On September 20th, 2005, the University of Louisville officially cut the ribbon on the $11.675 million Ralph R. Wright Natatorium. Under the tutelage of coach Arthur Albiero, the Cardinal have shown the school that the investment was well worth the returns athletically.
Louisville scored for the first time in program history at the NCAA Championships, the season after the pool’s construction began and the season before it was completed, and since then have taken off. The men have scored at every NCAA Championship meet since, and the women have scored at the last 6 straight.
That includes a high-water mark of 9th at the 2012 national championship meet for Albiero’s men’s team, including NCAA National Champion Carlos Almeida in the 200 breaststroke.
The pool is named after Ralph Wright, who was the very first coach of the Cardinal swimming & diving program in the 1948-49 season. He was a graduate of the College of the Pacific, now the University of the Pacific.
Among Wright’s accomplishments include breaking the American Record in the 100 breaststroke in 1939 and at 15 years old becoming only the 14th person to swim the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
He is also credited with bringing the butterfly to Australia as part of a barnstorming tour in the mid 1940’s.
The ribbon cutting in Louisville wasn’t the only big opening in the third week of September of 2005. Missouri would officially open their brilliant new rec center and natatorium later that week.
Swimmer Birthdays:
- Happy 23rd birthday to Tennessee redshirt senior Clint Johnson
- Happy 23rd birthday to former USC All-American and 2008 Olympian for the Philippines Christel Simms
- Happy 29th birthday to 2004 U.S. Olympian Kristen Caverly. She finished 17th in the 200 breast that year, and the next year at the World Championships tied with Tara Kirk for 6th in the same event.
- Happy 35th birthday to Canadian swimmer Sophie Simard, who scored a pair of bronze medals in free relays at the 2006 (400) and 2002 (800) Games
- Happy 73rd birthday to Dutch butterflier Atie Voorbij. She was a European Champion in 1958, and in 1960 took 5th at the Olympics in the 100 fly. Voorbij is notable as she’s recognized as the first ever World Record holder in the women’s 100 meter butterfly after it split off into its own stroke with a 1:10.5 from August 4th, 1957.
- Happy 67th Birthday to 1964 Summer Olympian Patience Halsey Sherman. Under current rules, she would be “Olympic cold medalist Patience Halsey Sherman” after swimming in prelims of the 400 free relay, but because rules at the time didn’t give prelims swimmers medals, she is not formally recognized.
- Happy 62nd birthday to two-time Olympic champion Jane Barkman. Barkman swam at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, where she won gold in the 400 free relay and an individual bronze in the 200 free (behind Debbie Meyer and Jan Henne – an American medal sweep). She would add another gold in the 400 free relay in 1972. Barkman was also one the coach of the women’s team at Princeton.
- Happy 32nd birthday to British Paralympian Stephanie Millward. In front of a home crowd in 2012 (kinda, she was actually born in Saudi Arabia) she won four silvers and a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games.
