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Rowdy Gaines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Swimming | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | 100 m Freestyle | |
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | 4x100 m Freestyle Relay | |
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | 4x100 m Medley Relay | |
Ambrose ("Rowdy") Gaines IV (born February 17, 1959) is a former American swimmer, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, Olympic three-time gold medalist, and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is currently the chief fundraiser for USA Swimming as well as a swimming analyst for television networks ESPN and NBC including coverage of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, his third as a TV commentator.[1]
Born in Winter Haven, Florida, Rowdy unsuccessfully tried other sports during his teen-age years but turned to swimming as a Winter Haven High School junior where he improved quickly and was offered a swimming scholarship to Auburn University. At Auburn he became a five-time NCAA champion under the training of current Stanford University head swimming coach Richard Quick.
During one four-year period, Gaines held eleven World Records and had the United States not boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, he would have been a favorite to win multiple medals at the event. After graduating from Auburn in 1981, he stopped swimming for several months, thinking he had missed his opportunity to be an Olympic medalist, but was urged to resume swimming by his father. When Gaines qualified at the 1984 Olympic trials his times were not particularly impressive and he was not expected to place at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He won the 100-metre freestyle off a very good start and swam the anchor leg for both the US gold medal-winning 4 x 100-metre freestyle and 4 x 100-metre medley teams.
In August 1991, Gaines was temporarily paralyzed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. After a two-month hospitalization, he experienced a surprising full recovery attributed largely to his superb physical condition as a competitive swimmer. He eventually regained world-class times and, at the age of 35, became the oldest swimmer to qualify for the trials for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Ultimately, he chose not to compete in the trials for Atlanta but rather continue his career as a television commentator, covering swimming for NBC at the Games.
Gaines was Outreach Director for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham from 1997 until 2003 when he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado to become the Chief Fundraising and Alumni Officer for USA Swimming.
Gaines still holds Masters long course world records in several freestyle events in the both the 30-34 and 35-39 age groups.
- International Swimming Hall of Fame
- U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
- Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
- Florida Sports Hall of Fame[1]
- 1982 McDonalds Spirit Award[1]
- 2007 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award[1]
- ^ a b c d Former Auburn Swimmers Denniston and Gaines Receive NCAA Awards. Auburn University Athletic Department (2007-01-07). Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
| Olympic champions in men's 100 m freestyle |
|---|
| 1896: Alfréd Hajós | 1906: Charles Daniels | 1908: Charles Daniels | 1912: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku | 1920: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku | 1924: Johnny Weissmuller | 1928: Johnny Weissmuller | 1932: Yasuji Miyazaki | 1936: Ferenc Csík | 1948: Walter Ris | 1952: Clarke Scholes | 1956: Jon Henricks | 1960: John Devitt | 1964: Don Schollander | 1968: Michael Wenden | 1972: Mark Spitz | 1976: Jim Montgomery | 1980: Jörg Woithe | 1984: Rowdy Gaines | 1988: Matt Biondi | 1992: Alexander Popov | 1996: Alexander Popov | 2000: Pieter van den Hoogenband | 2004: Pieter van den Hoogenband |
| Preceded by None |
World Swimmer of the Year 1980 |
Succeeded by Alex Baumann |
| Preceded by Darrell Griffith Mark D. Hermann Donald J. Paige Ronald K. Perry Randy Lee Schleusener |
NCAA Top Five Award Class of 1982 Par J. Arvidsson Rowdy Gaines Oliver Luck Kenneth W. Sims Lynette Woodard |
Succeeded by Bruce Baumgartner John Elway Richard J. Giusto Charles F. Kiraly David R. Rimington |
| Preceded by Valerie Ackerman Danny Ainge Charles Davis Terry Schroeder Mike Singletary Susan Wellington |
Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) Class of 2007 Gail Koziara Boudreaux Ambrose “Rowdy” Gaines Steve Jordan Patricia Melton Ann Woods Smith William Stetson, M.D. |
Succeeded by Class of 2008 |