"Meet some of history's greatest Olympic swimmers and divers, and explore their incredible careers"--

"Meet some of history's greatest Olympic swimmers and divers, and explore their incredible careers"--

Perhaps no sporting event has told more amazing stories than the Olympic Games. Great Moments in Olympic Swimming and Diving tells the stories of surprise and dominance, of inspiration and determination, of persistence and overcoming adversity. Title includes colorful descriptions of memorable moments old and new, a list of great Olympians in swimming and diving, Great Moment sidebars, and frequent subheads. Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

A history of swimming and diving as Olympic events includes short biographies of the stars of the sports, including Johnny Weissmuller, Greg Louganis, and Mark Phelps.

Refers to famous performances while presenting an overview of the Olympic swimming and diving events and providing information on how athletes train, qualify for, and participate in the games.

In her extraordinary swimming career, Shirley Babashoff set thirty-nine national records and eleven world records. Prior to the 1990s, she was the most successful U.S. female Olympian and, in her prime, was widely considered to be the greatest female swimmer in the world. Heading into the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Babashoff was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and followed closely by the media. Hopes were high that she would become “the female Mark Spitz.” All of that changed once Babashoff questioned the shocking masculinity of the swimmers on the East German women’s team. Once celebrated as America’s golden girl, Babashoff was accused of poor sportsmanship and vilified by the press with a new nickname: “Surly Shirley.” Making Waves displays the remarkable strength and resilience that made Babashoff such a dynamic champion. From her difficult childhood and beginnings as a determined young athlete growing up in Southern California in the 1960s, through her triumphs as the greatest female amateur swimmer in the world, Babashoff tells her story in the same unflinching manner that made her both the most dominant female swimmer of her time and one of the most controversial athletes in Olympic history.

Diving Dream to Olympic Team is the fascinating story of 1968 Olympic diver Keith Russell. At the age of 20, Keith was the youngest athlete ever named the world's best diver by an international poll of coaches. Sports Illustrated named him to win the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, where he was the only American to qualify in both the springboard and platform events. But the controversial platform finals proved to be more of a test of inner strength than athletic skill. By the time he retired from competition after the 1976 Olympic Trials, Keith was a six-time National Champion, World University Games Champion, and World Championship medalist. Since his retirement from diving, Keith has been coaching and grooming national champions and Olympians. The former President of the United States Professional Diving Coaches Association, Inc., Keith coached the U.S. National Teams at the 1999 and 2001 World Student University Games. He recently represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the only American diving judge. This is a feel-good story that will leave readers deeply satisfied and uplifted as they learn about one man's incredible struggles and astonishing achievements in one of the world's favorite sports.