El Segundo Aquatics Center Pool of dreams
South Bay Sports, Health and Recreation president Richard Lundquist with El Segundo High swimmers Brian Schodorf, Mason Sasha and Nisavic Jaeger. Photo The new El Segundo Aquatic Center promises to resurrect the city’s storied swim history by Randy Angel and Kevin Cody During the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, legendary El Segundo High School swim and water polo coach Urho Saari produced dozens of Olympic and nationally ranked swimmers at The El Segundo Plunge. In 1951, Saari’s water polo team, composed largely of his El Segundo High swimmers, won the bronze medal at the Pan American Games. The following year Saari coached the young team to a fourth-place finish at the Helsinki Olympics. His son Roy won a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, as a member of the 800-meter relay team. But since Saari’s retirement in 1973, the South Bay has produced few world-class swimmers. The last South Bay swimmer to go to the Olympics was Lelei Fonoimoana. The Mira Costa graduate placed seventh in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The long-deferred dream of resurrecting El Segundo’s storied swim history will be realized on Saturday, September 29 when the City of El Segundo and…
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