The history of sports in Northern Kentucky goes back a long way. A very long way. Decades. Centuries.
We know you’ve seen these lists before, but this is a different and unique way of presenting our “50 sports icons in Northern Kentucky” as we’ll provide you one per day over the next 50 days.
Hall of Fames are everywhere in NKY, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, NKU, Thomas More and local high schools all have something to recognize their past.
We’ll preface this series by saying this, some of you may disagree with who should or shouldn’t be in the top 50 and that’s fine. Plenty are in the Hall of Very Good, but we feel these 50 are the one’s who stuck out to us.
Sports Editor Evan Dennison spoke and conferred with several local NKY sports history buffs to get their opinions and lists of their own and who should be “locks” for the 50 sports icons. We compiled each list and came up with the 50 of our own (maybe cheated a little by putting families in as one) to present over the next 50 days.
Hope you enjoy as summer time rolls on!
The eighth of the 50 sports icons is Nate Dusing, a Covington Catholic grad who has some Olympic medals to his collection.
NATE DUSING
Nate Dusing, a Villa Hills native and Covington Catholic graduate, is among the most accomplished swimmers in Kentucky history. As a high school standout, he won six state titles and set a national record in the 100-yard butterfly in 1997, a mark that stood for over a decade. That same year, he was named USA High School Swimmer of the Year.
Dusing went on to compete at the University of Texas, where he became one of the program’s all-time greats. He helped the Longhorns win two NCAA team championships (2000, 2001), claimed individual national titles in the 200-yard individual medley and 200 backstroke, and contributed to nine NCAA championship relay teams. He capped his college career by setting the NCAA record in the 200 IM.
Internationally, Dusing represented the United States at the 2000 and ’04 Summer Olympics. He earned a silver medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Sydney and a bronze in the 4×100 freestyle relay in Athens, making him the only northern Kentuckian to win Olympic swimming medals in the modern era.
Beyond the Olympics, Dusing collected a full set of medals at the World Championships, highlighted by gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay in 2005. He also won six medals at the Pan Pacific Championships, including gold in the 1997 4×100 medley relay and three individual bronzes.
A sprint freestyler and butterfly specialist, Dusing built an international reputation as a dependable and dynamic relay swimmer for Team USA.
See the 50 sports icons on a day-to-day basis over the next 50 days
— Day 1: Dave Cowens
— Day 2: Shaun Alexander
— Day 3: Homer Rice
— Day 4: Dicky Beal
— Day 5: Jared Lorenzen
— Day 6: Jim Bunning
— Day 7: Tom Ellis
— Day 8: Nate Dusing
— Day 9: Jim Connor
— Day 10: Steve Cauthen
— Day 11: Irv Goode
— Day 12: Stan Steidel
— Day 13: Kenney Shields
— Day 14: David Justice
— Day 15: Morgan Hentz
— Day 16: Eddie Arcaro
— Day 17: Nancy Winstel
— Day 18: Steve Flesch
— Day 19: Donna Murphy
— Day 20: Randy Marsh
— Day 21: Mike Yeagle
— Day 22: Derrick Barnes
— Day 23: Dale Mueller
— Day 24: Dave Faust
— Day 25: Kirsten Allen
— Day 26: The Oldendick family
— Day 27: Martin “Mote” Hils
— Day 28: Nell Fookes
— Day 29: Owen Hauck
— Day 30: Becky Ruehl
— Day 31: Tom Thacker
— Day 32: Sydney Moss
— Day 33: Bob Schneider
— Day 34: The Walz family
— Day 35: John Toebben
— Day 36: Pat Scott
— Day 37: Bob Arnzen
— Day 38: Joan Mazzaro
— Day 39: Frank Jacobs
— Day 40: Adrienne Hundemer
— Day 41: The Draud family
— Day 42: Bill Krumpelbeck
— Day 43: The Molony family
— Day 44: Allen Feldhaus
— Day 45: The Maile family
— Day 46: Maureen Egan Corl
— Day 47: Bill Aker
— Day 48: Maureen Kaiser
— Day 49: John Brannen
— Day 50: Mike Bankemper