Bill Smith (swimmer)

Bill Smith
Personal information
Full name William Melvin Smith, Jr.
Nickname(s) "Bill"
National team  United States
Born (1924-05-16)May 16, 1924
Honolulu, Hawaii
Died February 8, 2013(2013-02-08) (aged 88)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
College team Ohio State University

William Melvin Smith, Jr. (May 16, 1924 – February 8, 2013) was an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in four events. He was one of the most successful competitive swimmers in the United States in the first half of the 20th century.

Smith was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, of mixed Irish and Hawaiian ancestry. He attended Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and swam for the Ohio State Buckeyes swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition. As a college swimmer, he was undefeated in three years of dual meet competition, and was a four-time All-American. He set seven world records and won fourteen U.S. national championships: seven NCAA, six AAU indoor and one AAU outdoor.

At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England, Smith won gold medals in the men's 400-meter freestyle and 4x200-meter freestyle relay.[1] At one time, Smith held all of the world records in freestyle swimming events between the 200-meter and 1,000-meter distances.

Smith was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1966.[2] He died February 8, 2013; he was 88 years old.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Bill Smith. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  2. ↑ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Bill Smith (USA). Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ Dave Reardon, "Quick Reads: Hawaii swimming legend Bill Smith passes," Honolulu Star-Advertiser (February 13, 2013). Retrieved March 14, 2013.

External links

Records
Preceded by

Jack Medica		 Men's 400-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
May 13, 1941 – September 12, 1947 		Succeeded by

Alexandre Jany
Preceded by

Shozo Makino		 Men's 800-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
July 24, 1941 – June 26, 1949 		Succeeded by

Hironoshin Furuhashi
Preceded by

Jack Medica		 Men's 200-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
February 12, 1944 – September 20, 1946 		Succeeded by

Alexandre Jany
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