A legendary coach and a pioneer in the field of swimming, Allen “Skip” Kenney sadly passed away on Sunday night at the age of 79. Skip was the head coach of the men’s swimming team at Stanford University. He may have left us, but his legacy will remain alive.
Keep reading to know more about this legendary personality, who he was, his background & career, what happened to him, how he died, the cause of his death, tributes, and many more.
Who Was Allen “Skip” Kenney?
Skip Kenney was born in February. 24, 1943, and raised in Fresno, California. He attended Fresno High School for his primary education, where he used to play baseball, and also do sometimes a little diving. After completing his graduation, he registered himself in the U.S. Marines, went through Corps Recruit Training, and served in Vietnam as a National Guard for 13 months in 1965-66.
Kenney got his first opportunity to work as a swimming coach in 1968. He was a trained swimmer and got his training at Long Beach State. Heresettle with Gambril to Harvard, where he remained for a season before accepting his first head coaching position with the Houston Dad’s Club in Texas.
Career Highlights
Throughout his career, he coached a total of 18 swimmers to the Olympic Games and helped them to perform better on big stages, his students won 16 gold, including three silver, and three bronze medals. The list of Olympic gold medalists, includes Joe Hudopohl, Pablo Morales, Kurt Grote, and Jeff Rouse. He was also the head coach in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and appeared as an assistant coach to the 1984 and 1988 teams.
Skip was also rewarded with the CSCAA award for coach of the year in 1982, 1985-87, 1992, and 1998. He was featured in the Stanford Hall of Fame, the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame, the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and the ASCA Hall of Fame.
How Did Skip Kenney Die? Stanford Coach Cause Of Death Explained
A healthy 79-year-old, Skip Kenney, stepped outside the home into a gap between two paver stones on the footpath three weeks ago, suddenly he stumbled, fell, and his hips got fractured. He was treated eventually but just couldn’t get back to his normal routine.
Maybe, he deteriorated physically and mentally. Skip Kenney died 3-week later on the night of Sunday, November 27, 2022. He died after a brief stay in hospice care and his loved ones tried everything to keep him alive, but he left us.
Swimming World Magazineconfirmed his passing news through their social media accounts,
Tributes for Skip Kenney
The whole swimming world is showing their sympathy and condolence to the family of Carla Heaton.
Matthew Brown:“Skip’s dominance at Stanford was unbelievable. I believe he won something like 30 or 31 straight Pac-10 titles. He coached some of my favorite teams and swimmers. RIP”.
One user wrote, “Fine man. Wonderful leader and coach. Thanks for everything. RIP”.
@coachgambetta:RIP A good man!
Richroll mentioned in his tweet, “You were one tough SOB Skip. Hardly perfect. But I’m proud of the fact that I am a member of the dynasty you created. I’m very grateful to you for bringing together an extraordinary group of people to do extraordinary things together”.
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