Comments on: shirley babashoff and leroy, fountain valley, calif. 8.21.08 http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/2008/10/05/shirley-babashoff-and-leroy-fountain-valley-calif-82108/ new work, random pictures and life in general. . . Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:03:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Pattie Crenshaw http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/2008/10/05/shirley-babashoff-and-leroy-fountain-valley-calif-82108/comment-page-1/#comment-6286 Pattie Crenshaw Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:06:11 +0000 http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/?p=297#comment-6286 Shirley was on the Arcadia High School swim team. I was on the Rosemead High team. Last swim meet of my senior year - 2 of our team members wouldn't swim their final 800 against Shirley thinking they couldn't win - so our leader put me in even though I'd finished all my races. I was good at 400, but not the 800. I swam my best - Shirley finished at my 4th lap. I finished the race though. When I got to the side of the pool, I was so tired I couldn't move. Then, I saw a hand come down to me to help me out of the pool - It was Shirley. I'll never forget how wonderful she was. She even told me "good race". I watched every olympics she was in and enjoyed every moment of it. Too bad I wasn't on her postal route. That would have been too cool. Thanks Shirley for waiting up for me. Shirley was on the Arcadia High School swim team. I was on the Rosemead High team. Last swim meet of my senior year – 2 of our team members wouldn’t swim their final 800 against Shirley thinking they couldn’t win – so our leader put me in even though I’d finished all my races. I was good at 400, but not the 800. I swam my best – Shirley finished at my 4th lap. I finished the race though. When I got to the side of the pool, I was so tired I couldn’t move. Then, I saw a hand come down to me to help me out of the pool – It was Shirley. I’ll never forget how wonderful she was. She even told me “good race”. I watched every olympics she was in and enjoyed every moment of it. Too bad I wasn’t on her postal route. That would have been too cool. Thanks Shirley for waiting up for me.

]]> By: Eric Lahmy http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/2008/10/05/shirley-babashoff-and-leroy-fountain-valley-calif-82108/comment-page-1/#comment-5938 Eric Lahmy Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:58:20 +0000 http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/?p=297#comment-5938 Shirley Babashoff was everything you like in a swimmer. She was good, commited, intelligent, and a very sweet person. I was a reporter for the French daily newspaper L'Equipe when I met and interviewed her between 1973 and 1976, and she was allways ready to answer very obligingly. I remember, too, that she was a gracious and a very beautiful young person. She had this face, eyes and smile, and a tremendoux body. Not only fit, but also beautiful. Queston of genetics? As a swimmer, she had a prodigious arm movement, hers legs trailing behind with a slow move. She was, like Shane Gould, an "arm" swimmer. The East German girls were doped to their bones, and even with that, Shirley and some other girls managed to fight; Shirley, with her tremendous courage and talent. I think personnaly that she lost her races on the 400m and 800 freestyle at the Montreal Olytmpic Games because, as many "arms" swimmers, she lacked the leg strenght to make a perfectly operative turn when pushing from the wall and kicking, and Petra Thuemer took her at each turn perhaps one yard. Shirley, with her incredible heart, closed the gap... until the next turn, same story. For me, it was very difficult to see, because i knew that Shirley was THE swimmer of the Montreal Games and the East German the cheaters. Without her steroïds, I am sure that Thuemer could not stay with Babashoff... I never knew that the USA media bashed Shirley when she complained about the East German doping system. Perhaps I should have seen some friends of the American media and told them was happening. Perhaps because being Européen, I knew quite well what the GDR did, as I wrote in 1973 what is probably the first report on their dirty games. It is obvious that if we reconsider the Olympic Games under this light, Shirley Babashoff must be considerd as one of the very best swimmers, and even perhaps the best one, of the past century. Eric LAHMY Shirley Babashoff was everything you like in a swimmer. She was good, commited, intelligent, and a very sweet person. I was a reporter for the French daily newspaper L’Equipe when I met and interviewed her between 1973 and 1976, and she was allways ready to answer very obligingly. I remember, too, that she was a gracious and a very beautiful young person. She had this face, eyes and smile, and a tremendoux body. Not only fit, but also beautiful. Queston of genetics? As a swimmer, she had a prodigious arm movement, hers legs trailing behind with a slow move. She was, like Shane Gould, an “arm” swimmer. The East German girls were doped to their bones, and even with that, Shirley and some other girls managed to fight; Shirley, with her tremendous courage and talent. I think personnaly that she lost her races on the 400m and 800 freestyle at the Montreal Olytmpic Games because, as many “arms” swimmers, she lacked the leg strenght to make a perfectly operative turn when pushing from the wall and kicking, and Petra Thuemer took her at each turn perhaps one yard. Shirley, with her incredible heart, closed the gap… until the next turn, same story. For me, it was very difficult to see, because i knew that Shirley was THE swimmer of the Montreal Games and the East German the cheaters. Without her steroïds, I am sure that Thuemer could not stay with Babashoff… I never knew that the USA media bashed Shirley when she complained about the East German doping system. Perhaps I should have seen some friends of the American media and told them was happening. Perhaps because being Européen, I knew quite well what the GDR did, as I wrote in 1973 what is probably the first report on their dirty games. It is obvious that if we reconsider the Olympic Games under this light, Shirley Babashoff must be considerd as one of the very best swimmers, and even perhaps the best one, of the past century.
Eric LAHMY

]]> By: Lahmy http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/2008/10/05/shirley-babashoff-and-leroy-fountain-valley-calif-82108/comment-page-1/#comment-5936 Lahmy Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:28:09 +0000 http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/?p=297#comment-5936 Shirley Babashoff was everything you like in a swimmer. She was good, commited, intelligent, and a very sweet person. I was a reporter for the French daily newspaper L'Equipe when I met and interviewed her between 1973 and 1976, and she was allways ready to answer very obligingly. I remember, too, that she was a gracious and a very beautiful young person. She had this face, eyes and smile, and a tremendoux body. Not only fit, but also beautiful. Queston of genetics? As a swimmer, she had a prodigious arm movement, hers legs trailing behind with a slow move. She was, like Shane Gould, an "arm" swimmer. The East German girls were doped to their bones, and even with that, Shirley and some other girls managed to fight; Shirley, with her tremendous courage and talent. I think personnaly that she lost her races on the 400m and 800 freestyle at the Montreal Olytmpic Games because, as many "arms" swimmers, she lacked the leg strenght to make a perfectly operative turn when pushing from the wall and kicking, and Petra Thuemer took her at each turn perhaps one yard. Shirley, with her incredible heart, closed the gap... until the next turn, same story. For me, it was very difficult to see, because i knew that Shirley was THE swimmer of the Montreal Games and the East German the cheaters. Without her steroïds, I am sure that Thuemer could not stay with Babashoff... I never knew that the USA media bashed Shirley when she complained about the East German doping system. Perhaps I should have seen some friends of the American media and told them was happening. Perhaps because being Européen, I knew quite well what the GDR did, as I wrote in 1973 what is probably the first report on their dirty games. It is obvious that if we reconsider the Olympic Games, Shirley Babashoff is one of the best swimmers, and even perhaps the best, of the past century. Eric LAHMY Shirley Babashoff was everything you like in a swimmer. She was good, commited, intelligent, and a very sweet person. I was a reporter for the French daily newspaper L’Equipe when I met and interviewed her between 1973 and 1976, and she was allways ready to answer very obligingly. I remember, too, that she was a gracious and a very beautiful young person. She had this face, eyes and smile, and a tremendoux body. Not only fit, but also beautiful. Queston of genetics? As a swimmer, she had a prodigious arm movement, hers legs trailing behind with a slow move. She was, like Shane Gould, an “arm” swimmer. The East German girls were doped to their bones, and even with that, Shirley and some other girls managed to fight; Shirley, with her tremendous courage and talent. I think personnaly that she lost her races on the 400m and 800 freestyle at the Montreal Olytmpic Games because, as many “arms” swimmers, she lacked the leg strenght to make a perfectly operative turn when pushing from the wall and kicking, and Petra Thuemer took her at each turn perhaps one yard. Shirley, with her incredible heart, closed the gap… until the next turn, same story. For me, it was very difficult to see, because i knew that Shirley was THE swimmer of the Montreal Games and the East German the cheaters. Without her steroïds, I am sure that Thuemer could not stay with Babashoff… I never knew that the USA media bashed Shirley when she complained about the East German doping system. Perhaps I should have seen some friends of the American media and told them was happening. Perhaps because being Européen, I knew quite well what the GDR did, as I wrote in 1973 what is probably the first report on their dirty games. It is obvious that if we reconsider the Olympic Games, Shirley Babashoff is one of the best swimmers, and even perhaps the best, of the past century.
Eric LAHMY

]]> By: Mike http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/2008/10/05/shirley-babashoff-and-leroy-fountain-valley-calif-82108/comment-page-1/#comment-4684 Mike Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:38:22 +0000 http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/?p=297#comment-4684 Shirley- I don't know if you will read this, but I admire your courage. You paid a high price for alerting the world of the cheating by the East German women. All true sportsmen and sportswomen admire your excellence and honesty. You are a champion. Shirley- I don’t know if you will read this, but I admire your courage. You paid a high price for alerting the world of the cheating by the East German women. All true sportsmen and sportswomen admire your excellence and honesty. You are a champion.

]]> By: Grant Wilson http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/2008/10/05/shirley-babashoff-and-leroy-fountain-valley-calif-82108/comment-page-1/#comment-1503 Grant Wilson Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:34:59 +0000 http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/?p=297#comment-1503 I was catatonic, unable to function at the '74 nationals in Concord Ca., so great was my crush on Shirley. She was, is and will ALWAYS be a GREAT CHAMPION. She was RIGHT when she spoke out at Montreal. God bless you Shirley. Grant Wilson I was catatonic, unable to function at the ’74 nationals in Concord Ca., so great was my crush on Shirley. She was, is and will ALWAYS be a GREAT CHAMPION.
She was RIGHT when she spoke out at Montreal.
God bless you Shirley.
Grant Wilson

]]> By: Leana Jo H. http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/2008/10/05/shirley-babashoff-and-leroy-fountain-valley-calif-82108/comment-page-1/#comment-1381 Leana Jo H. Tue, 26 May 2009 16:15:03 +0000 http://www.msgphoto.com/latestshot/?p=297#comment-1381 She was my favorite swimmer when I was a kid. I remembered when I first read about her in a book called "Women In Sports: Swimming", in 4th grade. I had to do a 2 paragraph book report on her. I got a 100 (A+) on the assignment!! I think she was awesome! I can understand her attitudes towards the German athletes in '76, because truly, they really were being doped up and had highly more technological advances in training than we did at that time. It surely wasn't fair!! At least she was the only one to stand up and tell the truth about it...YOU GO GIRL, SHIRLEY!!! This is the first time I've seen her in over 20 years. She still looks great. I love the short hairstyle too. These were the first pics of her I've seen since the 1980's. Thanks for the story... Love, Peace, & God bless, Leana Jo H. She was my favorite swimmer when I was a kid. I remembered when I first read about her in a book called “Women In Sports: Swimming”, in 4th grade. I had to do a 2 paragraph book report on her. I got a 100 (A+) on the assignment!!

I think she was awesome! I can understand her attitudes towards the German athletes in ’76, because truly, they really were being doped up and had highly more technological advances in training than we did at that time. It surely wasn’t fair!! At least she was the only one to stand up and tell the truth about it…YOU GO GIRL, SHIRLEY!!!

This is the first time I’ve seen her in over 20 years. She still looks great. I love the short hairstyle too. These were the first pics of her I’ve seen since the 1980′s. Thanks for the story…

Love, Peace, & God bless,
Leana Jo H.

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