Douglas Seneca Gjertsen (born July 31, 1967) is an American former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Gjertsen was the third member of the record-setting U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. The American team of

Troy Dalbey Troy Lane Dalbey (born September 19, 1968) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Dalbey attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for coach Randy Ree ...

Matt Cetlinski Matthew J. Cetlinski (born October 4, 1964) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Cetlinski was born in Lake Worth, Florida. He attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach ...

, Gjertsen and

Matt Biondi Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

set a new world record with a time of 7:12.51. He also received a bronze medal for swimming for the third-place U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Doug Gjertsen
. Retrieved November 11, 2012. Four years later at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, Spain, he was the fourth member of the third-place U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay; the American team of

Joe Hudepohl Joseph Bernard Hudepohl (born November 16, 1973) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Early years Hudepohl is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and was raised in the suburb of Finne ...

Mel Stewart Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American character actor, television director, and musician who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known for playing Hen ...

Jon Olsen Jon C. Olsen (born April 25, 1969) is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Olsen was a successful relay swimmer for the U.S. national team in the late 1980s and 1990s. He has won a t ...

and Gjertsen won the bronze medal with a time of 7:16.23. Individually, he finished eighth in the final of the men's 200-meter freestyle, recording a time of 1:50.57. He attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, and swam for coach

Eddie Reese Edwin Charles Reese (born July 23, 1941) is an American college and Olympic swimming coach, and a former college swimmer. Reese serves as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns men's swimming and diving team that represents the University of Texa ...

Texas Longhorns swimming and diving The Texas Longhorns swimming and diving program represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's and women's swimming and diving competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The fir ...

team. He was a three-time individual NCAA champion and a nine-time relay NCAA champion. He was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in September 2006. Gjertsen is formerly the head coach of SwimAtlanta and is currently the head coach for Alamo Area Aquatics Association in San Antonio, Texas. He has served as the personal coach for one of the best

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n swimmers, Andrejs Duda. He currently serves as the personal coach for former American record holder

Amanda Weir Amanda Jo Weir (born March 11, 1986) is an American competition swimmer, Olympic silver medalist, world champion, and former world record-holder. She was a member of the 2004 and 2012 United States Olympic teams, winning two silver medals at t ...

. Gjertsen has been instrumental in the orchestration of the Atlanta Swim Across America event which he helped kickstart in 2015. Since 2015, the Atlanta event has raised over $3 million for cancer research, treatment, and development.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjertsen, Dough 1969 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers American swimming coaches World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Warren County, New Jersey Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Texas Longhorns men's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers from New Jersey Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Dunwoody High School alumni

See also

References