Diving Into ’Victory In The Pool’ With Bill George

Dying To Ask

This summer, Paris will become the second city to host three summer Olympics. This week, we're merging history and the Olympics on the "Dying to Ask" podcast.

Bill George is the author of a new book called "Victory in the Pool."

Decades before Team USA celebrated names like Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky, Sacramento was the center of U.S. swimming, and its aquatic leader was a guy named Sherm Chavoor.

Chavoor coached athletes, including Debbie Meyer, Mark Spitz and Mike Burton, to win Olympic gold medals between 1968 and 1972.

Chavoor coached at the Arden Hills Swim and Tennis Club.

But he wasn't a swimmer himself.

And Sherm Chavoor wasn't even his real name.

"He didn't publicize it. His real name was Izikiel Correa and he was a poor kid from the Oakland area. He came to Sacramento as a swim coach and became famous as Sherm Chavoor. Everybody knew him as Sherm Chavoor. I think even his swimmers never really realized his real name," George said.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Sherm Chavoor became Sherm Chavoor.
• How he started a swimming dynasty that defied race, religion and social status.
• And how a natural knack for marketing led underdog swimmers and a green coach to greatness.