Jon C. Olsen (born April 25, 1969) is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Olsen was a successful relay swimmer for the U.S. national team in the late 1980s and 1990s. He has won a total of 27 medals in major international competition, 20 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze spanning the Olympics, the

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, Pan Pacific, and the

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

championships.

Swimming career

Olsen represented the United States at two consecutive Olympic Games, and won a total number of five Olympic medals, including four golds. 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 won his first gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates

Joe Hudepohl Joseph Bernard Hudepohl (born November 16, 1973) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Early years Hudepohl is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and was raised in the suburb of Finne ...

, Matt Biondi and Tom Jager. He won a second gold medal for swimming the freestyle anchor leg for the first-place U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter medley relay. With his medley relay teammates Jeff Rouse (backstroke), Nelson Diebel (breaststroke), and Pablo Morales (butterfly), he tied the world record in the event of 3:36.93. He also received a bronze medal as a member of the third-place U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Individually, he also placed fourth in the final of the men's 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.51 seconds.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Jon Olsen
Retrieved November 1, 2012. Four years later at 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, ...

in Atlanta, Georgia, Olsen again won a gold medal as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay with fellow team members Josh Davis,

Brad Schumacher Bradley Darrell Schumacher (born March 6, 1974) is an American former competition swimmer, water polo player, and Olympic gold medalist. Schumacher is a two-time, two-sport Olympian. He was a member of the winning relay teams at the 1996 Summe ...

and

Gary Hall, Jr. Gary Wayne Hall Jr. (born September 26, 1974) is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics and won ten Olympic medals (five gold, three silver, two bronze). He is a former wor ...

, and set a new Olympic record of 3:15.41. He received another gold for swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He also competed in the individual men's 100-meter freestyle and placed ninth overall in the B Final of the event with a time of 49.80 seconds. Olsen was elected captain of the U.S. Olympic swim team at the 1996 Games by his teammates. During his career, Olsen was trained by former freestyle sprinter Jonty Skinner. He was also coached by the current Laurel Swim Association head coach, Warren Holladay, who was previously an assistant coach at the University of Alabama. Olsen attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

, where he swam for

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

swimming and diving team. He currently resides in the Florida Keys with his family where he coaches swimming. He has two daughters and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Jon 1969 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide men's swimmers American male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from New Britain, Connecticut Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1995 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games American people of Danish descent

Swimming career

See also

References