Mike Burton (swimmer)

Mike Burton

Personal information
Full name	Michael Jay Burton
Nickname	"Mike"
Nationality	United States
Born	(1947-07-03) July 3, 1947 (age 77) Des Moines, Iowa
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	154 lb (70 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Arden Hills Swim Club
College team	University of California, Los Angeles
Medal record Men's swimming Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City 400 m freestyle 1968 Mexico City 1500 m freestyle 1972 Munich 1500 m freestyle Pan American Games 1967 Winnipeg 1500 m freestyle 1967 Winnipeg 400 m freestyle 1967 Winnipeg 200 m butterfly Summer Universiade 1967 Tokyo 1500 m freestyle 1967 Tokyo 400 m freestyle 1965 Budapest 1500 m freestyle

Michael Jay Burton (born July 3, 1947) is an American former swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder who specialized in freestyle events.

When he was an eight grader he was hit by a furniture truck while riding a bicycle with a friend. The accident caused injuries that made him have to quit contact sports. He loved to play football and basketball, but the accident made him want to be the best swimmer in the world.

Burton graduated from El Camino Fundamental High School. At the 1967 University Games swimming competition in Tokyo, Japan, he won a gold medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle, ahead of Russian Semyon Belits-Geiman.^[1]

Burton won two gold medals in individual events at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City: the men's 400-meter freestyle and men's 1,500-meter freestyle. Four years later at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, he became the only American ever to repeat as the 1,500-meter freestyle gold medalist, and he also recaptured the world record in the process. Burton's repeat proved a stunning win: in the spring of 1972, Burton had been diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency, and at the U.S. Olympic Trials had barely made the Olympic Team, qualifying eighth for the final and then finishing third to make the team (at the time, a country could enter up to three athletes per event in swimming).

The celebration in Munich of his historic repeat, however, was overshadowed by Mark Spitz's performance at those Games and by the terrorist attack on the Olympic Village, which occurred the day after his race.

Burton coached the Seahawks in Billings, Montana at the local YMCA. His daughter Loni, embarked on a her own successful swimming career. She is one of just two swimmers in NCAA history to win twelve individual titles. She was able to perform the feat in just three years as Division II swimmers are eligible to participate in four individual events versus three in Division I and III.

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• List of University of California, Los Angeles people
• World record progression 800 metres freestyle
• World record progression 1500 metres freestyle

• Mike Burton – Olympic athlete profile at Sports-Reference.com
• Mike Burton (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame

Template:Persondata

This biographical article related to a United States swimmer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e