to having held every single men’s world record. Doc founded the International Swimming Hall of Fame, was twice named Olympic head coach, and his IU team won six consecutive national titles, amongst other accolades.
At IU, Doc was able to experiment with numerous ideas for both swimming pools and swimmers in order to advance the sport. From lane lines and weight machines, to manuals and underwater videography, Doc’s innovation covered a wide range of subjects, and the variety of his research greatly improved both the IU swim and dive program, as well as the sport of swimming as a whole.
Doc’s appointment as IU head coach and his systematic application of science to the sport of swimming transformed the fledgling IU swim and dive program into an international swimming powerhouse. This historic swim dynasty cemented Doc Counsilman as a swimming colossus whose scientific contributions have left an indelible mark on the sport. Read the timeline below to learn more about Doc’s research and impact on IU and the swimming world.
Due to website maintenance issues, the images in this timeline were removed in 2020. Please see the final slide for a list of related image numbers from IU Archives.