Robert John Herman Kiphuth (November 17, 1890 – January 7, 1967) was an American
swimming coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's swimming coach at
Yale University for 41 years, from 1918 to 1959. During his tenure with
Bulldogs swimming and diving, he amassed a record of 520 wins to only 12 losses, along with four
NCAA titles (1942, 1944, 1951, 1953), earning him a reputation for being the winningest coach in history.
Kiphuth also served as the head coach for multiple U.S. Olympic swimming teams (both men and women, depending on the year). From 1947 to 1949, he doubled as Yale's athletic director. He was largely responsible for the modern sport of swimming, which he shaped by introducing such innovations (now standard practices) as dryland workouts
[Kiphuth's entry](_blank)
from the website of the International Swimming Hall of Fame (www.ishof.org); retrieved June 12, 2012.. and interval training.
From 1951 to 1961, Kiphuth was the publisher of ''
Swimming World Magazine
''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...
''.
Kiphuth was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom by President
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
on December 6, 1963. He had been chosen to receive the award by President
John F. Kennedy (President Kennedy also received the Medal of Freedom, posthumously, at the same ceremony).
Since 1968, the high-point award at the USA's
Swimming National Championships has been named in his honor (the "Kiphuth Award").
In 1965 he was inducted into the
International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Kiphurth died on January 7, 1967, in
New Haven, Connecticut, after suffering a heart attack.
See also
*
List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests a ...
*
Wayne Moore (swimmer)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiphuth, Robert J. H.
1967 deaths
1890 births
American swimming coaches
Yale Bulldogs athletic directors
Yale Bulldogs swimming coaches
Yale University faculty
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
People from Tonawanda, New York