Jed Richard Graef (born May 1, 1942) 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. Graef grew up in

Verona, New Jersey Verona is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 14,572, an increase of 1,240 (+9.3%) from the 2010 census count of 13,332, which in turn reflected a decl ...

and learned the backstroke while competing with the Montclair YMCA swim team. He attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where he was captain of the

Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in m ...

swim team in 1964. Graef won the gold medal in the men's 200-meter backstroke at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

in Tokyo, Japan."1964 Summer Olympics – Tokyo, Japan – Swimming"
– databaseOlympics.com. Retrieved April 29, 2008. Graef defended a PhD in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and is considered as a prominent authority in sports psychology. 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 ...

as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1988.

References

1942 births Living people People from Montclair, New Jersey People from Verona, New Jersey American male backstroke swimmers World record setters in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Princeton Tigers men's swimmers Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics {{US-swimming-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References