Jump to content

Doug Gjertsen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Keystone18 (talk | contribs) at 20:15, 23 July 2022 (spacing). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Doug Gjertsen
Personal information
Full nameDouglas Seneca Gjertsen
Nickname"Doug"
National teamUnited States
Born (1967-07-31) July 31, 1967 (age 57)
Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
College teamUniversity of Texas
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul 4x100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul 4x200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona 4x200 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 1991 Perth 4x100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1991 Perth 4x200 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Games
Gold medal – first place 1989 Tokyo 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1989 Tokyo 4x100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1989 Tokyo 4x200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Tokyo 100 m freestyle

Douglas Seneca Gjertsen (born July 31, 1967) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.

Gjertsen was the third member of the record-setting U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The American team of Troy Dalbey, Matt Cetlinski, Gjertsen and Matt Biondi set a new world record with a time of 7:12.51. He also received a bronze medal for swimming for the third-place U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay.[1]

Four years later at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, he was the fourth member of the third-place U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay; the American team of Joe Hudepohl, Mel Stewart, Jon Olsen and Gjertsen won the bronze medal with a time of 7:16.23. Individually, he finished eighth in the final of the men's 200-meter freestyle, recording a time of 1:50.57.[1]

He attended the University of Texas at Austin, and swam for coach Eddie Reese's Texas Longhorns swimming and diving team. He was a three-time individual NCAA champion and a nine-time relay NCAA champion. He was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in September 2006.

Gjertsen is formerly the head coach of SwimAtlanta and is currently the head coach for Alamo Area Aquatics Association in San Antonio, Texas. He has served as the personal coach for one of the best Latvian swimmers, Andrejs Duda. He currently serves as the personal coach for former American record holder Amanda Weir.

Gjertsen has been instrumental in the orchestration of the Atlanta Swim Across America event which he helped kickstart in 2015. Since 2015, the Atlanta event has raised over $3 million for cancer research, treatment, and development.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Doug Gjertsen Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gjertsen&oldid=1100015856"