Olympic swimmer Ivan Puskovitch (West Chester) was profiled in The Philadelphia Inquirer on July 27th. In the profile we learned that his idol is Fran Crippen, a record-breaking swimmer from Conshohocken who passed away in 2010. From the article:
Crippen remains the most famous open-water swimmer in the world … nearly 14 years after his death. He grew up in Conshohocken, was a star swimmer at Germantown Academy and the University of Virginia, and at 26 drowned amid dangerously hot weather conditions during a 2010 race in the United Arab Emirates. His sister Maddy competed at the 2000 Games in Sydney. Fran never qualified for the Olympics. Puskovitch never met him. A generation separated them. That distance didn’t stop Puskovitch from idolizing him. A giant poster of Crippen hangs on his bedroom wall.
“I was very much aware of who he was because I saw his name all over the record books,” Puskovitch said. “Pennsylvania swimming is really rich in history. It’s a rich history of success, rich in tradition of love and passion for the sport. Fran was this incredibly admired athlete and ambassador of the sport across all of Pennsylvania. In the country and the world, he’s a symbol, and he’s a symbol I think of regularly.”
You can read the full article here. You can read a profile of Crippen and learn about the Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation here.
Photo: Puskovitch swimming for USC
