The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1523120
46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER PACK PAST BY TIM PEELER D u n ca n G o o d h ew 's h e l l f i re a n d brimstone smells of chlorine and saltwater. The former Olympic gold medalist and eight-time NC State All-America breaststroker from the 1970s is a wa- ter evangelist, a reverie born from the number of times swimming saved his life, literally and symbolically. He says he needs both hands to count them. A native of the Marylebone area of London, Goodhew speaks of the water he still glides through twice a day with the same evangelical words that former neighborhood icons Charles Dickens and Paul McCartney employed to il- luminate their passions through prose and poetry. "There are religious implications to water and to swimming," Goodhew said. "There's baptism, the washing away of sin. Water has always played a central role in all of our civilizations through the years. Without it, we die. "Without the celebration and revelry of it, we're nothing." Goodhew was Zooming from a beach home in the UK recently, in between his morning and evening ocean swims, remembering with his typical flair his life-changing experiences at NC State, where he earned a degree, met his North Carolina-native wife, Annie, and honed the skills he needed in the breaststroke to not only win 11 individual and four team ACC championships for head coach Don Easterling but also to become one of his country's most recognizable Olympic medalists. The latter was as much for his fa- mously shaved head and buoyant per- sonality as his accomplishments in the pool, but he has spent the many decades since he stopped swimming competi- tively at age 23 promoting the benefits of his sport. Goodhew swam in his first Olympics in 1976 in Montreal, after his freshman year at NC State, finishing seventh in the 100-meter breaststroke final, not too far behind his hero, fellow British champion David Wilke. Goodhew won the gold medal in the 100 breaststroke at the boycott-affected 1980 Olympics in Moscow, as well as a bronze medal while swimming the breaststroke leg in the medley relay. He set a then-Olympic record in the 200 meters in a qualifying heat but finished seventh in the final. To be absolutely clear, the American- led walkout over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan had little bearing on Good- hew's performance. He was the world's top-ranked swimmer in his events. His time of 1:03.34 wasn't the best in the world that year, but he did perform at the highest level while beating the Soviet silver medalist and Australian bronze medalist. The most disappointing aspect of winning in those politicized Olympic Games? As the gold medal was draped over his famously bald head, the flag that was raised and the anthem that was played were not the Union Jack and "God Save the Queen," but instead the Olympic flag and anthem. It was the compromise made by 16 Western-bloc nations that agreed in principle with the United States but chose not to with- draw. "I had fantastic feelings he'd win it," Easterling said of Goodhew immedi- ately after his race. "I never saw a guy prepare himself in every facet of com- petition the way Duncan did. He didn't leave a stone unturned. "I'm just very, very happy for him." To NC State Olympian Duncan Goodhew, The Water's Always Fine Don Easterling (center rear) coached 1976 Olympians (left to right) Steve Gregg, Goodhew and Dan Harrigan. Both Gregg and Harrigan medaled at the Montreal Games. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS