 | |
| Nickname | The Nadadores |
|---|---|
| Short name | MVN |
| Sport | Swimming andDiving |
| Founded | 1951 (1951) |
| League | USA Swimming andUSA Diving (Southern California Swimming LSC)[1] |
| Location | Mission Viejo, California, U.S. |
| Home ground | Marguerite Aquatics Complex |
| President | Sara Jack (Foundation President)[2] |
| CEO | Michele Mitchell[3] |
| Head coach | Jeff Julian (Swimming)[4] and John Appleman (Diving)[5] |
| Championships | 47USA Swimming National Championship and 51USA Diving National Championship team titles.[6] |
| Members | 1,400[7] |
| Website | https://www.mvnadadores.org/ https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/scmvn/page/home |
TheMission Viejo Nadadores is a prominent swimming and diving club in the United States, located inMission Viejo, California. And is a member ofUSA Swimming andUSA Diving. The club is located in the USA Swimming Local Swimming Committee of Southern California Swimming. The club trains at the Marguerite Aquatic Center, which has a long history of developing athletes for national, international, and Olympic competition. The Nadadores organization has produced numerous Olympians, world record-holders, and U.S. National Team members.
The Swim Club currently holds the record for the mostUSA Swimming National Championship team titles, with over 47. The swim club has also produced 151 National Individual Champions, set 95 American Records and 26 World Records, and produced 106 Olympians who won 113 Olympic Medals. The diving program has also been very prominent and successful, having secured 51 National Team Titles, produced 198 National Individual Champions, and 19 Olympians who won 11 Olympic Medals[8]. The club was recently recognized as a Bronze Medal Club in the 2025-26 Club Excellence Rankings[9], and the club has constantly been ranked on theUSA Swimming Club Excellence Rankings since its inception in 2002.[10].
The Mission Viejo Nadadores swim team was established in 1968. It was initially developed by the Mission Viejo Company, the master-planned community's developer, as a recreational amenity for the new city. The program began with a small roster of approximately 25 local swimmers competing in local events. In 1972, the company made a strategic decision to elevate the program's profile to a national level, intending to use the team's success as a "community-builder" and a source of international recognition for the new city.[11] This shift coincided with the major expansion of the Marguerite Recreation Center (now the Marguerite Aquatic Center), which included the construction of a 50-meter Olympic-standard competition pool designed to attract a higher caliber of coaching and talent.
In 1972, the club hired 23-year-oldMark Schubert as its head coach. Schubert's arrival marked a transformative period for the club, often referred to as its "Golden Age." He implemented a demanding, high-volume training regimen that was, at the time, revolutionary and became the standard for elite club swimming. This new program, backed by the Mission Viejo Company's resources, quickly attracted top-tier swimmers from across the United States who moved to Mission Viejo specifically to train with the team.[12] The results were immediate: the women's team won its first National Championship title in 1974. By the1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the Nadadores had become a dominant force, sending six swimmers to the games. These includedShirley Babashoff, who won a gold and four silver medals, andBrian Goodell, who won two gold medals and set two world records. In 1977, the club expanded its focus to create an elite diving program, building new platforms and springboards. This expansion included hiring notable coachesRon O'Brien and Dr.Sammy Lee, which brought diverGreg Louganis to the team.
The club's dominance continued and peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1981, the Nadadores achieved an unprecedented "clean sweep," winning all six (Men's, Women's, and Combined)U.S. National Championship titles for both short course and long course. The apex of this era was the1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where Nadadores athletes won 13 medals (10 gold). Swimmers from this team includedMary T. Meagher,Tiffany Cohen, andDara Torres. In the diving well,Greg Louganis won two gold medals, whileMichele Mitchell andWendy Wyland secured silver and bronze, respectively. By the time Schubert departed in 1985 to coach at theUniversity of Texas, his initial 13-year tenure had resulted in 44 national team titles, 124 individual national championships, and 21 world records.[12]
Following Schubert's departure in 1985, the team was led byTerry Stoddard from 1985 to 1992, who coached the team to an additional national championship in 1986. A significant organizational change occurred in 1992 when the Mission Viejo Company transferred ownership of the club to the newly formedMission Viejo Nadadores Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. This new foundation, governed by a volunteer board (often composed of team parents), took over financial and operational control of the club. This change shifted the club's structure from a corporate-funded entity to a non-profit community organization, a structure that remains in place today.[2]
That same year,Bill Rose was hired as head coach, beginning a 25-year tenure (1992–2017). Rose successfully navigated the club's transition to a non-profit foundation, maintaining its status as a national competitor. During his leadership, the club consistently produced high-level athletes, including OlympiansLarsen Jensen (2004 silver medalist in the 1500m freestyle and 2008 bronze medalist in the 400m freestyle) andChloe Sutton (the first American to compete in both open water and pool swimming at the Olympics). Mark Schubert briefly returned as head coach from 2016 until 2022. He was succeeded byJeff Julian, a formerUSC Trojans All-American and U.S. National Team member.[13] The diving program is directed byJohn Appelman.[14] The club has maintained its streak of placing at least one athlete on every U.S. Olympic team since 1976.[15]
The Mission Viejo Nadadores club is distinguished by its long history of producing Olympic athletes for the United States and other nations. The following is a table of some of the club's most decorated and notable Olympians.
| Athlete | Discipline | Olympic Games | Medal Record (Olympic & World) | Other Notable Accomplishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Louganis | Diving | 1976, 1984, 1988 | 4 Gold (Olympic) 1 Silver (Olympic) 5 Gold (World) | Widely considered the greatest diver in history; swept springboard and platform events in two consecutive Olympics (1984, 1988). |
| Mary T. Meagher | Swimming (Butterfly) | 1984 | 3 Gold (Olympic) | Joined MVN to train for the 1984 Olympics; held the 100m and 200m butterfly world records for nearly two decades. |
| Shirley Babashoff | Swimming (Freestyle) | 1976 | 1 Gold (Olympic) 4 Silver (Olympic) | Won five medals at the 1976 Montreal Olympics; set 6 world records during her career. |
| Brian Goodell | Swimming (Freestyle) | 1976 | 2 Gold (Olympic) | Won the 400m and 1500m freestyle at the 1976 Olympics, setting world records in both. |
| Tiffany Cohen | Swimming (Freestyle) | 1984 | 2 Gold (Olympic) | Won the 400m and 800m freestyle at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. |
| Jennifer Chandler | Diving | 1976 | 1 Gold (Olympic) | Won gold on the 3m springboard at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. |
| Dara Torres | Swimming (Freestyle) | 1984 (with MVN) | 1 Gold (Olympic) (in 1984) | Trained at MVN for the 1984 Olympics, winning gold in the 4x100m free relay. Went on to become a 12-time Olympic medalist. |
| Michele Mitchell | Diving | 1984, 1988 | 2 Silver (Olympic) | Won silver on the 10m platform in two consecutive Olympics; current CEO of the Nadadores Foundation. |
| Larsen Jensen | Swimming (Freestyle) | 2004, 2008 | 1 Silver (Olympic) 1 Bronze (Olympic) | Won silver in the 1500m freestyle (2004) and bronze in the 400m freestyle (2008). |
| Steele Johnson | Diving | 2016 | 1 Silver (Olympic) | Won silver in the synchronized 10m platform. |
| Wendy Wyland | Diving | 1984 | 1 Bronze (Olympic) | Won bronze on the 10m platform at the 1984 Olympics. |
| Chloe Sutton | Swimming (Freestyle/Open Water) | 2008, 2012 | First American to compete in both open water (2008) and pool (2012) swimming at the Olympics. | |
| Brandon Loschiavo | Diving | 2020 (2021) | 2021 Olympian and NCAA Champion in 10m platform. |
In 2021, the Board of Directors of the Mission Viejo Nadadores Foundation hired Michele Mitchell to be the FIRST Executive Director in the organization's 55-year history.
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