Peirsol headed to Hall
Newport Harbor High alumnus Aaron Peirsol, the five-time Olympic swimming gold medalist, has been named to the International Swimming Hall of Fame class of 2016.
Peirsol, one of 16 inductees announced Thursday, will be honored during the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s 52nd annual honors weekend. The event will be held June 3-5, 2016, in Santa Clara.
Peirsol could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Peirsol’s list of achievements in swimming is extensive. He helped lead the Newport Harbor High boys’ swim team to its first and only CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship in 2002 before starring at the University of Texas, where he won six NCAA titles in two seasons. He went on set world records in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke that still stand today, 51.94 seconds and 1:51.92, respectively. Peirsol, known as the “Backstroke King,” set both of the records in 2009.
He won gold in both events at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, as well as the 4x100 medley relay. Peirsol also won gold in the 100 back, as well as the 4x100 medley relay, at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He also won two silver medals in his career, which ended when he retired in February, 2011. At the time, he told the Daily Pilot that he “ended up doing everything I set out to do.”
Peirsol, 32, has been involved in his community since returning to Newport Beach, both as a lifeguard and as Newport Harbor boys’ swim coach this past spring. The Sailors had a successful season, finishing ninth in Division 1 and qualifying several swimmers for the inaugural CIF State Championships in Fresno. Dominik Folkner, Hayden Hemmens, Sawyer Farmer and Jason Trzeciecki finished second in the state in the 200 freestyle relay. They also set the school record in the 400 free relay, breaking a record that Peirsol helped set in 2002.
“I call quite a few of them friends now,” Peirsol said at the time of coaching his alma mater. “It’s neat for me to think that years down the road, I’ll be able to see them and see how they’ve gone through college and all this stuff. To say it was rewarding is an understatement, for sure. I’m very grateful that I can do it. They taught me, man.”
Peirsol was part of the second Newport Harbor High Hall of Fame class in May.
He is joined on the ISHOF inductees list by 12-time Olympic medalist in swimming Dara Torres, as well as Russian long distance swimmer Larisa Ilchenko and the late French swimmer Camille Muffat. Other inductees include divers Dmitry Sautin and Guo Jingjing, marathon swimmers Monique Wildschut and Desmond Robert Renford, synchronized swimmer Yelena Azarova, coach Bob Bowman and water polo players from Team Hungary from 2000-2008 (three gold medals).
