BERKELEY – Karl Mohr, an inspirational member of the Cal men’s swimming and diving family for nearly 40 years, passed away Monday (Nov. 3) evening in Berkeley from the effects of Parkinson’s disease.
Mohr joined the Golden Bears as an assistant men’s swimming coach in the late 70s just in time to help Nort Thornton’s squad win the school’s first back-to-back national championships in 1979 and 1980. He continued to assist the Cal men’s swimming program in various capacities through Thornton’s 30 plus years at the helm and into the tenure of current head coach David Durden.
“For any and every man who came through the Cal program, we have all had our lives changed for the better in part thanks to Karl,” said former Golden Bear swimmer Ben Sheppard in a Facebook post. “And to everyone, as Karl would say, ‘Keep Shining.'”
Mohr brought with him a wide and diverse background to the Cal program beginning in 1978. He was renowned for his work in optimal performance in athletics, having given numerous seminars at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and at various other training centers around the world.
Besides his knowledge of holistic health and physical conditioning that he shared with the Cal program, Mohr was also versed in the arts, having received his Ph. D in Music Theory from Florida State where he taught for 10 years as Assistant Director of Opera. He was also associated with the Florida State swim team for five years, and prior to that was Director of Music Theater and Associate Professor of Music Literature at Texas Tech.
The above is a press release written by Cal Athletics.
