Melvin Monroe Stewart Jr. (born November 18, 1968) is an American
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
promoter, former competition swimmer and world record-holder who won two gold medals and one bronze medal 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 is the co-founder and publisher of the swimming news website,
SwimSwam
''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...
, and a producer-director of commercials through his company, Gold Medal Media.
Early life and education
Stewart was born in
Gastonia, North Carolina
Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 2010 ...
and raised in
Fort Mill, South Carolina
Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. ...
.
[Noden, Merrell (July 6, 1992)]
"Great Expectations: Melvin Stewart's Journey From the World of the PTL Ministry to his Life as the World's Best Butterflyer Has Been Well, Dickensian"
''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
''. Retrieved July 20, 2021.["Where Are They Now?: Mel Stewart"](_blank)
''Charlotte Magazine
Morris Communications, headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, is a privately held media company with diversified holdings that include magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications, and online serv ...
''. July 20, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2021. He began swimming competitively at the Johnston Memorial YMCA in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
.
He attended
Fort Mill High School
Fort Mill High School (FMHS) is a public high school in Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States. It is part of the York County School District 4.
Achievements
Two-time National Blue Ribbon School – 2004, 2018
Marching Band
24 S.C. ...
until partway through his junior year at the school. That year, he switched high schools to
Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...
in
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital.
Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percentage ...
after a sponsor paid Stewart's tuition expenses.
Collegiately, he competed for the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
.
Career
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 ...
in
Seoul
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 ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, Stewart placed fifth in the
men's 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:59.19. The 1988 Olympics were the first
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
Stewart competed in, qualifying for the event when he was 20 years old.
Following Seoul, Stewart began dominating the event. At the
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
,
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, and
1991 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The fourth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 1991 in Edmonton, Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is ...
Stewart won gold in the 200-meter butterfly. At the
1991 World Championships in Perth, Stewart won gold in the 200-meter butterfly, and set the world record with a time of 1:55.69.
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
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, Stewart won the
200-meter butterfly in an Olympic record time of 1:56.26. Stewart also won gold in the
4×100-meter medley relay by swimming in the prelims, and a bronze in the
4×200-meter freestyle relay.
[Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games]
Men's 4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay Final Standings
Retrieved February 16, 2015.
When Stewart did not qualify for the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
at the
US Olympic Trials, he still attended the Olympic Games, this time as an analyst for
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
instead of as a swimmer. After the 1996 Summer Olympics, Stewart hosted a season of a television show titled "American Outback" on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. He spent the next decade doing contract work writing
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
s.
In 2006, Stewart joined a team launching a new swimming news website through
USA Swimming
USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overal ...
named ''SwimNetwork.com''. His focus was bringing people to the website and managing the flow of
traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
for the website.
Two years later, he began serving an ambassador to the United States Swimming Foundation, where one of his focuses since 2008 has been managing
alumni
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
of the US national team.
[Papadatos, Markos (June 4, 2019)]
"Meet Mel Stewart: Olympic gold medalist, Co-founder of SwimSwam (Includes interview)"
''DigitalJournal.com''. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
By 2010, Stewart was
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
ging and hosting an interview show.
Not long after, USA Swimming shut ''SwimNetwork.com'' down, and Stewart started a new joint venture of his own.
In 2011, Stewart and a team of co-founders, including his wife Tiffany, Braden Keith, Gary Hall Jr., Garrett McCaffrey, and Rich Roll, founded the swimming news website
SwimSwam
''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...
. The website was launched on March 7, 2012, and a print magazine followed in 2016.
Personal
Stewart and his wife Tiffany moved to
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
in 2009. Previously, they had been living in California.
["Website launch goes swimmingly"](_blank)
''Statesman
A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level.
Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
* ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
''. September 24, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2021. SwimSwam was headquartered in Austin in part because Stewart and his wife lived there.
["SwimSwam: From A Website To A Printed Magazine – The New Publication That Proves Adding A High-Quality Print Component to Your Brand's Identity Is Always A "Swimmingly" Good Idea – The Mr. Magazine™ Interview With Braden Keith, Editor In Chief, SwimSwam Magazine"](_blank)
''mrmagazine.wordpress.com''. October 24, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
See also
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Men's events 50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
200 metre ...
*
List of University of Tennessee people
The following is a list of people associated with the University of Tennessee system in all its campuses. The list does not include personnel associated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Politics and law
Education
Actors, directors, and ...
*
*
World record progression 200 metres butterfly
This is a history of the progression of the World Record for the Swimming event: the 200 Butterfly. It is a listing of the fastest-time-ever swum in the event, in both long course (50m) and short course (25m) swimming pool. These records are main ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Melvin
1968 births
Living people
American male butterfly swimmers
American male freestyle swimmers
World record setters in swimming
Mercersburg Academy alumni
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
People from Gastonia, North Carolina
Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Tennessee Volunteers men's swimmers
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Goodwill Games medalists in swimming
Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games
Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games
Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games
20th-century American people
21st-century American people