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Steve Lundquist

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve Lundquist
Personal information
Full nameStephen K. Lundquist
Nickname(s)"Steve," "Lunk"
National teamUnited States
Born (1961-02-20) February 20, 1961 (age 63)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight183 lb (83 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke, individual medley
College teamSouthern Methodist University
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles 100 m breast
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles 4x100 m medley
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 1982 Guayaquil 100 m breast
Gold medal – first place 1982 Guayaquil 4×100 m medley
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1979 San Juan 100 m breast
Gold medal – first place 1979 San Juan 200 m breast
Gold medal – first place 1979 San Juan 4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas 100 m breast
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas 200 m breast
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Caracas 200 m medley

Stephen K. Lundquist (born February 20, 1961) is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won gold medals in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 400-meter medley relay.

Lundquist was the first swimmer to break two minutes in the 200-yard breaststroke, and won every 100-yard breaststroke event he entered from 1980 to 1983.[citation needed] At age 17 he broke his first world record and in his career he set new world and American records on 15 occasions. He first broke the 100-meter breaststroke world record in 1982 and held it until 1989, with the exception of one month in 1984 when John Moffet broke it in June at the U.S. Olympic Trials (with Lundquist reclaiming it at the Olympic Games in July). He also held the world record in the 200-meter individual medley in 1978. He set American records in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley.

Coached by Arthur Winters, Lundquist switched from a butterfly swimmer when he was 12 years old to the breaststroke, which is the stroke he came to dominate. Winters was at the end of the pool when he broke his first world record at 17 years of age. At SMU, Lundquist swam for Hall of Fame Coach George McMillion.[1]

Lundquist went on after the 1984 Olympics to spend time volunteering for charitable organizations and making appearances on television and in movies. In June 1985, People Magazine recognized him for having the Best Chest of male celebrities, which included a full-page picture of his muscular torso. In 1996 when the Olympics were hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, he was an Olympic torchbearer, the Clayton County Master of Ceremonies for the torch run, and the Olympic flagbearer at the 1996 Olympic Games.

Achievements

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  • U.S. Honorary Olympic Team medalist, swimming, 1980
  • United States Swimmer of the Year, 1982
  • Olympia Award, 1983
  • U.S. Olympic Team double gold medalist, swimming, 1984
  • International Swimming Hall of Fame, inducted in 1990
  • Georgia Sports Hall of Fame's youngest inductee, 1990
  • Olympic flagbearer, torch-runner, emcee, 1996
  • Voted America's Top Breast-Stroker of the Century By US Swimming
  • Georgia State Games Cauldron Lighter, 1997
  • 3rd place, Super Dogs Super Jocks, 1998

Education

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Appearances on America's major national talk shows

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Acting credits

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Coach Coach George McMillion". swimmingcoach.org. February 21, 2024.
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Records
Preceded by Men's 200-meter individual medley
world record-holder (long course)

August 2, 1978 – August 24, 1978
Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 100-meter breaststroke
world record-holder (long course)

July 19, 1982 – June 25, 1984
Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 100-meter breaststroke
world record-holder (long course)

July 29, 1984 – August 15, 1989
Succeeded by