Sean Thomas Killion (born October 24, 1967) 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 ...

and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

gold medalist, who represented the United States 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 ...

. Killion was born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, and spent his early years training at Jersey Wahoos, a club located in

Mount Laurel, New Jersey Mount Laurel is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the South Jersey region. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 41,864, reflecting an increase of 1 ...

. Growing up in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

, Killion swam at

Cherry Hill High School East Cherry Hill High School East (also known as Cherry Hill East or CHE) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Cherry Hill, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as p ...

, setting

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

records that have stood for as long as 30 years before he graduated in 1986. He was a surprise gold medalist in the

1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. The Game ...

, defeating world record and Olympic gold medalist

Vladimir Salnikov Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov (russian: Владимир Валерьевич Сальников; born 21 May 1960) is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who competed for the Soviet Union and set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 meter ...

, outtouching him at the wall. He claimed the gold medal at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organization, PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was ...

in the men's 400-meter freestyle event.HickokSports.com, Sports History
Pan American Games
. Retrieved October 30, 2012. Killion represented the United States at the

in Barcelona, Spain. He competed in the B Final of the men's 400-meter freestyle, and finished with the eleventh-best overall time of 3:52.76. He also recorded a time of 15:27.49 in the preliminary heats of the men's 1,500-meter freestyle, but did not advance.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Sean Killion
Retrieved October 30, 2012. Killion held the American record in the 800-meter freestyle from July 27, 1987 to August 25, 2002.

References

1967 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers California Golden Bears men's swimmers Olympic swimmers for the United States Sportspeople from Camden, New Jersey Swimmers at the 1991 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill High School East alumni Swimmers from New Jersey Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games {{US-swimming-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References