Michael Francis Troy (October 3, 1940 – August 3, 2019) was an American 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 ...

, a two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder in three events. The peak of Troy's swimming career occurred between 1959 and 1960 while he was coached by

Doc Counsilman James Edward "Doc" Counsilman (December 28, 1920 – January 4, 2004)
P ...

of 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 NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

swimming and diving team at

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 Universit ...

. At the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome, he won his first gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Individually, he won a second gold with his first-place finish in the men's 200-meter butterfly—his signature event. Troy broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly six consecutive times before it was taken over by fellow American swimmer

Carl Robie Carl Joseph Robie III (May 12, 1945 – November 29, 2011) was an American swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Biography At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Robie received a silver medal for his second-place fi ...

in 1961. In 1971 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 ...

. After college, Troy entered active duty with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

on February 15, 1964 and completed Officer Candidate School. Troy was commissioned as an Ensign and volunteered for Underwater Demolition Training, now known as Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. After months of grueling training, Troy graduated with BUD/S class 33 in December 1964. Troy received assignment to Underwater Demolition Team ELEVEN (UDT-11) and later deployed with his team to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

in 1966. He was recommended for the numerous awards for his combat service during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Troy resigned from active duty on February 28, 1969. After leaving military service Troy settled in the

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

area where he worked as a real estate agent and swimming coach. His trainees included

Mike Stamm Michael Eugene Stamm (born August 6, 1952) is an American former backstroke swimmer who earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter medley relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. At the 1972 O ...

. At the time of his death in 2019 Troy was co-owner of the Gold Medal Swim School in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

, with two time Olympic coach Mike Walker. Troy served as Chairman of the International Section of the Olympic Committee and Vice President of the American Swimming Coaches Association. Troy was the National Director of the USA Paralympic Swimming Team. He accompanied the team to Athens, Greece in September 2004 where the U.S. Paralympic team won numerous medals. Troy died on August 3, 2019 in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

at the age of 78.

References

External links

"Glory Of Old IU / 100 years of Indiana Athletics" by Bob Hammel and Kit Klingelhoffer

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Mike 1940 births 2019 deaths American male butterfly swimmers American male freestyle swimmers United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War American swimming coaches World record setters in swimming Indiana Hoosiers men's swimmers Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Military personnel from Indiana Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming Swimmers from Indianapolis Swimmers at the 1959 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics United States Navy SEALs personnel Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games

See also

References

External links