This is the story of Olympic swimmer Matt Biondi: the man who won big and got out while he was still on top. The event gave Biondi the 11th medal of his Olympic career, tying the U.S. record shared by Spitz and Osburn. I was thinking about what I was doing and about how I could make it better.". Swimming increased its stipends to potential Olympians. There will be a funeral mass celebrated at the Cathedral Rosemary Falcon Mark Spitz Youd think that would he an easy sell to those putting in the work, but he often finds swimmers especially those in the U.S. are as resistant to change as the coaches and bureaucrats who benefit from their efforts. Is that you?. [2] (This record has since been matched by Michael Phelps, and passed by Caeleb Dressel with 8 medals.). "So many guys hang onto that one experience and that's the end of their life.". The man who once said his grueling competitive career left him "scarred for swimming," continues to distance himself from his past. "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. The United States fielded its oldest Olympic swim team in history. Litsky, Frank. Beloved Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother, 87 Biondi graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy of Industrialized Societies (PEIS). In 2016, Kroichick and photographer Michael Macor earned "Best Sports Feature" from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, for their series on Antioch High running back Najee Harris, the nation's No. "It's a change, but it's what I needed," Biondi said. In 1988, he won seven medals, including five golds, and he added three more medals at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Hes doing all the things he needs to be doing. "Biondi, Matt 1 college football recruit. "Instead of addressing adulatory fans on the rubber-chicken circuit, Biondi stands before a room of sarcastic teenagersand he loves it," Sports Illustrated reported. BIONDI, MATTHEW M. January 27, 2020, age 48, beloved companion and best friend of Camille L. Tabone; son of Sharon (nee English) Biondi and the late Angelo M. Biondi; brother of Renee Biondi and Mark Biondi. He was kind and generous and will be sadly missed. He was born July 1, 1932 in Brooklyn New York to Christine M. (Rotunno) Biondi and Victor D. Biondi. Nicholas A Biondi died of natural causes on the evening of March 30th at the age of 88. Beloved Mother, Grandmother and Sister The couple lived in northern California and Biondi, who had returned to the motivational speaking circuit, was drifting and directionless. He hopes to add a few more before hes done. And mostly he was swimming against just Americans. Bitter at the resistance he faced for trying to transform swimming into a truly professional endeavor after his triumphant performance at the Seoul Olympics, he turned his back on the sport that was such a big part of his life. campus city county state national obituaries notes from the field. [3], Biondi accepted a scholarship to attend the University of California, Berkeley, to swim and play water polo, and enrolled in 1983. Biondi ended the Games with five gold medals, one silver, and one bronze and set or contributed to four world records. The shimmering Bay Lights turn off Sunday night as the effort to raise $11 million to fund a bigger, better version is only partway there. Now, he is back at the pool, leading a new organization that hopes to improve the state of swimmers who have long been mere afterthoughts to those who make all the important decisions and cash in on their efforts. To send flowers to the family in memory of Matthew M. Biondi please visit our, 25 Davis Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050. Muldoon, Katy. I could make ends meet by working once a month. He became a high school math teacher and coach, shunning swimming at its highest levels for 17 years. [6], In 1985, fresh off of his 1984 Olympics success, Biondi won the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events at the NCAA Championships, setting NCAA and American Records in each event, and contributed relay legs on Cal's victorious 400 and 800-yard freestyle relays, with the 400 free relay team also setting NCAA and American records. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg), BIONDI-C-24SEP88-SP-AP.jpg Theres no time at the moment for discussing big-picture issues. Biondi still got a gold, but he could only watch as Olsen anchored the winning team in the final. Time (July 27, 1992). When he produced six more medals at the 1987 Pan Pacific Champs . He won one gold medal in '84, as part of the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay team, but Seoul was his signature: five golds, one silver, one bronze. Biondi announced his retirement from competitive swimming in 1988 and went to work on the "celebrity circuit," giving motivational speeches in as many as twenty cities a month, endorsing swimsuits and sunglasses, opening supermarkets, giving instructional clinics. Hard work and natural ability combined to make Biondi one of the greatest swimmers ever at Berkeley, where he was a four-time All-American in both swimming and water polo, NCAA Swimmer of the Year three times in row, and a member of three NCAA Champion water polo squads. Syken, Bill. Bitter at the resistance he faced for trying to transform swimming into a truly professional endeavor after his triumphant performance at the Seoul Olympics, he turned his back on the sport that was such a big part of his life. With the U.S. Olympic trials set to start on Sunday and the Tokyo Games less than two months away Biondi isnt looking to make a big splash right away. Though he did not start swimming year-round until he started at Campolindo High School, by his senior year in 1983 Biondi was the top schoolboy sprinter in America with a national high school record of 20.40 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle. Cal once again finished first in the 400 and 800 free relays with Biondi anchoring both, but once again fell short in the 400 medley relay finishing third. Im a telephone and email guy.. Having broken the 50 free record in both his preliminary heat and again in the final, he became the first swimmer to break four individual NCAA and American records in the same meet. They dont see anything beyond the lane, Biondi said. Mrs. Ann M. (nee Coppola) Greiss, 87, of Clifton, NJ, formerly of Lakewood and North Arlington, NJ, passed away on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Heres who has offered big bucks so far. Biondi told her that he "felt like life was getting too easy, too soft. She was a WWII survivor. Matthew M. Biondi was a. Sports enterprise reporter Ron Kroichick has worked at The San Francisco Chronicle since 1995, when he came from The Sacramento Bee. I was sad for our sport.. Event Website Event Registration. Matt and Kirsten Biondi, with sons Nate (left) and Lucas (right). More than a decade after his death, Jesse Owens remains enshrined in memory as one of the greates, Biomedicine and Health: The Germ Theory of Disease, Biomedicine and Health: The Cardiovascular System, Biomedicine and Health: The Brain and Nervous System, Biomedicine and Health: Reproductive System, Biomedicine and Health: Psychology and Psychiatry, Biomedicine and Health: Prions and Koch's Postulates, Biomedicine and Health: Organ Transplantation, Biomedicine and Health: Medical Imaging and Noninvasive Medicine, Biomedicine and Health: Immunity and the Immune System, https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/biondi-matt, Named American Swimmer of the Year and nominated for the Sullivan Award, which goes to America's outstanding amateur athlete, Becomes first swimmer ever to win seven medals at the World Championships, Wins seven Olympic medals, tying record set by Mark Spitz in 1972, Wins three more Olympic medals and ties Spitz and shooter Carl Osburn with total of 11, Marries Kirsten Metzger in Hawaii, her home state, Earns master's degree in education from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, Begins teaching high school math in Hawaii, All-American in swimming and water polo; member of NCAA Champion water polo team, NCAA Swimmer of the Year; American Swimmer of the Year; All-American in swimming and water polo, NCAA champion in 100 yard freestyle, 200 yard freestyle, 4, U.S. Olympic Committee Male Athlete of the Year; NCAA Swimmer of the Year; All-American in swimming and water polo, NCAA champion in 50 yard freestyle, 100 yard freestyle, 200 yard freestyle, 4, Three gold medals (100 meter freestyle, 4, NCAA Swimmer of the Year; All-American in swimming and water polo; member of NCAA Champion water polo team, U.S. Olympic Committee Male Athlete of the Year, Five gold medals (50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, 4, Four gold medals (50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, 4. Along with regularly breaking news and putting creative spins on big-issue stories within the Cal athletics beat, Rusty spends his offseasons writing human-interest features on the Bay Area sports landscape. Recommend Matthew's obituary to your friends. Instead, it sort of ended in a train wreck.. 3893. The lifeguard shouted at Matt to take Nate to the shallow end, because the child was not a good enough swimmer. Beloved Mother and Grandmother, 90 His personal record: 12 cities in eight days. I looked myself in the mirror and thought: Youre the absolute antithesis of what youre speaking about, he said. American swimmer The stunned student had just been at a cocktail party with his parents, and after getting bored with the adult conversation, he starting thumbing through a book on the coffee table. To me, it's the path getting there that counts, not the cheese at the end of the maze. Beloved Brother and Uncle, 63 I get my credibility through Wikipedia, he quipped. Before American speed skaters Eric Heiden and Bonnie Blair raced to fame as Olympic champions, Soviet sp, Blair, Bonnie Now, hes back at the pool, leading a new organization that hopes to give swimmers a greater role in governing the sport and making sure theyre able to properly cash in on their efforts. Knowing that he went through some of the same steps I have has been an amazing help, Nate Biondi said. "He would cross-country ski in winter and spend long summer afternoons sailing on San Francisco Bay with his father," Muldoon wrote. Mrs. Bottone was a graduate of the University of Bologna, La Scuola Della Belle Ines Anna (nee Scagliarini) Bottone Beloved Brother and Uncle, 63 Biondi was swimming with his son Nate, in the deep end of a pool in Hawaii. I was sad for our sport.. I had pulled our medley relay and free relay from oblivion so many times at top level competitions, Biondi said. The top swimmers are totally locked in on their Olympics goals, as they should be. Funeral Home website by, Join our obituary notification email list. Beloved Father, Grandfather and Great-Grandfather, 94 Biondi married Kirsten Metzger in her home state of Hawaii in 1995. //]]>, Matt Biondi is one of the greatest competitive swimmers in history. Soviet gymmast 23 Feb. 2023