Sacramento Swimming Olympians Discuss New Book on the Life of Sherm Chavoor
Jun 08, 2023 12:00AM ● By From NIMBUS Films & Books
Jeff Float and Debbie Meyer show the overflow crowd their Olympic gold medals. Photo courtesy of NIMBUS Films & Books
SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Sacramento region Olympic swimmers discussed book author Bill George’s new work, “Victory in the Pool,” which chronicles the achievements of swimmers from Sacramento’s Arden Hills Swim and Tennis club, and features the legendary U.S. Olympic coach Sherm Chavoor, in a presentation at Sacramento City Library on Saturday, May 13.
George’s 45-minute presentation on “Victory in the Pool” helped raise awareness of the great accomplishments of Coach Sherm Chavoor and Sacramento’s amazing swimmers with more than 65 people attending the event.
“Victory in the Pool” examines the foundations of the team established by the efforts of the swim pioneer Tak Iseri. Iseri, now in his 90’s, was among the first great swimmers produced by U.S. Olympic coach Sherm Chavoor from the famed Arden Hills Swim and Tennis Club in Carmichael, California, founded in 1954.
The featured speakers were:
Bill George – Granite Bay author, film maker and historian. He has produced seven documentary films about California history, all of which have aired on PBS. His previous book, “Rails, Tales and Trails” chronicles the construction of The Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento to Reno, one of the greatest engineering accomplishments in history.
Debbie Meyer, 1968 Olympian – first female swimmer to win three individual Gold Medals at the same Games (Mexico City) when she won the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events, a unique trifecta that has not been repeated since.
Jeff Float, 1984 Olympian – gold medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games in the 4x200 freestyle relay. 1982 Gold Medalist, World Championships in Guayaduil. 1980 Olympic Qualifier and 1978 Silver Medalist, 400m freestyle at World Championships, Berlin.
Tak Iseri, 1940’s Sacramento swim pioneer – Iseri was among the more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were interned during World War II. He later swam for Sherm Chavoor and in 1948 won the Pacific Amateur Association Championship. He was a U.S. Masters Swimming Champion in numerous events, 1987-1995. Captain, UC Berkeley Varsity Swim Team.
