Ron O’Brien Inducted into the USOPC Hall of Fame
10/24/2019 11:16:31 AM | Men's Swim & Dive
ADDITIONAL INFO
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ron O’Brien, the national champion diver for Ohio State in the late 1950s who went on to a distinguished career as a national team diving coach, has been inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame for his 30 years of outstanding coaching in the sport. O’Brien is only the fourth coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and joins the ranks of Abie Grossfeld (gymnastics), Carlo Fassi (figure skating) and Herb Brooks (ice hockey). The class of 2019 is the 26th class inducted, bringing the total to 154 inductees.
“The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame represents the pinnacle of competitive excellence in our nation, and its inspiring members are champions who have transcended sport through the legacy they leave both on and off the field of play,” USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said. “It’s an honor to welcome the class of 2019 into this prestigious and celebrated honor roll. We thank them for their impact on sport and society, and for continuing to inspire the next generation of athletes and fans.”
In addition to his induction into the USOPC Hall of Fame, O’Brien was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1988 after his last Olympic games. His legacy remains on Ohio State’s campus as the Ron O’Brien Diving Well is the site of competition for the men’s and women’s diving teams at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Ron O’Brien Class of 2019 Hall of Fame Bio
Ron O’Brien is a renown diving coach who spent the greater part of his life coaching elite divers. Before coaching, O’Brien began his athletic career as a gymnast. Attending the Ohio State University, he earned six varsity letters in gymnastics and diving. While competing in diving for the Buckeyes, O’Brien won the 1959 NCAA National Championship on the one-meter springboard and 1961 Amateur Athletic Union national championship on the three-meter springboard.
After his diving career, O’Brien was the head coach of diving at Ohio State from 1965-78 and then served as a coach for the U.S. Olympic diving team at five consecutive Olympic Games between 1968 and 1988. In his first 25 years of coaching, his divers won 154 gold, 90 silver and 78 bronze medals in major Olympic, world, national, NCAA and Big Ten Conference diving championships. In 25 of his 30 years as a coach, he produced a U.S. national champion and he coached a national champion in 24 consecutive years. In 1986, all 12 U.S. diving individual national titles were won by O’Brien divers. Two years later at the 1988 Olympic Games, he coached Greg Louganis to his second double gold medal performance on the springboard and platform events, making Louganis the only man to accomplish back-to-back double gold medals in Olympic diving history.
O’Brien won U.S. Diving’s ‘Outstanding Senior U.S. Diving Coach’ award every year since the award was inaugurated in 1979. Inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, O’Brien left an incredible legacy in the sport of diving.
