Bob Duenkel
Bob Duenkel (died 25 February 2019) was a swimming and open water swimming coach and the former Executive Director & Curator of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Contents
Honors
- Duenkel was the 1996 recipient of the Glen S. Hummer Award, an award given to the individual who makes the greatest contribution to open water swimming in the United States.
- In 1996, he was named in Aquatic’s Magazine’s Who’s Who in Aquatics.
- In 1998, he was elected Treasurer of the International Association of Sports Museums and Halls of Fames.
- In 1999, he was inducted into the Orange, New Jersey Athletics Hall of Fame.
- He received the 2004 International Swimming Hall of Fame Presidential Award.
- He was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Contributor in the Class of 2019.
- He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2020.
Aquatic Career
- He began swimming for the YMCA of New Jersey, went on to swim through high school where in 1960, he was a state record holder, a New Jersey AAU junior champion, and a New Jersey AAU senior champion.
- He attended Kansas State University where he was a many-time record holder and multi-award winner in swimming and played on the first-ever Kansas State water polo team.
- While working at the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Duenkel competed in masters swimming where he was a Florida State champion and an AAU All-American.
- He was an All-American pool swimmer.
- In 1960, his two-man relay team swam in the 24 Heures La Tuque, completed a total of 48 miles and took 6th place.
Teaching & Coaching Career
- After graduating from Kansas State with a Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Physical Education, he moved to South Florida, where he got his State of Florida Teachers Certificate.
- He taught at Northeast High School as a Physical Education teacher.
- He worked as a water safety instructor and for the Fort Lauderdale Beach Patrol.
- In 1966, he began coaching swimming at Broward Community College and in 1968 was named National Junior College Swimming Coach of the Year.
- In 1966, he took over the running of Camp Chikopi, a boy's Sports and Wilderness Camp in Ontario, Canada, the world’s first swimming camps founded in 1920 by U.S. Olympic Swim Coach Matt Mann II. He and his wife, Colette, still own and run Camp Chikopi.
- He was named in 1968 as the National Junior College Swimming Coach of the Year.
- In 1988, he coached the USA to a Team Championship victory in the FINA Long Distance Swimming World Cup team in Evian, France.
- His Camp Chikopi teams have participated and won A.A.U. and U.S. Swimming National Championships.
International Swimming Hall of Fame
- He started as a staff member in 1966 and retired as the Executive Director & Curator of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
- He was the Co-Chairman of the 2012 International Aquatic History Symposium & Film Festival.
- He served as a member of the board of directors of both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
- He has extensive knowledge of aquatics and personal networks throughout the swimming world. He has worked hand-in-hand with Buck Dawson, Sam Freas and Bruce Wigo for decades, helping build the reputation, archives and artifacts of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
- He is a driving force behind the growth of open water swimming throughout the world. He is the key element in the conduct of many Hall of Fame activities and is the de facto meet manager for most events hosted by the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is the administrative liaison with the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and established a process of recording the marathon swims not under the jurisdictional authority of another body.
Video
To The Saviors
He is included as one of the saviors in the video tribute, To The Saviors as The Encyclopedia-Man of Swimming. He was a central figure in the aquatic world, best known for his 40-year tenure at the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). His competitive roots began at the YMCA in New Jersey, where he became a state record holder. He later attended Kansas State University, earning both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Physical Education. During his collegiate years, he was a multi-time record holder and a pioneer member of the school's first water polo team. As a masters swimmer, he achieved AAU All-American status and won Florida state championships. Duenkel joined the ISHOF in 1976, eventually serving as Executive Director and Curator until 2016. He was widely regarded as an encyclopedic" historian of the sport. His coaching career was equally distinguished; he was named National Junior College Swimming Coach of the Year in 1978 and led the U.S. team to victory at the 1988 FINA Long Distance Cup Championships.
Additionally, he and his wife managed Camp Chikopi, the world’s first summer swimming camp. He was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (Class of 2020/2021) and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Class of 2019). He also received the Glen S. Hummer Award (1997) for contributions to long-distance swimming.
External links
- Who Are The Saviors?
- Honor Administrators, The Force Multipliers In The Open Water Swimming World
- Julie Ridge Talks About Swimming Around Manhattan On WOWSA Live
- Call For Nominees For The Paragon Awards
- International Swimming Hall of Fame Official
- International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Inspector Jack Haskins And Man's Best Friends
- January 9th Is An End Of An Era
- Camp Chikopi, Where For Many Open Water Started
- Open Water Swimming
- Marathon Swimming
- Bob Duenkel Enters Int'l Marathon Swimming Hall Of Fame
- Michelle Macy Enters International Marathon Swimming Hall Of Fame
- The (Swimming) World Is A Better Place Because Of Bob
- Royalty Meet-up At Royal Brighton Yacht Club
- Bob Duenkel Memorialized At International Swimming Hall Of Fame
