Don Schollander
USA
Swimming
Overall Ranks
#14 among American Olympians
#10 among Male American Olympians
#5 among Swimmers
#4 among Male Swimmers
Olympic Results
1964
100m Freestyle - Gold
400m Freestyle - Gold
4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold
4x200m Freestyle Relay - Gold
1968
200m Freestyle - Silver
4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold*
4x200m Freestyle Relay - Gold
4x100m Medley Relay - Gold*
Total
Events - 8
Gold - 7*
Silver - 1
*Medals weren't awarded to swimmers who only competed in heats of relays at the time
Donald Arthur Schollander was born on April 30, 1946 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his uncle taught him to swim, before the family moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon. He originally wanted to play football, but was too small to make the team, so he joined the swim team instead, winning the state championship as a freshman.
When he was 18, he qualified for the American Olympic team in 4 events. His first event was the 100m Freestyle, and he was considered one of the favorites despite his age. He won both of his heats to advance to the final, where fellow American Mike Austin led at the midway point. Schollander took the lead right after the turn, then gave himself a solid lead before he was nearly caught by Bobby McGregor of Great Britain at the end. Schollander still ended up winning by 0.1 seconds, and his time was also a new Olympic record.
His next event was the 4x100m freestyle relay, which was being contested for the first time in the Olympics, and the Americans were big favorites. Steve Clark started them out by tying the world record on the first leg, and by the time Schollander jumped in on the anchor leg, their lead was 4.6 seconds, and Schollander only needed to swim a decent time to win, which he did, while the team set a new world record in the event.
Up next was the 400m, where he had recently broken the world record, so he was again favored to win. He actually trailed by 0.1 seconds after the first 100m, but pulled ahead slightly by the halfway point. He was still slightly ahead at the 300m mark, but then he turned on the jets, and by the end of the race, he had won by 2.7 seconds, and set another world record.
His final event was the 4x200m freestyle relay, where there was no doubt that the Americans would win. They were ahead by a full second after the first leg, then 3.5 seconds at the midway point. The lead was nearly 5 seconds before Schollander entered the pool on the anchor leg, and he extended the lead to 7.2 seconds by the end, destroying the old world record. Previously, no team had ever beaten 8 minutes in the event, but the Americans new record was 7:52.1. Schollander also became the first swimmer ever to win 4 golds in the same Olympics.
He wasn't able to train quite as much in the ensuing years, as he came down with mononucleosis, and later the Asian flu, which sapped his energy somewhat. He still made the Olympic team for 1968, where he would again compete in 4 events. His first was the 4x100m freestyle relay, where he swam anchor in the heats, giving America the best time of the round, before being replaced in the final, where America won easily. At the time, you weren't awarded a medal if you only competed in the heats, so he wasn't given a gold medal, but under today's rules, it would have been his 5th gold medal.
Next was the 4x200m freestyle relay, he was chosen to swim the anchor leg in the final. They were slightly behind East Germany after the first leg, but had pulled far ahead at the midway point. Mark Spitz kept the lead at 1.7 seconds before giving it to Schollander, who also kept the lead, giving America the gold by 1.4 seconds.
His next event was the 200m freestyle, which was his best event, but had not been contested in the Olympics before. He had set the world record 9 times over the past few years, most recently at the Olympic trials, so he was expected to win easily. Mike Wenden of Australia took a lead of 0.7 seconds in the first half of the race, then Schollander closed the gap somewhat during the next section, but Wenden closed it out down the stretch, upsetting Schollander by 0.6 seconds and setting a new Olympic record, while Schollander won his first-ever silver.
His final event was the 4x100m medley relay, where he again swam only in the initial heat. He swam the anchor leg, and the Americans had the best time, and then they went on to win gold by more than 2 seconds in the final leg with a different team of swimmers, meaning Schollander wasn't awarded a gold because of the old rules.
He retired after the 1968 Olympics, having already been inducted into the Hall of Fame 3 years earlier. He later wrote a couple of books about swimming, and eventually started a real estate development company. In his Olympic career, he swam in 8 events, and was only beaten once. Being the first swimmer to win 4 golds was huge, and helped make him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment