Sherm Chavoor was a Hall of Fame swimming coach from the United States. He coached Olympic swimmers Mark Spitz, Debbie Meyer, Mike Burton, Jeff Float, Susan Pedersen, John Ferris, Dave Fairbank, John Nelson and Ellie Daniel at Arden Hills Swimming and Tennis Club in Sacramento, California, which he founded in 1954 and coached through 1985. Chavoor began coaching at the Sacramento YMCA prior to starting Arden Hills.

Mark Andrew Spitz is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful competitor at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record time. This achievement set a record that lasted for 36 years, until it was surpassed by fellow American Michael Phelps, who won eight golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, though Phelps, like Spitz, set seven world records.