Victory in the Pool

The ultimate underdog story of a swim coach who could not swim, a swim club that accepted minorities when others would not, and a group of young swimmers who became Olympic champions.

Before the United States was the swimming power it is today, a novice coach named Sherm Chavoor formed a swim club that accepted all swimmers¿no matter their religion, race, or social status¿and started a dynasty. Following Chavoor¿s intense and unorthodox coaching methods, his young swimmers quickly began dominating competitions across northern California¿and then the world.

In Victory in the Pool: How a Maverick Coach Upended Society and Led a Group of Young Swimmers to Olympic Glory, Bill George tells the inspiring story of Sherm Chavoor and his dedicated athletes who rose from obscurity to win twenty Olympic gold medals during the 1960s and ¿70s. They triumphed in two of the most tumultuous and dangerous Olympic Games ever held, the 1968 Mexico City Games and the 1972 Munich Games marre