Craig Beardsley
Encyclopedia
Craig Russell Beardsley is a former American college and international swimmer
. Although he was the then-current world record-holder in the 200-meter butterfly event and qualified as a member of the ill-fated 1980 U.S. Olympic Team
, Beardsley could not compete in the Olympics because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympic Games.
, New York
in 1961, the son of an American father, Russell Beardsley, and a Chinese American
immigrant mother, Jeanne Loh. He attended the United Nations International School
in the city, where he was a stand-out cello
player, and graduated from Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
after his family moved to Harrington Park, New Jersey
. Prior to attending college, Beardsley never had an opportunity to swim for a school team because none of his schools sponsored an organized swim team.
in San Juan, Puerto Rico
. After high school, he received an athletic scholarship
to attend the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he swam for coach Randy Reese
's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) competition from 1979 to 1982. Beardsley qualified for the star-crossed U.S. Olympic team in 1980, but could not participate when, at the behest of U.S. President Jimmy Carter
, the U.S. Olympic Committee voted to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics
in Moscow, Russia after the Soviet Union
invaded Afghanistan
in late 1979. Like many of the best American athletes of 1980, he was denied the opportunity to participate on the largest stage in international sports. At the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials held the month before the Olympics, Beardsley set a new world record of 1:58.21 in the 200-meter butterfly—a time that was over a second faster than Soviet swimmer Sergey Fesenko
's gold medal time in the 1980 Olympic finals.
After the United States–led boycott of the Moscow Olympics, Beardsley continued to train and participate in competitive swimming. He held both the American and world records for the 200-meter butterfly from 1980 to 1983. Swimming World Magazine named him its American Male Swimmer of the Year in 1981. Beardsley was a two-time NCAA champion in the 200-meter butterfly and received eight All-American honors while swimming for the Gators. In 1983, he again won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly at the Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela.
Beardsley failed to qualify for the U.S Olympic team in 1984, by placing third by 0.36 of a second in the U.S. Olympic Trials, and he retired from competitive swimming afterward. Taking advantage of the hard feelings created by the American-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc
countries had pushed for and received Olympic rules changes limiting each country to only two participants in each swimming event. The United States, as the dominant swimming power, was hurt the most.
He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
in management
in 1983, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great." Beardsley became a Wall Street
broker, working for Prudential Securities in New York City
. In 1992, he married Ann-Elizabeth McKay Hensel, a former member of the U.S. national figure skating
team. He has two children, Carter and Caroline, and lives in Chatham, New Jersey
.
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
. Although he was the then-current world record-holder in the 200-meter butterfly event and qualified as a member of the ill-fated 1980 U.S. Olympic Team
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
, Beardsley could not compete in the Olympics because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympic Games.
Early years
Craig Beardsley was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1961, the son of an American father, Russell Beardsley, and a Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
immigrant mother, Jeanne Loh. He attended the United Nations International School
United Nations International School
The United Nations International School is a private international school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 by families who worked for or were associated with the United Nations. The school was founded to provide an international education, while preserving its students' diverse cultural...
in the city, where he was a stand-out cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
player, and graduated from Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan is a comprehensive four-year regional public high school serving students from several municipalities in Bergen County, New Jersey. The high school serves students from the suburban communities of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan...
after his family moved to Harrington Park, New Jersey
Harrington Park, New Jersey
Harrington Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,664....
. Prior to attending college, Beardsley never had an opportunity to swim for a school team because none of his schools sponsored an organized swim team.
Swimming career
Beardsley won the gold medal in his signature event, the 200-meter butterfly, at the 1979 Pan American GamesPan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. After high school, he received an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he swam for coach Randy Reese
Randy Reese
Randy Reese is an American college and Olympic swimming coach. Reese is best known for coaching the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams to four national championships, and coaching the winners of eighteen Olympic gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals...
's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) competition from 1979 to 1982. Beardsley qualified for the star-crossed U.S. Olympic team in 1980, but could not participate when, at the behest of U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, the U.S. Olympic Committee voted to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in Moscow, Russia after the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invaded Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in late 1979. Like many of the best American athletes of 1980, he was denied the opportunity to participate on the largest stage in international sports. At the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials held the month before the Olympics, Beardsley set a new world record of 1:58.21 in the 200-meter butterfly—a time that was over a second faster than Soviet swimmer Sergey Fesenko
Sergey Fesenko, Sr.
Serhiy Leonidovich Fesenko is a former Soviet swimmer and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, where he won the gold medal in 200 m butterfly....
's gold medal time in the 1980 Olympic finals.
After the United States–led boycott of the Moscow Olympics, Beardsley continued to train and participate in competitive swimming. He held both the American and world records for the 200-meter butterfly from 1980 to 1983. Swimming World Magazine named him its American Male Swimmer of the Year in 1981. Beardsley was a two-time NCAA champion in the 200-meter butterfly and received eight All-American honors while swimming for the Gators. In 1983, he again won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly at the Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela.
Beardsley failed to qualify for the U.S Olympic team in 1984, by placing third by 0.36 of a second in the U.S. Olympic Trials, and he retired from competitive swimming afterward. Taking advantage of the hard feelings created by the American-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
countries had pushed for and received Olympic rules changes limiting each country to only two participants in each swimming event. The United States, as the dominant swimming power, was hurt the most.
Life after competition swimming
Beardsley is a veteran celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America (SAA), a charitable organization that raises funds for cancer research. He has been an active participant in SAA events since 1987.He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in 1983, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great." Beardsley became a Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
broker, working for Prudential Securities in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1992, he married Ann-Elizabeth McKay Hensel, a former member of the U.S. national figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
team. He has two children, Carter and Caroline, and lives in Chatham, New Jersey
Chatham, New Jersey
Chatham refers to two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities, the first a municipality that was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the Province of New Jersey...
.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Olympians
- World record progression 200 metres butterflyWorld record progression 200 metres butterflyThe first world record in the men's 200 metres butterfly in long course swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation in 1959. The women's official acknowledged top time came one year earlier...