Douglas Albert Russell (born February 20, 1946) is an American former competitive

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 in three different events.

Career

Russell was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, but raised in

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States. A small part of Midland is in Martin County. At the 2020 census, Midland's population was 132,524. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan ...

. He began swimming in high school for Midland High School, swimming in the new 50-meter "Alamo" pool built by the city in 1962. It was later renamed in his honor: the "Douglas Russell Swimming Pool." He was an all-around swimmer in high school—swimming competitively in butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley events. Other school swimmers of the era remember him as a tough competitor who was hard to beat but who brought out the best in swimmers around him.T Paton About the Author
Retrieved July 22, 2008. He attended The

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...

, where he swam for coach Don Easterling's UT Arlington Mavericks swimming and diving team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) competition. Doug Russell Park, part of the southern edge of the UT Arlington campus, is named in his honor. At the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago ...

, he won a gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley. He also won an NCAA national championship in the 100-yard butterfly in 1968, and

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) national outdoor title in the 100-meter butterfly. At the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

, Russell won the first-ever gold medal awarded in the men's 100-meter butterfly—an event which made its debut at the 1968 Olympics–in an upset over teammate and favorite

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...

. He won another gold medal swimming the butterfly leg for the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Russell, together with relay teammates Charlie Hickcox (backstroke), Don McKenzie (breaststroke), and

Ken Walsh Kenneth Marshall Walsh (born February 11, 1945) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder in three events. Career Walsh was born in Orange, New Jersey, and grew up in Ponte Vedra ...

(freestyle), set a new world record of 3:54.9 in the event final. Russell was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1985. He was the head coach of the Austin Trinity Aquatic Club up until it was disbanded in 2020.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Doug 1946 births Living people American male backstroke swimmers American male butterfly swimmers American male medley swimmers College men's swimmers in the United States World record setters in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming People from Midland, Texas Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics University of Texas at Arlington alumni Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 20th-century American people 21st-century American people

Career

See also

References

External links