Stewart just can't swim away

Melvin Stewart lived to swim.

It's no different 17 years after he swam his last lap for Tennessee.

Not only is he swimming in Masters competition, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist who set the world 200-meter butterfly record in 1991 at Perth, Australia, is writing about it.

His weekly column - Gold Medal Mel - appears in USA Swimming's Swim Network. Much of it is about up-and-coming members of the U.S. national team.

Stewart, former Olympians Tripp Schwenk, Jeremy Linn, Ricky Busquets and Evan Stewart and NCAA champions Tracy Bonner Headecker and Nicole deMan Dewes will be inducted into the Tennessee Swimming Hall of Fame at 7 tonight at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. All of them competed for UT.

Stewart and his wife, Tiffany, and 8-year-old daughter Bayley swim regularly. Bayley will be joining a swim club Nov. 24 near their Bakersfield, Calif., home.

"I'm having the most fun of my life," said Stewart, who is recuperating from pneumonia which "nearly did me in."

His writing for USA Swimming came at an opportune time, because the Hollywood script writer said the sagging economy has put a crunch on Hollywood productions.

"Writing film scripts paid my mortgages for quite awhile," Stewart said. "But I really love writing about swimming."

Stewart was able to turn his writing talents into a trip to China for the Beijing Olympics and a chance to witness "some fantastic swimming."

Watching TV as Michael Phelps competed in the 2007 FINA Championships caught Stewart's fancy.

"Phelps broke his previous 200 (meter) butterfly world record ... I was standing in the living room watching TV, and I couldn't sit down," Stewart said. "I was amazed at how perfect his stroke looked. I said to myself, 'This is going to be one fantastic year for swimming.' And it was."

That's when Stewart decided to attend the Olympics in Beijing.

He wasn't disappointed.

"His (Phelps') 100 butterfly victory ... well, I thought he had lost. Was convinced of it. ...I kept thinking back to what Milord Cavic (of Serbia) told me months before - that he was going to beat Phelps. I really didn't believe it, but he really gave Phelps a challenge (Phelps won by .01 of a second).

"I just felt this crushing wave of, 'Oh, no. The Cinderella story of breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals was gone.' Everyone knew they were witnessing history. Spectators were electrified.

"Phelps is like a Picasso in the water. His stroke is beautiful."

Stewart said the best race was one that made the rest possible - when Jason Lezak of the U.S. came from behind to win the 4 x 100 freestyle relay."

Stewart and his wife attended the American Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductions at Las Vegas on Sept. 10 (when former UT coach Ray Bussard was inducted) and Phelps was there.

"He came over, grabbed me by the arm and said, 'You're hanging out with me tonight,' " Stewart said. "So we all went to his suite and talked swimming."

Stewart said the success by Phelps and the U.S. team has created an increase of new swimmers throughout the country by 20 percent.

The former Vol, who hasn't visited East Tennessee in about 10 years, said he's excited to visit UT's new pool and see longtime friends tonight.

Tracy Bonner (Headecker)

The acrobatic former Lady Vol used diving as a platform to launch a professional career in diving. Tracy was the first Lady Vol to win NCAA and SEC diving titles, taking the NCAA 3-meter championship in 1995 with a 580.20 score. Tracy won the SEC 3-meter (517.65) in 1995 and 1-meter in 1997 (404.95). She teamed with former Lady Vol teammate Kathy Pesek to win three national synchronized 3-meter diving titles and won they won the U.S. National synchronized crown at Houston in 1999 — also placing fifth at the World Cup in New Zealand that year. The talented duo also captured fourth place at the Goodwill Games in 1998. Bonner Headecker was inducted into the Tennessee Lady Vols Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. She and her husband, Daniel Headecker who is a gymnast from Canada, perform for the Cirque du Soleil “O” in Las Vegas.

Ricardo “Ricky” Busquets

A four-time Olympian who represented Puerto Rico in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles, 100 butterfly and sprint freestyle and medley relays. He placed seventh in the 100 freestyle and eighth in the 50 sprint. While a student-athlete at the University of Tennessee, Busquets, who is 33, won the NCAA 100-yard freestyle (42.64 seconds) in 1996 and was the meet’s high-point performer. Ricky earned 15 All-America honors. He won SEC individual championships in the 50 freestyle (19.96 in 1995 and 19.76 in ’96) and 100 freestyle (43.42 in ’95 and 43.01 in ’96). His 100 freestyle swim in 1996 set an SEC record. Busquets medaled twice in the 50-meter freestyle at the World Championships and won three titles at the World Cup meet. He also was on a 200-yard medley relay that set U.S. Open and American records. Busquets shared Puerto Rico’s Athlete of the Year Award with Ivan Rodriguez, Bernie Williams and Felix Trinidad. Enjoys playing the guitar and surfing. Busquets, an orthodontist, and his wife Emily (a doctor in physical therapy) live in Danville, Calif., where he has a practice as well as in Hayward, Calif. He also is a motivational speaker. The Busquets have two children.

Nicole de Man (Dewes)

She was the first UT Lady Vol to win an NCAA swimming title, the 50-yard freestyle in 22.59 in 1995 and earned 20 All-America certificates as a Lady Vol. Nicole also won SEC 50 freestyle championships (22.86 in 1995 and 22.84 in ’96). She also won the SEC 100 freestyle (49.73) in 1996. de Man was chosen Lady Vols athlete of the year in 1996, was fifth in the 50-meter freestyle at the 1996 Olympic Trials. She was the first Lady Vol to win three SEC individual titles and was a silver medalist in the 50 freestyle in 1995 and took a bronze in the 1997 and earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. 400 freestyle relay. de Man was inducted into the Tennessee Lady Vols Sports Hall of Fame in November of 2007. She and her husband, John Dewes, are parents of 6-year-old daughter Juliana and 4-year-old son Austin. They live in Martinez, Calif., where she was an elementary school teacher nine years and also coaches swimming in addition to being a stay-at-home mom.

Jeremy Linn

This 1996 Olympic silver medalist in the 100-meter breaststroke swam the fastest 100 breaststroke leg (1:00.32) ever as a member of the United States world-record-setting 400 medley relay that year in Atlanta. He earned All-America status 17 times as a UT Vol and was SEC athlete of the year three times. He is the only swimmer to win the men’s SEC 100-yard breaststroke four consecutive years. He broke the American 100-yard breaststroke record (53.32) in winning the SEC race as a freshman in 1995 and again in 1997 (51.86), also an SEC record that still stands. His Olympic silver-medal 100-meter swim also set an American record. Linn also won the SEC 200-yard breaststroke twice (1:56.82 in ’95 and 1:55.42 in ’97). He also swam on five American-record medley relay teams as a Vol and was selected to five U.S. National teams. Linn was the 1998 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame amateur athlete of the year. Jeremy, who lives in Hillsborough, N.C., is a swim coach, motivational speaker and swimming clinician.

Tripp Schwenk

After winning an NCAA 200 backstroke championship in 1992 and three SEC titles, he won an Olympic gold in 1996 at Atlanta as a member of the U.S. 400-meter medley relay. He also won a silver medal in the 200 backstroke (1:58.99). His first two SEC titles came in the 100-meter backstroke (56.93 in 1992) and 200-meter backstroke (1:42.06) when the meet was swum long course at Alabama. He set an SEC record of 1:42.07 in the 200-yard backstroke in 1992 and swam a 1:42.06 to win the NCAA race a month later. Schwenk won the 200-meter backstroke at the 1991 World University Games and was on winning 400 medley relays for the U.S. in 1991 and 1993. He is a police officer in Sarasota, Fla., where he and his wife, Heather, have a 33-month old son, Toby, and 34-month-old daughter, Taylor.

Evan Stewart

This world traveler and former UT Vol represented Zimbabwe three times in the Olympics in diving, won the World 1-meter championship at Rome in 1994, captured NCAA 3-meter titles in 1994 (614.65 points) and 1995 (655.40), and six SEC crowns — 1-meter in 1994, 1996, 1997 — and 3-meter in 1994, 1995 and 1996. He set an SEC record of 583.55 in ’97 on the 1-meter. Evan won gold, silver and bronze in Commonwealth Games competition. In 1995, Stewart won 1-meter and 3-meter titles in the All-Africa Championships. He lives in Harare, Zimbabwe, where he is a managing director.

Melvin Stewart

He thrived on dramatics, and this world-record setter in the 200-meter butterfly has become a screenwriter. Melvin was one of UT coach John Trembley’s first recruits and immediately led the Vols to an SEC championship at Gaineville, Fla., in 1989 by winning the 100-yard backstroke and 200 butterfly and finishing second in the 100 butterfly. He set the world record in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1991 World Championships at Perth, Australia, in 1:55.69 while defeating world-record-holder Michael Gross of Germany. Stewart won the NCAA 200-yard butterfly record of 1:41.78 the same year. He said of his NCAA record, “I’m more proud of that record than the other. I swam it wearing Tennessee colors.” He also won the NCAA 200 butterfly (1:44.30) in 1989 as a freshman. His NCAA record lasted 17 years until it was broken by Georgia’s Gil Stovall in March. Stewart won 14 U.S. National events, won the 1992 Olympic gold in the 200-meter butterfly and another while swimming on the winning 400 medley relay. He won 200-meter butterfly titles at the 1986, 1990 and 1994 Goodwill Games, setting the Games record (1:57.05) in 1990, and swam on the winning 800 freestyle relay for the U.S. Stewart, who lives in Bakersfield, Calif., and his wife Tiffany have a 8-year-old daughter, Bayley.

— Roland Julian

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!