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Victory in the Pool: How a Maverick Coach Upended Society and Led a Group of Young Swimmers to Olympic Glory
The ultimate underdog story of a swim coach who could not swim, a swim club that accepted minorities when others would not, and a group of young swimmers who became Olympic champions.
Before the United States was the swimming power it is today, a novice coach named Sherm Chavoor formed a swim club that accepted all swimmers--no matter their religion, race, or social status--and started a dynasty. Following Chavoor's intense and unorthodox coaching methods, his young swimmers quickly began dominating competitions across northern California--and then the world.
In Victory in the Pool: How a Maverick Coach Upended Society and Led a Group of Young Swimmers to Olympic Glory, Bill George tells the inspiring story of Sherm Chavoor and his dedicated athletes who rose from obscurity to win twenty Olympic gold medals during the 1960s and '70s. They triumphed in two of the most tumultuous and dangerous Olympic Games ever held, the 1968 Mexico City Games and the 1972 Munich Games marred by the terrorist attack that killed eleven Israeli athletes. Mark Spitz and Debbie Meyer were the two most prominent members of the team, but they were challenged every step of the way by teammates and fellow Olympians Sue Pedersen, Mike Burton, John Ferris, Jeff Float, and more.
Featuring exclusive interviews with the athletes and with Sherm Chavoor before he passed away, Victory in the Pool delivers an inside look at this unparalleled time in Olympic history. But more than that, it is the story of young people overcoming incredible odds--often in the face of insults and bigotry and under the intense glare of the spotlight--and coming out triumphant.
Before the United States was the swimming power it is today, a novice coach named Sherm Chavoor formed a swim club that accepted all swimmers--no matter their religion, race, or social status--and started a dynasty. Following Chavoor's intense and unorthodox coaching methods, his young swimmers quickly began dominating competitions across northern California--and then the world.
In Victory in the Pool: How a Maverick Coach Upended Society and Led a Group of Young Swimmers to Olympic Glory, Bill George tells the inspiring story of Sherm Chavoor and his dedicated athletes who rose from obscurity to win twenty Olympic gold medals during the 1960s and '70s. They triumphed in two of the most tumultuous and dangerous Olympic Games ever held, the 1968 Mexico City Games and the 1972 Munich Games marred by the terrorist attack that killed eleven Israeli athletes. Mark Spitz and Debbie Meyer were the two most prominent members of the team, but they were challenged every step of the way by teammates and fellow Olympians Sue Pedersen, Mike Burton, John Ferris, Jeff Float, and more.
Featuring exclusive interviews with the athletes and with Sherm Chavoor before he passed away, Victory in the Pool delivers an inside look at this unparalleled time in Olympic history. But more than that, it is the story of young people overcoming incredible odds--often in the face of insults and bigotry and under the intense glare of the spotlight--and coming out triumphant.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 10, 2023
About the author
Bill George
86 books11 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 13, 2026
If you love watching the Olympic swimming competitions every 4 years, you must read this book. The subtitle is "How a Maverick Coach Upended Society and Led a Group of Young Swimmers to Olympic Glory" may have you thinking it is a biography about a coach but it is really a story of a team of people in the 1960s to the early 1980s who created Olympic magic. That team included swim coaches, young athletes and their parents.
Reading a local paper that mentioned this book and this story, I had to read it. It is an incredible story. I remember, as a kid, watch Mark Spitz win 9 gold medals in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. I never thought about where he came from and what made him so great. Read this book and you are in the know.
But it's not just about Spitz. There are other fantastic swimmers such as Debbie Meyer, Mike Burton, Susan Pederson and Jeff Float. If you live in California, live in the Sacramento area, this book is a must read.
Recommended. Gave it four stars as the narrative was uneven in places (better editing, perhaps?).
Reading a local paper that mentioned this book and this story, I had to read it. It is an incredible story. I remember, as a kid, watch Mark Spitz win 9 gold medals in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. I never thought about where he came from and what made him so great. Read this book and you are in the know.
But it's not just about Spitz. There are other fantastic swimmers such as Debbie Meyer, Mike Burton, Susan Pederson and Jeff Float. If you live in California, live in the Sacramento area, this book is a must read.
Recommended. Gave it four stars as the narrative was uneven in places (better editing, perhaps?).
Displaying 1 of 1 review