2024 Sunshine State Games Events

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It’s only fitting in a state surrounded by water, in an Olympic-style sports festival known as the Sunshine State Games, one of its most popular and competitive sports would be swimming.

An original sport of the Games, dating back to 1980, athletes gathered at the O’Connell Center Pool in Gainesville for the first Sunshine State Games competition.  Now in 2020, Gainesville’s Dwight Hunter Northside Pool serves as the host site.

Whatever the venue, swimmers from ages beginning at seven through the late teen years glide across the water in search of greater accomplishments.

At the inaugural Sunshine State Games, Rowdy Gaines, of Winter Haven, then 21-years old and a swimmer at Auburn University, who did not compete in the 1980 Olympic Games due to a boycott, won the Boys 100-meter freestyle gold medal in 1980.

He went on to win a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Jacksonville’s Nancy Hogshead was an early Sunshine State Games standout, winning nine gold medals at the 1980 and 1981 Games.

She also qualified for the 1980 Olympic Games, but swam at the Sunshine State Games, before beginning her college career at Duke University.  In the 1984 Olympic Games, Hogshead won three gold medals and a silver.

As the Games have progressed over the years to pools in Jacksonville, St. Petersburg, Kissimmee, Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Lakeland, it gave athletes around the state an introduction to the Sunshine State Games. Now, for the 11th consecutive year, the competition returns to Gainesville.

Throughout the years, the Sunshine State Games has seen swimmers earn college scholarships, travel to meets nation and worldwide, and win more Olympic Games medals.

St. Petersburg’s Nicole Haislett competed in the 1980s before swimming at the University of Florida and earning the Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Year in 1993 and 1994.  She was an Olympic Games medalist at the 1992 Games in Barcelona as well.

A three-time gold medal winner at the 2001 Sunshine State Games in Orlando was Ryan Lochte, then a 16-year old swimmer from Daytona Beach.  A 12-time Olympic medalist, he is the second most decorated swimmer in Olympic history, behind Michael Phelps.

Other recent standouts in Sunshine State Games swimming include the 2000 Male Athlete of the Year, Alexander Forbes, of Cassellberry, who earned a scholarship at the University of Kentucky.  Cece Williams, of Tallahassee, was named the 2010 Female Athlete of the Year and recently completed her senior year at the University of Virginia.

Trevor McGovern, of Gainesville, was named the 2015 Male Athlete of the Year and is wrapping up his senior season at P.K. Yonge High School this year.   At the 2019 Florida High School State Championships, McGovern had an All-American consideration time in the 100 backstroke. His teammate, Lain Shahboz, also a regular at the Sunshine State Games, was a Class 1A State Champion and will swim at the University of Florida.

Currently, the next Florida standout is putting in the practice time for the Gator Swim Club, Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club, Makos Aquatic Club or one of the many teams currently in training for the Sunshine State Games, as they reach for the Olympic dream.

About the Sunshine State Games
The Sunshine State Games are presented annually by the Florida Sports Foundation (FSF), the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization, and a division of Enterprise Florida, Inc.  The FSF works in conjunction with a variety of local sports industry partners to present the different competitions.  The Sunshine State Games, an annual amateur sports tradition in Florida, is part of the state’s $57.4 billion sports industry that accounts for 580,000 jobs statewide.