Legendary coach and pioneer in the discipline of swimming, Allen “Skip” Kenny unfortunately delivered in Sunday night at the age of 79 years. Skip was the top coach of the men’s swimming workforce at Stanford College. He may have left us, however his legacy will live on.
Read on to find out more about this legendary character, who he was, his background and career, what happened to him, how he died, the reason for his death, tributes and much more.
Who was Allen “Skip” Kenney?
Skip Kenney was born in February. He was born on January 24, 1943 and raised in Fresno, California. He attended Fresno High School for his main education, where he used to play baseball and also used to do some scuba diving. After completing his graduation, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps, 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 swim coach in 1968. He was an expert swimmer and got his training at Long Beach State. Here he settled with Gambril at Harvard, where he stayed for one season before accepting his first post as director at the Houston Parents Club in Texas.
Profession Highlights
Throughout his career, he trained a total of 18 swimmers for the Olympic Games and helped them perform better at high levels, his students receiving 16 gold medals, including three silver and three bronze. The Olympic gold medalist checklist includes Joe Hudopohl, Pablo Morales, Kurt Grote and Jeff Rouse. He was also the head coach at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and appeared as an assistant coach on the 1984 and 1988 teams.
Skip was also honored with the CSCAA Coach of the Year Award in 1982, 1985-87, 1992 and 1998. He has been featured in the Stanford Hall of Fame, the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame, the World Swimming Hall of Fame and the ASCA Hall of Fame.
How did Skip Kenney die? Definition of the trigger for the death of the Stanford coach
A healthy 79-year-old man, Skip Kenney, walked out of the house to a spot between two sidewalk pavers three weeks ago, suddenly tripped, fell, and fractured his hip. They eventually managed it, but he just couldn’t get back into his usual routine.
Perhaps, he deteriorated physically and mentally. Skip Kenney died three weeks later on the night of Sunday November 27, 2022. He died after a brief stay in hospice care and his family did everything they could to keep him alive, but he left us.
Swimming World magazine confirmed the information of his death through his social media accounts.
Tributes to Skip Kenney
The entire swimming world extends its sympathy and condolences to the family of Carla Heaton.
Matthew Brown:“Skip’s dominance at Stanford was incredible. I would imagine he received something like 30 or 31 straight Pac-10 titles. He coached some of my favorite groups and swimmers. RIP”.
A consumer wrote, “Excellent man. Fantastic boss and trainer. Thanks for every part. RIP”.
@coachgambetta:RIP An excellent man!
richroll spoke in his tweet, “You were a strong SOB Skip. hardly excellent. However, I am happy with the fact that I am a member of the dynasty you created. I am very grateful for bringing together an unprecedented group of people to collectively do extraordinary things.”
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