Bob Bennett (swimmer) explained

Robert Bennett
Fullname:Robert Earl Bennett
Nicknames:"Bob"
National Team:United States
Club:Los Angeles Athletic Club
Collegeteam:University of Southern California
Birth Date:May 23, 1943
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California
Height:6feet
Weight:172lb

Robert Earl Bennett (born May 23, 1943) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder.

Bennett attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he competed for the USC Trojans swimming and diving team from 1963 to 1965. He received All-American honors for three consecutive years, and graduated in 1965.[1]

Bennett represented the United States at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics. At the 1960 Rome games, he received a bronze medal for his third-place result in the men's 100-meter backstroke, finishing in 1:02.3 – a fraction of a second behind Australian David Theile (1:01.9) and fellow American Frank McKinney (1:02.1). He also swam for the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay, setting a new world record of 4:08.2 in the process.[2] He did not receive a medal, however, because he did not swim in the event final, and was not medal-eligible under the 1964 Olympic swimming rules.

Four years later at the 1964 Tokyo games, he won a second bronze medal in the men's 200-meter backstroke (2:13.1).[3] He again swam for the first-place U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay,[2] but was again ineligible to receive a medal.

Bennett set a new world record of 1.01.3 in the 100-meter backstroke on August 19, 1961; the record survived for twelve months until broken by American Tom Stock.

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://usctrojans.cstv.com/sports/m-swim/archive/usc-m-swim-trojallamer.html USC Mens Swimming & Diving All-Americans
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417165509/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/bob-bennett-1.html Bob Bennett
  3. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/usc/genrel/auto_pdf/uscolympians.pdf USC Olympians: 1904–2008