Dr. Gary Wayne Hall Sr. (born August 7, 1951) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in five events. He is also an ophthalmologist.

Background

Hall attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, where he swam for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Ath ...

swimming and diving team under coach Doc Counsilman. As a college swimmer, he specialized in the

individual medley Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles—backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle—into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay. Individual m ...

. Hall was elected captain of the Hoosiers swimming team in his senior year. In academics, Hall excelled in the classroom and was consistently cited by the

NCAA 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 ...

as an outstanding example of student-athlete. He was accepted for medical school at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

. He later became an ophthalmologist, and practiced in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Gary Hall Sr.
sportsillustrated.cnn.com Hall first represented the United States in 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 ...

held in Mexico City, Mexico, where he won a silver medal for his second-place finish in the men's 400-meter individual medley. Two years later he broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly. Hall made it a point to vigorously exercise in the swimming pool after daily med school classes. His wife, the former Mary Keating, being from a swimming family, understood his love of the water. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

in Munich, Germany, he earned a silver medal in the men's 200-meter butterfly. His final Olympic appearance was at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

in Montreal, Canada, capping his Olympic career with a bronze medal in the men's 100-meter butterfly. At the end of the Montreal Olympics, his fellow American athletes from all sports disciplines, chose him to be the U.S. flagbearer in the closing ceremony.

Ophthalmologist career

Hall graduated from the

College of Medicine, located in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. He practiced as Dr. Gary Hall, MD as an ophthalmologist in

at the Gary Hall

Lasik LASIK or Lasik (''laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis''), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and an actual cure for astigmatism, sinc ...

Center. Common conditions he treated in

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

included

Macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

and

Cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

. Dr. Hall was a recipient of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award for his outstanding career in Ophthalmology.

International Swimming Hall of Fame

In 1981, Hall 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 s ...

as an "Honor Swimmer." Later on, he also became a local celebrity in Phoenix, as an ophthalmologist – appearing in his office's television ads and billboard campaigns. His son

Gary Hall Jr. Gary Wayne Hall Jr. (born September 26, 1974) is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996, 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 Olympics and won ten Olympic ...

became a famous Olympic swimmer as well, starting in the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, getting various gold medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. With his son's participation at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, the Halls became the first father-and-son pair to make three Olympic appearances.

Swimming camps

Gary Hall Sr. currently lives in San Diego and operates

The Race Club The Race Club is a swimming club known for training Olympic Games swimmers with its swimming training program that is focused on specific swimming techniques, located in Islamorada, Florida. History The Race Club was founded in 2003 by Gary Ha ...

swimming camps. The Race Club is a swimming club founded by Gary Hall Jr. and his father Gary Hall Sr. The swimming club, originally known as "The World Team," was designed to serve as a swimming training group for elite swimmers across the world in preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. To be able to train with The Race Club, one must either have been ranked in the top 20 in the world the past 3 calendar years or top 3 in their nation in the past year. The Race Club included such well known swimmers as

Roland Mark Schoeman Roland Mark Schoeman OIS (born 4 July 1980) is a South African American swimmer and was a member of the South African swimming team at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. In May 2022, he officially became United States citizen. Ca ...

, Mark Foster,

Ryk Neethling Ryk Neethling Order of Ikhamanga, OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as the three-times World Champion and four-times World Record Breaking Swimming at the Summer Olympics, Olympic swimming champion ...

Milorad Čavić Milorad "Milo" Čavić ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад "Мило" Чавић, ; born May 31, 1984) is a Serbian former professional swimmer. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in a historic race with American ...

and

Therese Alshammar Malin Therese Alshammar (born 26 August 1977) is a Swedish swimmer who has won three Olympic medals, 25 World Championship medals, and 43 European Championship medals. She is a specialist in short distances races in freestyle and butterfly. She ...

. They were coached by

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

coach

Mike Bottom Mike Bottom (c. 1956) is the ninth head coach of the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving program at the University of Michigan. His men's team finished as champions at the 2013 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. Swimming car ...

. Today, The Race Club has evolved into swimming's most advanced technology and training organization. The Race Club provides facilities, swimming techniques coaching, swimming training programs, technical instruction, swimming technique videos, fitness and health programs for swimmers of all ages and abilities. The Race Club summer swim camps are designed and tailored to satisfy each swimmer's needs, whether one is trying to reach the Olympic Games or simply improve one's swimming techniques or fitness level. The swimming camps programs are suitable for beginner swimmers, pleasure swimmers, fitness swimmers, USA swimming or YMCA swimmers, or triathletes; anyone who wants to improve swimming skills.

References

External links