Gary Wayne Hall Sr. (born August 7, 1951) is an American former competitive swimmer, three-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in five events. He is also a former ophthalmologist.

Background

Hall attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, where he swam for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

swimming and diving team under coach

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

. As a college swimmer, he specialized in the

individual medley Medley swimming is a combination of four different swimming strokes ( freestyle (usually front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as ...

. Hall was elected captain of the Hoosiers swimming team in his senior year. In academics, Hall excelled in the classroom and was consistently cited by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

as an outstanding example of student-athlete. He was accepted for medical school at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. He later became an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, and practiced in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Gary Hall Sr.
sportsillustrated.cnn.com Hall first represented the United States in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

held in Mexico City, Mexico, where he won a silver medal for his second-place finish in the men's 400-meter individual medley. Two years later he broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly. Hall made it a point to vigorously exercise in the swimming pool after daily med school classes. His wife, the former Mary Keating, being from a swimming family, understood his love of the water. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich, Germany, he earned a silver medal in the men's 200-meter butterfly. His final Olympic appearance was at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

in Montreal, Canada, capping his Olympic career with a bronze medal in the men's 100-meter butterfly. At the end of the Montreal Olympics, his fellow American athletes from all sports disciplines chose him to be the U.S. flagbearer in the closing ceremony.

Ophthalmologist career

Hall graduated from the

College of Medicine, located in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He practiced as Gary Hall, MD as an

at the Gary Hall

Lasik LASIK or Lasik (; "laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis"), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. LASIK surgery is p ...

Center. Common conditions he treated in

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

included

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred vision, blurred or vision loss, no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no sym ...

and

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or double vision, halos around ligh ...

. Hall was a recipient of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award for his outstanding career in ophthalmology.

History of malpractice in ophthalmology

In January 1996, Hall was ordered by the Arizona Medical Board to spend three years on probation and to pay the board $10,000 to cover the costs of an investigation, the details of which are no longer on the board's site. In October 1999, he was placed on probation for three more years and was censured for unprofessional conduct, permanently prohibited from performing certain procedures, forced to take additional educational courses, and pay a penalty of $15,000. In April 2005, the Arizona Medical Board placed Hall on probation for another five years, with the demand that he never perform surgery again. In October 2009, after being found in violation of the Arizona Medical Board's demands, the board stripped Hall of his medical license. The Board found that Hall had been guilty of unprofessional conduct, negligence, and incompetence in his practice. A 1998 article from the ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''Phoenix'' ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, arts, cannabis, as well as longform narrative journalism. A ...

'' indicated that Hall had 121 complaints lodged against him to the Arizona Medical Board since he began practicing in 1982. It is unknown how many complaints he had accumulated by 2009 when his license was finally revoked. An article from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said that as of June 2000, Hall had paid over $5.3 million in medical malpractice claims and was listed 27 times in the federal database for medical malpractice.

International Swimming Hall of Fame

In 1981, Hall 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." Later on, he also became a local celebrity in Phoenix, as an ophthalmologist – appearing in his office's television ads and

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

campaigns. His son Gary Hall Jr. became a famous Olympic swimmer as well, starting in the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, getting various gold medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. With his son's participation at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, the Halls became the first father-and-son pair to make three Olympic appearances.

Swimming camps

Gary Hall Sr. currently lives in San Diego and operates

The Race Club The Race Club is a swimming club known for training Olympic Games swimmers with its swimming training program that is focused on specific swimming techniques, located in Islamorada, Florida. History The Race Club was founded in 2003 by Gary ...

swimming camps. The Race Club is a swimming club founded by Hall and his son Gary Hall Jr. The swimming club, originally known as "The World Team," was designed to serve as a swimming training group for elite swimmers across the world in preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. To be able to train with The Race Club, one must either have been ranked in the top 20 in the world the past three calendar years or top three in their nation in the past year. The Race Club included such well-known swimmers as

Roland Mark Schoeman Roland Mark Schoeman OIS (born 4 July 1980) is a South African and American former swimmer was a world record holder in multiple events, and was a member of the South African swimming team at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. He ...

, Mark Foster,

Ryk Neethling Ryk Neethling OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as a three-time World Aquatic Champion and four-time World Record breaking Olympic swimming champion, participating in four Olympics for South Af ...

, Milorad Čavić and

Therese Alshammar Malin Therese Alshammar (born 26 August 1977) is a Sweden, Swedish Swimming (sport), swimmer who has won three Olympic medals, 25 World Championship medals, and 43 European Championship medals. She is a specialist in short distances races in fre ...

. They were coached by

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

coach Mike Bottom. The Race Club provides facilities, swimming techniques coaching, swimming training programs, technical instruction, swimming technique videos, fitness and health programs for swimmers of all ages and abilities. The club's summer swim camps are designed and tailored to satisfy each swimmer's needs, whether one is trying to reach the Olympic Games or simply improve one's swimming techniques or fitness level. The swimming camps programs are suitable for beginner swimmers, pleasure swimmers, fitness swimmers, USA swimming or YMCA swimmers, or triathletes; anyone who wants to improve swimming skills.

Charles Keating IV

Hall's nephew is

Chief petty officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

Charles Keating IV Charles Humphrey Keating IV (February 26, 1985 – May 3, 2016) was a United States Navy SEAL sniper who was killed in action against ISIS forces north of Mosul, Iraq, in 2016. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, which was later upgra ...

, a

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

, who was killed at age 31 in combat with

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

in Iraq in 2016. He was posthumously awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

for his actions in combat.

References

External links

The Race Club
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Gary Sr. 1951 births Living people American ophthalmologists American male butterfly swimmers American male medley swimmers World record setters in swimming Indiana Hoosiers men's swimmers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Fayetteville, North Carolina Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Keating family Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen Indiana University Bloomington alumni