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CSULB Hall of Fame athlete dies at 57

Klaus Barth, a Long Beach State Hall of Fame swimmer, olympian, Ironman triathlete and Wilson High School swim coach, died of a brain tumor Sunday morning. He was 57.

Barth died of glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive kind of brain tumor. When he was first diagnosed, doctors gave him six months to live, but Barth survived six years.

“He didn’t lose his battle with cancer,” said his wife Shari Barth, in an interview with the Press Telegram. “He competed and he finished his race. When they gave him the (survival) stats of the illness…he said to them, ‘I’m going to break your records, and I’m going to make you look good.'”

There was a memorial swim around the ocean buoys across from 55th Place on the Long Beach peninsula Sunday afternoon.

“There were about 100 of us swimming and another 100 on the beach,” said Joe Sherrin, a Cal State Long Beach water polo player who was coached by Barth.

“Klaus left us on his terms, the way he wanted to go. He was with family, he was comfortable, and it was awesome. From that standpoint, it was a great day,” said Adam Wright, one of Barth’s former students and 2004 Olympic water polo athlete.

The candlelight vigil brought out hundreds of people, with “Somewhere over the Rainbow” being played, according to long-time neighbor and former swimmer, Maddie Welty.

“There was everyone from 7- and 8-year -old water polo boys he coached at Shore Aquatics (based at CSULB) to former olympians he had inspired,” she said.

Barth continued to coach at Wilson and Long Beach Shore Aquatics after his diagnosis.

“He was so active, he never backed down. Being in a wheelchair all day was awful for him and he didn’t want to live that way,” said Gabriella Guthner, a friend and Barth’s former swimmer.

After competing for West Germany in the 1968 Olympics, he came to CSULB the following year when Don Gambril, the former swim coach, offered him a scholarship. Barth was a key member of back-to-back Pacific Coast Athletic Association championship teams at CSULB.

He continued to compete, participating in countless triathlons, including seven appearances in the Ironman, where he is a two-time champion in the masters division,” according to the 49er archives.

It was ironic and befitting that “the night before he died, he watched the Ironman triathlon on TV,” Guthner said.

In the 1980s, while Barth was coaching at Wilson, he decided to compete in the Ironman triathlon. He came in 15th place in his first Ironman competition in 1983, finished 8th in 1985, and fourth in 1986, only behind three hall of fame triathletes, according to OandP.com, a Web site for health care professionals.

Barth will be remembered for “his broad smile, slightly foreign accent, booming voice and ‘tough-as-nails’ persona, long straight white/blond hair and facetious and comedic attitude,” said friend Tim Shepper on teamshepper.com. “Klaus’ winning attitude has brought many successes to his life.”

Barth’s death has inspired a Facebook memorial group and jumpstarted the Klaus Barth Foundation, a non-profit organization to support cancer research.

Barth is survived by his wife, Shari, his two daughters, Kristin Barth-Kredell and Brianne Barth, and his son Garrit, a CSULB student and water polo player. A memorial service will be announced in the upcoming week.

2 Comments

  1. Avatar
    RENE RODRIGUEZ

    I MISS YOU A LOT,
    COACH BARTH
    YOU ARE MY SECOND,
    FATHER
    I REMEMBER,
    MANY,
    TIME’S
    WITH,
    CELEBRAT,
    TOGHETER,
    AS I SOCCER
    VARISITY COACH
    NEVER,I
    BE FORGET THE WAY YOU TEACH ME
    TO BE A GOOD MAN
    AND TO BE PART OF
    YOU,
    SOCCER STAFF
    LONG BEACH WILSON
    VARISITY SOCCER TIME
    ARE FIRST,
    MOORE LEAGUE CHAMPION, LITTLE,1985
    (I WAS YOU ASSIT.
    SOCCER COACH
    RENE RODRIGUEZ
    MY RESPEST,
    ***COACH KLAUS BART ***
    YOU BE ALWAYS IN MY MIND
    R.I.P
    AMIGO
    SEÑOR
    KLAUS BARTH

  2. Avatar
    Jeff whitfield

    I knew Klaus at Long Beach State in the early 70’s. I was a Phys. Ed. major and would speak to Klaus in the locker room and in a couple of classes we had. Coach Gambril
    would leave a lane or two open early in the morning for non competitive swimmers. Tracy Smith (Track Olympian 1968) and I would use the open lanes two or three times a week for a couple of years. Klaus was a great guy and I enjoyed seeing him as well as another great German swimmer work out with other teammates. I also was great friends with Kurt Condon who also passed away about 10 years ago from a brain tumor glioblastoma. Kurt was the # 1 tennis player at Long Beach around 19 73-74. Both Kurt and Klaus were fantastic athletes who made their careers like myself and Tracy in athletics and education. Oh, they are missed.

    Jeff Whitfield
    class of 73-74

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