Richard Fitch Cleveland (September 21, 1929 – July 27, 2002) was a Hawaiian-born American competition Hall of Fame

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, three-time

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

champion, and former world record-holder in the 100 meters and 100 yard events. He attended Ohio State University, and was one of the early competitive swimmers to benefit from the use of weight training in the off season. He later worked as a real estate broker

High School swimming

He swam for Honolulu's

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

, a highly competitive team coached by Bobby Rath. He placed second overall in May 1947 in Punahou's Thurston Meet in the Senior Academy division winning the 50-yard backstroke in 30.8 seconds and the 75-yard Individual Medley in 46 seconds. He received his most structured and challenging training from Hall of Fame Coach

Soichi Sakamoto Soichi Sakamoto (, January 23, 1906 – August 2, 1997) was a Hall-of-Fame American swimming coach for the Hawaii Swim Club from 1946 through 1981, the University of Hawaii from 1946 through 1961 and the U.S. Olympic team in 1952 and 1956. He p ...

where he competed with the Hawaii Swim Club in Honolulu. In his career, Sakamoto coached five Olympians and served as an Assistant Coach at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics.

Ohio State

After graduating Punahou in 1947, where he also was on the school's Golf Team,Fong, Albert, "43 Athletes Leave Punahou", ''Honolulu Star Bulletin'', Honolulu, Hawaii, 9 June 1947, pg. 11 Cleveland served in the Army while weight training for a year with athlete Moki Kealoha at the

Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adjacent to the town of Wahiawā, separated ...

army base in Honolulu. He attended

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

for a year where he continued to be coached by Soichi Sakamoto. He then transferred to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, where he swam for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

swimming and diving team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). While managed by Hall of Fame Coach Mike Peppe at Ohio State, Cleveland’s achievements grew. He captured four NCAA national titles including the 50-yard freestyle in 1952, three Big Ten Conference titles, and was a six-time AAU First Team All-American. A short distance freestyle specialist, Cleveland held four world records at the same time during the 1950s. These included the 100-yard freestyle, the 75-yard freestyle, the 400-meter relay, and the 100-meter freestyle. In his career, he held ten American records. An army friend suggested he train with weights, and it improved his swimming career as a sprinter. He lifted weights under the training regiment of Moki Kealoha, an accomplished athlete."Richard Cleveland, Olympian, Hawaii Hall of Fame", ''The Honolulu Advertiser'', Honolulu, Hawaii, 30 July 2002, pg. 21Gee, Pat, "Islander Helped Make Weight Training Integral Part of Competitive Swimming", ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'', Honolulu, Hawaii, 30 July 2002, pg. 12 (A10)

International highlights

At the

1951 Pan American Games The 1951 Pan American Games, officially known as I Pan American Games () and commonly known as Buenos Aires 1951, were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between February 25 and March 9, 1951. The Pan American Games' origins were at the Games of the ...

in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he won gold medals in the men's 3×100-meter medley relay, 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and 100-meter freestyle. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

in Helsinki, Finland, he competed in the 100-meter freestyle but failed to reach the final. He retired from competitions around 1960. He met his wife Pauline in High School while she attended

Sacred Hearts Academy Sacred Hearts Academy, also known as Sacred Hearts or SHA, is located on 3253 Waialae Avenue, in the town of Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Roman Catholic college preparatory school for girls founded in 1909 to serve the needs of ear ...

, in Honolulu and married around 1955 during his competitive swimming career.

Post-swimming career

In 1963 he served on the Executive Committee of the Hawaii Athletic Sponsors, tasked with managing public relations for the organization. He later worked as a real estate broker in Maui, with his business Inter-Island Real Estate, Inc., a career from which he retired. As late as 1990, Cleveland was still involved in selling real estate and acting as a broker in Hawaii, largely on Maui. In 1995, he and his wife Pauline moved to the larger island of Hawaii, likely from Maui where he grew up in Honolulu."Singer Has Designs on Maui", ''The Honolulu Advertiser'', Honolulu, Hawaii, 21 March 1990, pg. 24 In his retirement, he was an avid golfer, and became a skilled player.

Honors

He was inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Ohio State and Hawaii Sports Halls of Fame. He died on July 27, 2002 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He was survived by wife Pauline, and his sister Ann Richards of Maine.

References