John Naber

Naber in 2012
Personal information
Full name	John Phillips Naber
National team	United States
Born	(1956-01-20) January 20, 1956 (age 59) Evanston, Illinois
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight	194 lb (88 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke, freestyle
Club	Ladera Oaks Swim Club
College team	University of Southern California
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for 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

John Phillips Naber (born January 20, 1956) is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in multiple events.

Naber was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois. After high school, he attended the University of Southern California, where he completed his bachelor's degree in psychology in 1977. While he was at USC, Naber helped lead the USC Trojans swimming team to four consecutive NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Naber won four gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. Each of these victories was swum in world-record time.

One of Naber's gold medals was for the first 200 meter backstroke swam in under two minutes,^[1] and his winning time of one minute and 59.19 seconds set a world record that stood for seven years. His world record of 55.49 second in the 100 meter backstroke also stood for seven years.^[2]

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.

Following his swimming career, Naber worked as a sports broadcaster, motivational speaker, and professional writer.^[1]

In May 2014, John Naber was inducted into Woodside High School's Community Hall of Fame.^[3]

See also[edit]

	Biography portal
	Olympics portal
	Swimming portal

• 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

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• John Naber – Olympic athlete profile at Sports-Reference.com
• John Naber (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame

1976 USA Olympic swimming team Men's Team Jack Babashoff Joe Bottom Mike Bruner Rick Colella Casey Converse Lawrence Dowler Bill Forrester Bruce Furniss Steve Furniss Brian Goodell Steve Gregg Bobby Hackett Gary Hall, Sr. Dan Harrigan Paul Hartloff John Hencken Bob Jackson Charles Keating Tim McKee Jim Montgomery John Naber Doug Northway Peter Rocca Tim Shaw Rod Strachan Matt Vogel Chris Woo Women's Team Shirley Babashoff Melissa Belote Wendy Boglioli Brenda Borgh Lelei Fonoimoana Maryanne Graham Jeanne Haney Janis Hape Kathy Heddy Jennifer Hooker Linda Jezek Nicole Kramer Renee Laravie Renee Magee Marcia Morey Kim Peyton Lauri Siering Miriam Smith Jill Sterkel Karen Thornton Tauna Vandeweghe Wendy Weinberg Donna Lee Wennerstrom Camille Wright Staff John Bogert Doc Counsilman (men's head coach) Lawrence Dowler Frank Elm Carolyn Finneran Don Gambril George Haines Jim Montrella Jack Nelson (women's head coach) Charlotte Piper Albert Schoenfield