Great Moments in Olympic Swimming History

A boat dropped everyone into the water in the icy waters of the Mediterranean. The first swimmer to shore won. "My will to live completely overcame my desire to win" - Alfred Hajos.

Dawn Fraser of Australia becomes the first swimmer to win gold in the same event for three consecutive Olympics.

Roland Matthes was undefeated in backstroke events from 1967 to 1974, including the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games.

Mark Spitz becomes the first person to win 7 gold medals in one Olympic games. 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 4x100 Free Relay, 4x200 Free Relay, and 4x100 Medley Relay.

Montreal, and a dominance that has never been seen. The USA men won 10 out of 11 individual gold medals (the one they did not win, the 200 breaststroke, was won by David Wilkie of Great Britain; David swam at the University of Miami). The USA men also took 10 silver medals (Wilkie was silver in the 100 Breast), 5 bronze medals, and gold in both relay events. That is 27 Medals (12-10-5). The next closest were Great Britain with three medals (1-1-1) and the Soviet Union. also with three (0-1-2).

The USA Women's team had high hopes for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, but seemed to come up short again and again, usually against swimmers from East Germany. In the 4 x 100 Free Relay, they said enough is enough and swam above their apparent abilities. In an awesome team performance, Kim Peyton, Jill Sterkel, Shirley Babashoff, and Wendy Boglioli took the gold.

1980, short some countries as it was a boycotted Olympic Games, was held in Russia. Swimmer Vladimir Salnikov (Russia) did not care, he swam to the best performance in the 1500-meter freestyle, becoming the first swimmer ever under 15 minutes (14:58.27).

US Swimmers Nancy Hogshead and Carie Steinseifer registered the first tie in Olympic history in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1984 Olympics. Both swimmers touched the wall at 55.92.

Rowdy Gaines held 11 World Records, but he missed an opportunity to shine when the USA boycottted the 1980 Olympics. He made a comeback for the 1984 LA Games, and despite not being expected to be a major player, won three gold medals.