John Naber

John Naber

Naber in 2016
Personal information
Full name	John Phillips Naber
National team	United States
Born	(1956-01-20) January 20, 1956 (age 68) Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight	194 lb (88 kg)
Website	johnnaber.com
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke, freestyle
Club	Ladera Oaks Swim Club
College team	USC
Coach	Peter Daland (USC)
Medal record Representing the United States Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 100 m backstroke 1976 Montreal 200 m backstroke 1976 Montreal 4×200 m freestyle 1976 Montreal 4×100 m medley 1976 Montreal 200 m freestyle World Championships (LC) 1973 Belgrade 200 m backstroke

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Naber studied in England and Italy where his father worked as a management consultant. He graduated from Woodside High School in Northern California, then completed his bachelor's degree in psychology in 1977 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. While at USC, he led the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA titles (1974–1977).

 

At age twenty, Naber won four gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. Each of these victories was swum in world-record time; he swept the two backstroke events and was a member of two winning relay teams. He also won a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle, part of a U.S. sweep for that event.

One of Naber's gold medals was for the first 200-meter backstroke completed in under two minutes; his world record time of 1:59.19 stood for seven years. His world record of 55.49 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke also stood for seven years.

For these accomplishments in Montreal and elsewhere, Naber won the 1977 James E. Sullivan Award, which is presented to the top American amateur athlete of the year. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1982.

Naber joined The Walt Disney Company in 1977 as a marketing representative, then became a full-time "roving ambassador" for the swimwear maker Speedo. He later was a sports broadcaster, motivational speaker, and professional writer. He was a member of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Organizing Committee.

In May 2014, Naber was inducted into Woodside High School's Community Hall of Fame.

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• List of University of Southern California people
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
• World record progression 100 metres backstroke
• World record progression 200 metres backstroke
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
• World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay