The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 ■ 49 Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. didn't get an opportunity for redemp- tion at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow because of a U.S.-led boycott in re- sponse to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Gregg actually lambasted President Jimmy Carter at an appearance at the White House Rose Garden with other athletes who would have been eligible for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. "He let the president know how angry he was," recalled former high school and college teammate Sid Cassidy. "He laid into him in a professional way to let him know how ridiculous it was, from an athlete's point of view, to use the Olym- pics for political purposes. "He wasn't just talking for himself." Coming To Terms While serious in all his athletic and professional endeavors, Gregg was known for his sense of fun and his prac- tical jokes. The week before the 1976 ACC Cham- pionships, he showed up to Easterling's office wearing a fake full leg cast that he and his labmates in the zoology de- partment made from some leftover plas- ter of Paris. It didn't go over well with Easterling, whose team the previous year barely won its sixth consecutive league title when one of his best swimmers was out with a broken leg. "Steve made me laugh a lot, which was a wonderful and necessary thing that I needed and that we all needed, especially with our coach's oftentimes insensitive way of pushing us," Harrigan said. "He also always laughed at my jokes, even if they weren't funny." Former teammate and Olympic med- alist Duncan Goodhew of London re- members the time in his freshman year, just after he arrived in America, that he was preparing for a race in Atlanta, go- ing up against breaststroke legend David Wilkie. "Hey, Chromedome, whacha doing?" Gregg asked the famously bald Goodhew. "I'm getting ready to beat David Wilkie," Goodhew answered. "You're nuts," Gregg answered. When Goodhew won the race, as soon as he touched the wall, Gregg jumped in the pool, fully dressed in street clothes to celebrate with his teammate. "When I touched the wall, he was in the air, fully clothed and in my lane be- fore the race was even over, polishing my head with his arm," Goodhew said. "I was a newcomer on the team then, but the thing that I will always appreci- ate was that he was never dismissive. He believed in me." The two remained close through the years, and Goodhew was on the deck when Gregg finished second at the Olympics, meeting him when he came out of the water. "To me, he won that gold medal," Goodhew said. "He was the fastest swimmer in '76 and, with a different history, he would have won in Moscow in '80, too." That loss burned in Gregg for many years, until he met and married his wife, Jennifer, while living in Chicago. He even- tually told his teammates he had come to terms with being second in the Olympics. "Dude, of course you did," Cassidy told him. "You won a freaking Olympic silver medal." A native of Wilmington, Del., Gregg was a pupil of NC State's first NCAA champion in any event or sport, Bob Mattson, leader of the Wilmington Swim Club. Gregg graduated from Tat- nall High School and came to Raleigh with many other accomplished swim- mers under Easterling. 'A True Ambassador' After finishing his education, Gregg spent decades working in global mar- keting and communications and later became the executive director of a not- for-profit healthcare patient advocacy organization. While living and working in Chicago, Gregg was the chair of the Midwest chapter of U.S. Olympians and Para- lympians and worked to bring the 2016 Olympics to his adopted hometown. He served on the board of directors for the International Swimming Hall of Fame and provided early strategic guidance to Swim Across America. "Steve loved the sport of swimming," Goodhew said. "He used to come over to London and get in the pool, and my god, he was still knocking out times you could not believe. He was just so tal- ented and strong his whole life." Gregg was elected in the second class of the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. He later became chair of the hall's election committee, a duty he tackled with great consideration and research. He also was elected into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame and the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. "When I first got here, he came by the office, just to let me know he was here to support the program any way he could," said current men's and women's head coach Braden Holloway, who has led the Wolfpack men to the ACC title in nine of the past 10 seasons. "He'd always check in with me when he was here for alumni week or the hall of fame weekend, just to say something encouraging. He never took the negative side of anything." Holloway knew Gregg had been di- agnosed with a severe illness but main- tained his wishes for privacy. "The last time I talked to him, I knew it might be our last conversation," the coach said. "His only message was that he was proud of me and proud of what the kids in the program have done." Gregg is survived by his wife, Jen- nifer, and their dog Bertie, as well as his siblings Donna and David and his two nieces Kristin and Gretchen. Dona- tions can be made in his name to the NC State swimming and diving program via the Wolfpack Club. Contact the club at 919-865-1500 or by email at info@ wolfpackclub.com. ■ " Steve loved the sport of swimming. He used to come over to London and get in the pool, and my god, he was still knocking out times you could not believe. He was just so talented and strong his whole life. " Former Teammate Duncan Goodhew On Gregg