Back from the Olympics
DARTMOUTH swimming coach Karl Michael '29 has the unique distinction of being perhaps the only man in the United States who traveled half way around the world to attend the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, and then got to see only two non-swimming events, the opening ceremonies and the 880-yard race which was won by Tom Courtney of the United States.
Karl, of course, went as the coach of the United States diving team, but even he was frank to admit that Olympic coaching is not an easy job.
"The boys on my diving squad were all perfectionists," he explains. "They wanted me to watch each practice dive with a photographic eye and analyze it to make sure everything was correct. I had to stay right with them as they were really a dedicated group, just like all top athletes."
Mike's personal dedication to diving and his own insistence on perfection, however, paid off handsomely for the U. S. One of his team members, Bob Clotworthy, a former Ohio State diving champion, won first place in the three-meter springboard event, while Gary Tobian and Don Harper, two California lads, took second places in the ten-meter tower dive and three-meter springboard dive, respectively. Dick Conner, a former University of Southern California star, won third place in the high dive, while the other two members of the U. S. Olympic diving team - Glen Whitton from Ohio State and Willie Farrell of Los Angeles - finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the springboard and tower diving competitions.
Coach Michael made headlines in the world press by vehemently protesting the judging of the Olympic diving competition, particularly the decisions which awarded first place in the ten-meter tower dive to Joaquin Capilla of Mexico over Gary Tobian of the U. S.
"Actually, I was a lot more disturbed than Tobian over the judging," Michael admits, "but I felt I had to protest, and then Capilla himself said he thought that Tobian had won the event."
Following his protest, Coach Michael made several recommendations to the Olympic rules committee to "try to make the running and judging of the Olympic diving competition just as foolproof as possible." These recommendations are now under serious consideration and may well be adopted for future games.
The two months of service to the Olympic diving squad were in some ways the hardest, yet certainly the most interesting and challenging, of Mike's long career. He started training his diving squad at the Los Angeles Coliseum in late October, then took them to Melbourne in mid-November and worked with them there right up to the start of the diving competition on November 29.
"We stayed at the Olympic village, seven miles out of Melbourne," Mike recalls, "and ate in central dining halls. The meals were wonderful, steak twice a day and everything cooked just right. The only problem was to make sure the boys didn't overeat, the food was so good."
Coach Michael's pre-meet schedule called for 6 a.m. reveille, followed by breakfast and a bus trip to Melbourne. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. he was at the pool, coaching the U. S. divers at appointed times, studying the opposition, and conferring with other coaches. Then back to the village for supper, another bus trip to town for a 7 to 10 p.m. session at the pool, and finally back to the village and bed.
In addition to working with his own squad, Mike helped out with the Israeli, Chilean and Canadian diving teams. He found the swimmers, divers and coaches from all nations - even Russia - friendly and eager to compare notes.
"Some of the Russian officials were aloof," reports Mike, "but .their athletes were eager to learn our techniques. As a matter of fact, the Russians had a movie
cameraman and someone to take notes every time our U. S. divers worked out. They'll study the films and notes when they prepare for the next Olympic games."
Coach Michael warns that Russia (the unofficial team winner at the 1956 Olympic games) will be even tougher in the years ahead. "They are top-notch competitors," he explains, "who want to win badly and who strive for perfection in every event."
Following the Olympic games, Mike headed back home to resume his duties at Dartmouth and to "plug" for a new swimming pool deep enough to train Dartmouth's divers. There's no Olympic gold medal on the wall of his office at the Spaulding Pool, but the photograph of the six American boys who did so well for us at Melbourne hangs there, and that's all that Mike needs.
Coach Karl Michael and his U. S. Olympic diving team, consisting (l to r) of WillieFarrell, Dick Conner, Gary Tobian, Don Harper, Glen Whitton and Bob Clotworthy.
