Home | Site Map | Webmaster | Zone Rep | USMS Web Site
The following article appeared in the May 1999 issue of "The Swimmer's Ear," the newsletter of Potomac Valley LMSC.
Kelley Lemmon recently was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). He is the second Potomac Valley masters swimmer in the Hall of Fame, joining Jayne Bruner who was inducted last year. Each year, approximately 15 people are inducted into the Hall of Fame in the categories of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming, coaching, pioneer, and masters swimming. Masters swimmers first were inducted in 1995 and two Masters swimmers are honored each year.
Lemmon learned to swim in Hawaii and later swam while attending high school in four different states: Delaware, Michigan, Virginia and California. He was a member of the swim team at the U.S. Military Academy, graduating in 1937. For the next four decades, he rarely swam while his Army career took him around the world, from Europe and the Philippines to Texas, Massachusetts and Alaska. In 1944, he received a Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. Attacking across the Seine River, he discovered the bridge across the river had been destroyed. Rather than order one of his men to cross the 350-yard wide river under intense enemy small arms fire, he swam the river, secured five civilian boats, tied them together, paddled them back to shore, and used them to establish a bridgehead.
He retired in the early 1970s as a Major General in the Army. In 1979, he began lifting weights and discovered he enjoyed an occasional dip in the pool. He saw John Flanagan swimming butterfly and asked him to teach him how to do it. Coach Flanagan encouraged him to join the masters program and he soon competed in his first meet, the 1980 short course nationals in Ft. Lauderdale.
The nomination form submitted to ISHOF for his induction listed 128 world records, 49 national records and 65 USMS National Championships. He also helped DC Masters win 7 National team titles. In three nationals - 1982 short course, 1982 long course and 1983 long course - he completed "clean sweeps," winning six events and exceeding records in all six. A 1983 issue of the "Wavemaker," the DC Masters newsletter, reported that at long course nationals he "climaxed his career with eight gold medals, six individual and 2 relays, thus bettering Mark Spitz' record of seven gold medals.
He still holds the world record for 70-74 50 meter free (long course) - 29.35 set in 1984. He holds 5 USMS records in 70-74 50 free (long course), 75-79 50 yard free, 100 yard free and 50 meter free (short course) and 80-84 100 yard breaststroke. He also owns a world relay record - the 320-359 long course mixed 200 meter free relay with DC Masters teammates Nancy Clark, Anne Walker and David McAfee; and a USMS record in the 75+ 200 yard medley relay with Nancy Clark, Anne Walker and Bert Kassell.
He was a USMS All-American every year but one between 1981 and 1994. Some of his times were so fast he would have made the USMS Top Ten for several younger age groups. For example, one year his 50 meter free time in the 70-74 age group would have placed eighth in the 50-54 age group. The same year, his 100 meter time would have been second in 65-69, fourth in 60-64 and fifth in 55-59.
An age-graded formula developed by Tara Liljestrom of Finland converts his world record 50 free time of 29.35 to 20.87 - well under Tom Jager's world record of 21.81. In 1984, SwimMaster magazine noted that only two people had swum 100 meters in times less than their ages - Kelley Lemmon and Peter Powlison. Kelley finds it interesting that his 70-74 100 meter free record of 1:12.8 is identical to Gertrude Ederle's world record set in the 1920s.
His last All-American times were the 80-84 200 yard free in 1994 and the 80-84 50 and 100 yard breaststroke in 1993. While shoulder problems ended his competitive career, he still swims recreationally and has not ruled out a comeback.
Return to Top of Page