Stephen Edward Clark (born June 17, 1943) 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. 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, Clark swam for the first-place U.S. relay teams in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay and men's 4×100-meter medley relay. Both American relay teams won gold medals, but Clark was ineligible for a medal under the Olympic swimming rules in effect in 1960 because he did not compete in the event finals. He won his first international gold medal at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted bids to host the 1963 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports O ...

in São Paulo, Brazil, winning the men's 100-metre freestyle in a time of 54.7 seconds, and narrowly edging American swimmer Steven Jackman (54.8 seconds). When Tokyo, Japan hosted 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 ...

, Clark won three gold medals as a member of the winning U.S. relay teams in the 4×100-meter freestyle, 4×200-meter freestyle, and 4×100-meter medley events. Clark attended Los Altos (California) High School and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where he swam for coach Philip Moriarty's

Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving Since its inception in 1898, the Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving program has produced numerous champion athletes. Many Yale swimmers have gone on to earn All-American honors and even break world records. The team has won 4 NCAA championships, 3 ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) and

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

competition. As a senior, he was the Yale swim team captain; he graduated from Yale with his bachelor's degree in 1964. In 2005, he donated one of his three Olympic gold medals to his alma mater.Yale Athletic Communications,
Clark '64 Donates Olympic Medal to Bulldogs
" Yale University Athletic Department (May 26, 2005). Archived August 14, 2007; retrieved May 31, 2015. Clark 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 1966.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Steve 1943 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Harvard Law School alumni Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Sportspeople from Oakland, California Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1963 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Yale Bulldogs men's swimmers Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games

See also

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