Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines IV (born February 17, 1959) is an American former 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 ...

, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and member of 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 ...

. He is a swimming analyst for television network

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. He has covered swimming at the

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 ...

since 1992 in Barcelona.

Early life

Gaines was born in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making i ...

, to Jettie Ann and Ambrose "Buddy" Gaines, who met there as water skiers at

Cypress Gardens Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida. History Billed as Florida' ...

in the 1950s. Gaines tried several sports during his teenage years, but turned to swimming as a

Winter Haven High School Winter Haven High School is a four-year public high school located in Winter Haven, Florida, a city of 27,855 (2004 census). History The school opened in 1886 on the second floor of Boyd’s Hall, currently where City Hall stands. In 1890, a fr ...

junior at age 17. He received a swimming scholarship to

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

. At Auburn, he became a five-time

NCAA 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 ...

champion under the training of head coach

Richard Quick Richard Walter Quick (January 31, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was the head coach of the women's swim team at Stanford University, from 1988 through 2005. He was a coach for the United States Olympic swimming team for six Olympics—1984, 1988, 1992 ...

Career

From 1978 to 1984, Gaines set 10 world records. At the time he was the world record holder in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyles. The 1980 boycott prevented Gaines from competing at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Gaines said the boycott came at a time when he considered himself at his peak, and that he believed he missed an opportunity for four gold medals. Gaines qualified for the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles, California. He won gold in the 100-meter freestyle and two gold medals for relays, swimming the anchor legs for the U.S. team in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay and 4×100-meter medley relay. Gaines said he experienced mental-health issues after missing out on the 1980 Games and had "some real trouble post-Olympics, and...some big struggles, especially the year after."

Commentating

He began covering swimming for NBC at the Atlanta

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, ...

. He also was the analyst at the Sydney

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, the Athens

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, the Beijing

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, the London

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, the Rio

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, and the Tokyo

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

held in 2021. At the 2011 Short Course Masters Nationals, Gaines broke his national record in the 50–54 division 50 yard freestyle (21.36). On July 16, 2011, Gaines broke the 50–54 Age Group record in the long course 100m freestyle with a time of 54.6. Gaines is the executive director of Rowdy’s Kidz, a wellness initiative developed and supported by The Limu Company that reaches out to children across the country. Gaines and his wife, Judy, reside in

Lake Mary, Florida Lake Mary is a suburban city that is located in the Greater Orlando metropolitan area in Seminole County, Florida, United States, and is located in Central Florida. The population was 13,822 at the 2010 census. History Lake Mary was named after ...

, with their four daughters.

Awards

* International Swimming Hall of Fame * U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame * Alabama Sports Hall of Fame * Florida Sports Hall of Fame * Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Year 1981 * 1982 McDonald's Spirit Award * 2007 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award

References

Bibliography

* Caraccioli, Jerry, & Tom Caraccioli, ''Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games'', New Chapter Press, Washington, D.C. (2009). . * De George, Matthew,
Pooling Talent: Swimming's Greatest Teams
', Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland (2014). .

External links

*
Gaines' Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary essay
* * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Rowdy 1959 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers American television sports announcers Auburn Tigers men's swimmers World record setters in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Florida Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1983 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming People from Lake Mary, Florida People with Guillain–Barré syndrome Sportspeople from Winter Haven, Florida Swimming commentators Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games