Monday, May 15, 2023
Mike Unger, Cullen Jones to Receive ISHOF Aquatic Awards
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) recently announced its recipients of the annual ISHOF Aquatic Awards, formerly known as the Paragon Awards. Previous longtime USA Swimming executive and current World Aquatics Senior Advisor Mike Unger is this year’s recipient of the award in Competitive Swimming. Four-time Olympic medalist, USA Swimming Foundation Ambassador and Board Member Cullen Jones is honored with the award for Water Safety.
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards are presented annually to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to aquatics. These awards, along with Aquatic Awards for other categories, will be presented September 29 during the ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“Thank you to ISHOF for this honor,” Unger said. “I’ve always enjoyed working on behalf of the sport, athletes, coaches and volunteers, so it really has been a labor of love.”
Unger was a vital part of USA Swimming for more than 28 years of service working in virtually all facets of the organization. He served as Assistant Executive Director, National Events Director, Marketing Director and National Team Coordinator throughout his tenure. As head of the Technical / Sport Business Unit, Unger oversaw all major events, including the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, the Golden Goggle Awards, the Duel in the Pool and the Pan Pacific Championships. In addition to these duties, he was also active in USA Swimming’s international relations efforts.
Since 1996, Unger has also been involved with all of USA Swimming’s television broadcasts and has worked with NBC Sports, the U.S. Olympic broadcast network. He has assisted with television production for the past seven Olympic Games (Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo) and won three Emmy awards as part of the NBC production team.
Unger was also recently named as the latest recipient of the USA Swimming Award, which honors exceptional contributions – financial, material or service – to the sport of swimming and to the USA Swimming organization. Selected by past winners, this award is considered the largest honor to be given to those who work behind the scenes to support USA Swimming members.
Jones has served as a USA Swimming Foundation Ambassador since 2008 and joined its Board of Directors in 2020. He has supported the growth of the USA Swimming Foundation’s Swim Lesson Provider Network, consisting of more than 1,500 programs and nearly $7 million in Learn-to-Swim grant awards. A tireless advocate for water safety and the importance of learning to swim, he has also visited more than 50 cities as a part of the Make-a-Splash Tour presented by Phillips 66, bringing the message of the importance of learning to swim to youth and families across the country.
“Learn-to-swim has been a pillar of mine for over 15 years, and it is such a blessing to continue to be able to influence the next era of swimming positively,” Jones said. “With a 3-year-old of my own who stares at me every day asking, ‘Daddy, are we going swimming today?’, I have a daily reminder of the importance of our mission at USA Swimming Foundation and Speedo.”
In his work with Speedo as the Senior Manager of Sports Marketing and Philanthropy, Jones has continued to enrich communities through water safety initiatives, developing the Cullen Jones Diversity Invitational sponsored by Speedo and has helped to create inclusivity for all athletes in the sport of swimming. With his leadership, Speedo has committed to expand grassroots efforts through organizations such as Diversity in Aquatics (where he also serves as a board member), No More Under, Tankproof and Black People Will Swim.
“Of course, this is an amazing honor to be a part of such a prestigious event with so many of my swim family present,” Jones said. “We are honoring the largest names in our sport, in and around the goggles. Michael Phelps, Missy (Franklin) Johnson, Bob Bowman, Cesar Cielo and Mike Unger to name a few – it’s going to be great to be in the building.”
Phelps, Franklin, Bowman and Cielo will be inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame the following day during the ISHOF weekend’s festivities.
Other ISHOF Aquatic Award recipients this year include Mark Koganov for Water Polo, Ellie Smart for Diving, Maria Jóse Bilbao Bruñel for Artistic/Synchronized Swimming and Sofia Forte for Recreational Swimming.
For more information on the ISHOF Aquatic Awards, please click here.
The ISHOF Aquatic Awards are presented annually to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to aquatics. These awards, along with Aquatic Awards for other categories, will be presented September 29 during the ISHOF Honoree Induction weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“Thank you to ISHOF for this honor,” Unger said. “I’ve always enjoyed working on behalf of the sport, athletes, coaches and volunteers, so it really has been a labor of love.”
Unger was a vital part of USA Swimming for more than 28 years of service working in virtually all facets of the organization. He served as Assistant Executive Director, National Events Director, Marketing Director and National Team Coordinator throughout his tenure. As head of the Technical / Sport Business Unit, Unger oversaw all major events, including the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, the Golden Goggle Awards, the Duel in the Pool and the Pan Pacific Championships. In addition to these duties, he was also active in USA Swimming’s international relations efforts.
Since 1996, Unger has also been involved with all of USA Swimming’s television broadcasts and has worked with NBC Sports, the U.S. Olympic broadcast network. He has assisted with television production for the past seven Olympic Games (Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo) and won three Emmy awards as part of the NBC production team.
Unger was also recently named as the latest recipient of the USA Swimming Award, which honors exceptional contributions – financial, material or service – to the sport of swimming and to the USA Swimming organization. Selected by past winners, this award is considered the largest honor to be given to those who work behind the scenes to support USA Swimming members.
Jones has served as a USA Swimming Foundation Ambassador since 2008 and joined its Board of Directors in 2020. He has supported the growth of the USA Swimming Foundation’s Swim Lesson Provider Network, consisting of more than 1,500 programs and nearly $7 million in Learn-to-Swim grant awards. A tireless advocate for water safety and the importance of learning to swim, he has also visited more than 50 cities as a part of the Make-a-Splash Tour presented by Phillips 66, bringing the message of the importance of learning to swim to youth and families across the country.
“Learn-to-swim has been a pillar of mine for over 15 years, and it is such a blessing to continue to be able to influence the next era of swimming positively,” Jones said. “With a 3-year-old of my own who stares at me every day asking, ‘Daddy, are we going swimming today?’, I have a daily reminder of the importance of our mission at USA Swimming Foundation and Speedo.”
In his work with Speedo as the Senior Manager of Sports Marketing and Philanthropy, Jones has continued to enrich communities through water safety initiatives, developing the Cullen Jones Diversity Invitational sponsored by Speedo and has helped to create inclusivity for all athletes in the sport of swimming. With his leadership, Speedo has committed to expand grassroots efforts through organizations such as Diversity in Aquatics (where he also serves as a board member), No More Under, Tankproof and Black People Will Swim.
“Of course, this is an amazing honor to be a part of such a prestigious event with so many of my swim family present,” Jones said. “We are honoring the largest names in our sport, in and around the goggles. Michael Phelps, Missy (Franklin) Johnson, Bob Bowman, Cesar Cielo and Mike Unger to name a few – it’s going to be great to be in the building.”
Phelps, Franklin, Bowman and Cielo will be inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame the following day during the ISHOF weekend’s festivities.
Other ISHOF Aquatic Award recipients this year include Mark Koganov for Water Polo, Ellie Smart for Diving, Maria Jóse Bilbao Bruñel for Artistic/Synchronized Swimming and Sofia Forte for Recreational Swimming.
For more information on the ISHOF Aquatic Awards, please click here.