Legendary Coach Steve Hyde Featured in Easy Reader News

Reprinted from "The Easy Reader" 8/12/22

...While stories of perseverance and resilience were everywhere in the post-race (Dwight Crum Pier to Pier 8/7/22) gatherings of competitors and their families, no one got more love and respect from swimmers and fans alike than Steve Hyde. 

The 73-year-old Masters swim coach showed up promptly at 9 a.m. so he could get a front row seat at the finish line. He had dozens of former students in the race, and he himself had competed in the race many, many times over the year, including 2021.

But last fall, on his way to an open water race in Oceanside, he suffered a stroke that has affected his ability to walk and talk. His son Jason was at his side Sunday, making sure that he was comfortable and that he could be understood by the long line of people who came by to pay their respects and thank him for all he had done for the swimming community over so many years.

As the liquid line of swimmers snaked its way around the Manhattan Beach Pier and headed in a final sprint for the shoreline, he was asked who he was rooting for to win the race.

He pointed to the crystal-blue ocean stretching over the horizon and murmured one word: “All.”