Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about 51 miles (82 km) east of Tampa and about 47 miles (76 km) southwest of Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland located to its west. The city's population was 49,219 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populated city in Polk County after Lakeland. It is a principal city of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
David Andrew Wilkie was a Scottish swimmer who was the Olympic 200m breaststroke champion in 1976, the first British swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal since Anita Lonsbrough in 1960. He is the only person to have held British, Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic swimming titles at the same time. Wilkie, a member of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame, has been described as Scotland's greatest and Britain's finest swimmer. Fellow Olympic breaststroke gold medallist Duncan Goodhew considered him an "extraordinary talent" and "one of Britain's greatest ever athletes".
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as the "Gator Nation." The Gators compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and are consistently ranked among the top college sports programs in the United States. The University of Florida currently fields teams in nine men's sports and twelve women's sports.
Stephen Gregory Podborski is a Canadian former World Cup and Olympic downhill ski racer.
Andrew Stewart North is an American professional golfer who had three wins on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open twice. Since 1992, he has served as a golf analyst for ESPN.
Gary D. Koch is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer, who formerly played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.
David López-Zubero Purcell, also known as David Zubero, is a former competitive swimmer who represented Spain at three Summer Olympics and won an Olympic bronze medal in 1980. Zubero was born in the United States, swam in international competition for Spain, and holds dual Spanish-American citizenship.
USA Water Ski & Wake Sports, also known as USA Water Ski, is a non-profit water skiing association headquartered in Polk County, Florida whose mission is 'to promote the growth and development of recreational water skiing, and organizing and governing the sport of competitive water skiing." The American Water Ski Association (AWSA) was founded in 1939 to organize the first U.S. National Water Ski Championships. Today, AWSA is one of the nine sport disciplines that comprise USA Water Ski and Wake Sports. As of 2015, USA Water Ski was the largest water ski federation in the world with more than 600 clubs and 20,000 members. In 2016, they announced plans for a new training facility, office complex and space for the industry's Hall of Fame and museum in Auburndale, Florida.
Joseph Brian Gay is an American professional golfer. During his career, he won five times on the PGA Tour. After turning 50, he played on the PGA Tour Champions.
Martín López-Zubero Purcell, also known as Martin Zubero, is a former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. López-Zubero was born in the United States, swam in international competition for Spain, and holds dual Spanish-American citizenship.
The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 17 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University, in the U.S. state of New York. St. John's 17 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fencing team, which compete in the ECAC.
Todd Lodwick is an American Nordic combined skier. He competed at the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 Olympics and won a team silver medal in 2010. His best individual result was fourth place in 2010, when he finished 0.7 seconds behind the third place in the individual normal hill/10 km event. At the world championships he won two individual gold medals in 2009.
David Erwin Larson is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. Larson is a Georgia native who became an All-American college swimmer for the University of Florida. He was known for his success as a member of American relay teams in international competition at the Pan American Games and the Olympics – and for setting two world records in the 4×200-meter relay event on the same day at the 1984 Olympics.
The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and have amassed 35 NCAA titles as of 2024, which is in the top 15 among all schools. Denver is a member of The Summit League for men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving, men's and women's soccer, tennis and golf for both men and women, plus women's volleyball. Other DU teams play in various conferences in the sports that are not sponsored by The Summit. The men's ice hockey team is a charter member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), which formed in 2011 with play beginning in 2013. The lacrosse teams for men and women are members of the Big East Conference; the men began Big East play in the 2013–14 school year, while the women left the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) after the 2016 lacrosse season. Men's and women's skiing compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association, while the women's gymnastics team became an affiliate of the Big 12 Conference starting with the 2015–16 season.
Donald Ward McKenzie Jr. was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.
Rhona and Rhoda Wurtele are identical twins and Canada's women's skiing pioneers and champions of the 1940s and 1950s. Together they made up the entire 1948 Olympic Women's Alpine team for Canada.
The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence during their college sports careers. The University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, is a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and fields twenty-one intercollegiate sports teams, all of which compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Howard Fenno Patterson was an American competition swimmer for Michigan State University who represented the United States in backstroke at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He would later work with the Michigan State Liquor Control Commission.
Eugene Robert "Gene" Kotlarek was an American former ski jumper. He competed at the 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics with the best result of 14th place in the normal hill in 1964.
The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of Vermont. Above all, induction "is for accomplishments in sports and recreation that generate a great source of pride to the state." Launched as a project in 2011, the Hall of Fame inducted its inaugural class on November 17, 2012. Inductees include multiple Olympic athletes and medalists, professional sports hall of fame inductees, and historical contributors from the state of Vermont or one of its colleges and universities.
