Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo women's swimming and diving team is hosting a fundraising event on Saturday, May 18 in the Grogan Room of Savage Arena. The event will feature guest speaker and Varsity "T" Hall of Fame member John Muenzer along with Rockets' head coach and former Olympian Jonas Persson, and the proceeds will benefit the women's swimming and diving program.
 
Cost to attend is $65 per person or $350 per table of six, and the cost of dinner and drinks is included in the admission price; doors open at 5:30 p.m. To register for the event, please click here. For more information, please reach out to Jonas Persson at jonas.persson@utoledo.edu or 419-530-2782.
 
"We are excited to expose people in the community to our program and get them more involved with the women's swimming and diving team," head coach Jonas Persson said. "We hope to do this while showcasing our student-athletes, and hosting an event where all members of the community can learn more about overcoming adversity in athletics and life."
 
John Muenzer was a member of Toledo's former men's swimming team from 1979 to 1983. A 1983 graduate of UT, Muenzer earned a degree in business administration and made his mark as one of the top distance freestyle and backstroke swimmers of his time. His best finishes were at the 1983 MAC Championships where he placed fourth in both the 1,650- and 500-yard freestyle events. He also recorded a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle that same year. By the end of his college career, Muenzer had set four individual event records and was a member of three record-setting relay teams. Among his accolades is his success in swimming across Lake Erie in August of 1983 and the English Channel in July 2009. Muenzer was also recognized by former Ohio Governor Dick Celeste as an example of commitment and effort to the youth of Ohio.
 
"It's important to keep alumni involved with the program and I'm happy to bring John back to campus," Persson said. "John was the first swimmer to be inducted into the Varsity "T" Hall of Fame and he's one of those alumni who really stands out—not only for his swimming career but for what he's done afterwards with continuing swimming and being a successful businessman and family man."
 
Persson has been the head coach of the Rockets since 2016, and his resume includes coaching stops at the University of Utah, Tennessee Aquatics and the University of Tennessee. Competitively, Persson has competed at the highest levels of international swimming.  The Malmo, Sweden native competed in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing where he was a member of his native country's fifth-place 4x100 free relay team, finished 11th in the 4x100 medley relay, and 13th in the 100 freestyle. Persson was also a part of the European champion 4x100 free relay in 2008 and the bronze medalist squad in 2010, and he was a finalist at the 2005 World Championships in the 4x100 free relay. Persson remains a Swedish record-holder and the No. 2 sprint freestyler in the history of Sweden. In total, he's won 16 Swedish national championships.