George Harold Kojac (March 2, 1910 – May 28, 1996) was an American 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 ...

, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Kojac represented the United States at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

in Amsterdam.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
George Kojac
. Retrieved March 24, 2013. As a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, he received a gold medal. Kojac and teammates Austin Clapp,

Walter Laufer Walter Laufer (July 5, 1906 – July 16, 1984) was an American swimming (sport), swimmer who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. He won a gold medal in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay and a silver in the 100 meter backstroke. He ...

and

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

set a new world record of 9:36.2 in the event final. Individually, he won another gold medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke with a second world record time of 1:08.2. He also finished fourth in the men's 100-meter freestyle in 1:00.8.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games
Men's 100 metres Freestyle Final
. Retrieved March 24, 2013. Kojac was born to Ukrainian immigrants. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, and learned to swim in the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

in New York. In 1931 he graduated from the

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

and missed the 1932 Olympics because of his studies at Columbia Medical School. During his swimming career Kojac set 23 world records. In 1968 he 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 ...

References

External links

George Kojac
– Olympic results from databaseOlympics.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kojac, George 1910 births 1996 deaths American male backstroke swimmers American male freestyle swimmers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery World record setters in swimming Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming American people of Ukrainian descent Swimmers from New York City Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's swimmers Swimmers at the 1928 Summer Olympics 20th-century American people

See also

References

External links