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Bowen Stassforth
Bowen Dow Stassforth (August 7, 1926 – November 22, 2019) was an American competition swimmer who swam for the University of Iowa and won a silver medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1952 Olympics. He set two world records in the 200-yard (long course) breaststroke, and one world record in the 100 meter (long course) breaststroke. After retiring from his swimming career, he worked over fifty years in his family insurance business, and lived most of the remainder of his life in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Stassforth was born in Los Angeles on August 7, 1926 to Adelaide Dow and Howard P. Stassforth. As a young child, he had an intense fear of water, as his early caretaker once put his head under water to familiarize him with the need to swim. After his parents discovered this, they began swimming lessons for Bowen with a number of instructors, none of whom could succeed in overcoming his fear of water. Finally, fundamental swim instruction and continuing lessons with Thelma Payne of the Los Angeles Athletic Club were able to help him overcome his fear of water. He trained and competed as a swimmer at Los Angeles High School (1942–44) and the Hollywood Athletic Club during which time he finished second at the 1943 California State Meet in the 200 yard breaststroke to his teammate Harry Messenheimer.
Bowen swam in the era when the accepted arm motion of the breaststroke was optional with either the contemporary breaststroke underwater arm recovery or the over the water arm motion for recovering the arms after catching the water. No butterfly stroke yet existed in competition. The leg movement for the breaststroke was and would remain the frog kick, also known as the whip kick. In 1953, the breaststroke was separated into two strokes, the breaststroke which used the frog kick, and the butterfly which used the dolphin kick. Stassforth's breastroke recovery placed his elbows out of the water and over his head, which has since been outlawed as part of the breaststroke. Since Stassforth used the breastroke recovery which placed his elbows out of the water, the breaststroke records he held were removed from the record books.
In August 1944, while still in high school, Bowen enlisted in the U.S. Navy. As his vision was poor, to aid him in gaining admission to the service, he memorized the eye chart for his initial physical. During basic training, his vision problems were discovered by his superiors, who learned of his former success as a club and high school swimmer. To restrict his range of service due to his vision and remove him from active duty, Stafforth was assigned to teach swimming and water survival skills to enlisted sailors on North Island in San Diego. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
At his first AAU National Outdoor Championship meet in 1945, representing Fleet Air Wing 14, he placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke. The next year in 1946, he placed sixth in both the AAU National Indoor and Outdoor Championship 220y/200M breaststroke behind Joe Verdeur, Charles Keating and his future coach, James Counsilman. In 1949, Bowen moved up the standings finishing third in the AAU Outdoor Championships 200 m breaststroke behind Keith Carter and Joe Verdeur the previous years' Olympic silver and gold medalists.
He enrolled at the University of Iowa for the 1947–1948 school year and was coached by both David Armbruster and his assistant coach James "Doc" Counsilman, who would later coach at the University of Indiana and become a Hall of Fame recipient. Stafforth was not allowed to compete as a freshman, however, due to conference eligibility rules at that time. He swam for Iowa during 1949, 1950, and 1952. While enrolled at Iowa, he was awarded all-American honors in eight years and was a member of a 400 meter medley relay team that won a gold medal. In 1952, he received a most valuable award for athletes in Iowa by the American Athletic Union.
Having already enrolled at the University of Iowa, Stassforth participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, 1948 placing seventh in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:47.7.
As a result of his success as a collegiate competitor at Iowa, Stassforth was invited to his first international competition as part of the U.S. National Swim Team in 1950, and participated in several meets held in Japan. This was the first time the American swim team had defeated Japan on Japanese soil. At the dual meet in Tokyo, Bowen set the world record in the 100 m breaststroke(long course) in 1:09.4 barely edging out his teammate Robert Brawner.> Later that year, he was second in the National AAU Outdoor Championships in the 220 yard breaststroke to Robert Brawner.
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Bowen Stassforth
Bowen Dow Stassforth (August 7, 1926 – November 22, 2019) was an American competition swimmer who swam for the University of Iowa and won a silver medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1952 Olympics. He set two world records in the 200-yard (long course) breaststroke, and one world record in the 100 meter (long course) breaststroke. After retiring from his swimming career, he worked over fifty years in his family insurance business, and lived most of the remainder of his life in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Stassforth was born in Los Angeles on August 7, 1926 to Adelaide Dow and Howard P. Stassforth. As a young child, he had an intense fear of water, as his early caretaker once put his head under water to familiarize him with the need to swim. After his parents discovered this, they began swimming lessons for Bowen with a number of instructors, none of whom could succeed in overcoming his fear of water. Finally, fundamental swim instruction and continuing lessons with Thelma Payne of the Los Angeles Athletic Club were able to help him overcome his fear of water. He trained and competed as a swimmer at Los Angeles High School (1942–44) and the Hollywood Athletic Club during which time he finished second at the 1943 California State Meet in the 200 yard breaststroke to his teammate Harry Messenheimer.
Bowen swam in the era when the accepted arm motion of the breaststroke was optional with either the contemporary breaststroke underwater arm recovery or the over the water arm motion for recovering the arms after catching the water. No butterfly stroke yet existed in competition. The leg movement for the breaststroke was and would remain the frog kick, also known as the whip kick. In 1953, the breaststroke was separated into two strokes, the breaststroke which used the frog kick, and the butterfly which used the dolphin kick. Stassforth's breastroke recovery placed his elbows out of the water and over his head, which has since been outlawed as part of the breaststroke. Since Stassforth used the breastroke recovery which placed his elbows out of the water, the breaststroke records he held were removed from the record books.
In August 1944, while still in high school, Bowen enlisted in the U.S. Navy. As his vision was poor, to aid him in gaining admission to the service, he memorized the eye chart for his initial physical. During basic training, his vision problems were discovered by his superiors, who learned of his former success as a club and high school swimmer. To restrict his range of service due to his vision and remove him from active duty, Stafforth was assigned to teach swimming and water survival skills to enlisted sailors on North Island in San Diego. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
At his first AAU National Outdoor Championship meet in 1945, representing Fleet Air Wing 14, he placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke. The next year in 1946, he placed sixth in both the AAU National Indoor and Outdoor Championship 220y/200M breaststroke behind Joe Verdeur, Charles Keating and his future coach, James Counsilman. In 1949, Bowen moved up the standings finishing third in the AAU Outdoor Championships 200 m breaststroke behind Keith Carter and Joe Verdeur the previous years' Olympic silver and gold medalists.
He enrolled at the University of Iowa for the 1947–1948 school year and was coached by both David Armbruster and his assistant coach James "Doc" Counsilman, who would later coach at the University of Indiana and become a Hall of Fame recipient. Stafforth was not allowed to compete as a freshman, however, due to conference eligibility rules at that time. He swam for Iowa during 1949, 1950, and 1952. While enrolled at Iowa, he was awarded all-American honors in eight years and was a member of a 400 meter medley relay team that won a gold medal. In 1952, he received a most valuable award for athletes in Iowa by the American Athletic Union.
Having already enrolled at the University of Iowa, Stassforth participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, 1948 placing seventh in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:47.7.
As a result of his success as a collegiate competitor at Iowa, Stassforth was invited to his first international competition as part of the U.S. National Swim Team in 1950, and participated in several meets held in Japan. This was the first time the American swim team had defeated Japan on Japanese soil. At the dual meet in Tokyo, Bowen set the world record in the 100 m breaststroke(long course) in 1:09.4 barely edging out his teammate Robert Brawner.> Later that year, he was second in the National AAU Outdoor Championships in the 220 yard breaststroke to Robert Brawner.