The Long Beach Century Club will host its 69th Annual Sports Banquet next week at The Grand in Long Beach, recognizing the city’s top high school athletes along with a host of special award winners including a new class of Hall of Fame inductees.
This year, the Century Club will be inducting former Aquatic Capital of America and USA Water Polo President Rich Foster along with Long Beach Poly alum and track Olympian Bryshon Nellum. The Club will also be doing a posthumous induction of Jim Michaelian, the late President and CEO of the Long Beach Grand Prix.
Foster will join a prestigious group of aquatic Hall of Famers after decades of leadership in the sport. In addition to serving as president of the ACOA, he was a board member of the United States Olympic Committee and served as president of USA Water Polo for 12 years. He also served as vice chair of the FINA Water Polo Committee (now World Aquatics) and chaired the 2004 US Olympic Swimming Trials in Long Beach.
Foster also maintains a sports law practice and has represented plenty of Olympic champions across multiple sports. In addition, he authored and published a 2008 biography of Olympic swimming legend Mark Spitz. Foster has also made an impact locally in Long Beach, teaching the Sports Law course in Long Beach State’s Master of Science in Sport Management program.
Similarly, Bryshon Nellum will join a distinguished group of Long Beach track and field legends in the Century Club Hall of Fame. The Long Beach Poly alum was a back-to-back state champion in both the 200 and 400 meters as a junior and senior in 2006 and 2007, earning consecutive All-USA honors from USA Today while breaking a 20-year-old state record in the 200 meters.
Nellum continued his career at USC before earning a spot on the 2012 US Olympic Team. He advanced to the semifinals of the 400m in London and later won a silver medal as a member of Team USA’s 4x400m squad. Nellum was also selected by his fellow US athletes to carry the American flag during the Closing Ceremony.
Michaelian will be inducted into the Hall of Fame following his passing earlier this year at the age of 83. He spent 51 years with the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, serving as controller, chief operating officer, and ultimately president and CEO beginning in 2001. Michaelian also served on numerous boards throughout Long Beach and was the driving force behind the growth of the Long Beach Grand Prix into what it is today.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach held its 51st running through the streets of the city in April, a race Michaelian had planned to be his last before stepping down. Tributes to Michaelian were visible throughout the weekend, which once again drew massive crowds, a fitting reflection of his vision for the family-friendly event he helped build into one of Long Beach’s signature attractions.
The Long Beach Century Club’s 69th Annual Sports Banquet will be held on Monday, June 15, at The Grand, located at 4101 E Willow St. in Long Beach. Reception will be at 5pm and dinner and program at 6:30.
