Stanley Cwiklinski

What does it take to be an Olympic gold medalist, a Bronze Star veteran, a deep-sea diver with a record-breaking 1800-foot descent, an oil recovery specialist who cleaned waters from Alaska (the Valdez) to Antarctica (the Ara Bahia Paraiso). In his memoir, Stan Cwiklinski reveals how strength, stamina, determination and courage led him to challenges around the world, and the price he paid for going all out.

It is rare to find a world class star, an Olympic gold medal winner who is also a great storyteller, and rarer to find one who has led a life of accomplishment and adventure worth writing about. Stan Cwiklinski is such an author. He recounts a life of true adventure, first in the world of championship rowing, then as a naval leader in the wartime US Navy, then as a deep-sea explorer, coach and mentor. He has written a real page-turner in spare, direct prose.

I thought I KNEW Stan Cwiklinski: a good guy and fellow rower, a fellow storyteller with an easy drawl and an Olympic tale to tell. Please forgive me, Stan. You are so much more than your Gold Medal! The length and breadth of this man’s adventures, this man’s contributions, this man’s accomplishments utterly boggle my mind. Thank you, Stan, for writing this book! And thank you for your service! I am proud to know you, my friend.

As someone who has known and admired Stan Cwiklinski’s patriotic courage for over 60 years, I can only underscore the sentiments already expressed by Dotty Brown and John Lehman. Stan is a great American patriot who gave his all for our country and for the freedoms we enjoy today. We owe more to these silent sufferers, in the land of the free because of the brave, than words can ever express.

Stan Cwiklinski has led the life that most of us just dream about. He is an accomplished athlete who has excelled since his early years as a schoolboy sculler to the 1964 Olympics where he was awarded an Olympic Gold Medal in the Men’s Eight Rowing event. Stan has an uncanny ability to put you, the reader, in the number three seat as the race comes down to the wire.
As a true patriot, Stan answers the call to duty and enlists in the United States Navy. His description of the events, as the Skipper of a Patrol Boat, with a small contingent of Navy SEALS navigating the rivers of Vietnam, is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
A great story teller with unparalleled accomplishments this book is a guaranteed page turner from the very beginning.

Wow! Just finished the book. What an amazing life. All I wanted was your sacrifices in earning an Olympic gold. You gave me so much more. You did so much more. I am so proud to have known you. At a later date I would like to talk about your aseptic necrosis. I was aware of it when I was with the Deep Dive but I thought it had been resolved. Perhaps we still don’t know what “bends” really is. Dum spiro spiro.