Don Schollander facts for kids
Schollander at the 1964 Olympics
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | "Don" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 30, 1946 Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Santa Clara Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Yale College | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | George Haines (Santa Clara) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Donald "Don" Arthur Schollander (born April 30, 1946) is a famous American swimmer. He won five gold medals and one silver medal at the Olympic Games. Don was a world record holder in four different swimming events. He was the most successful athlete at the 1964 Olympics. There, he won four gold medals!
Becoming a Swimmer
Don Schollander was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He learned to swim competitively from his uncle, Newt Perry. His uncle ran a swimming school in Florida. Later, Don and his family moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Don first loved football. But he was too small for high school football. So, he joined the swim team at Lake Oswego High School. In 1960, as a freshman, he helped his team win an Oregon state swimming championship.
Olympic Dreams
In 1962, when Don was a teenager, he moved to Santa Clara, California. He wanted to train with the famous swim coach George Haines. Haines coached at the Santa Clara Swim Club.
Just two years later, at age 18, Don won three freestyle events. These were at the AAU national championships. He then joined the U.S. Olympic team. He would compete in two individual events and two relay races.
Months later, Don went to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He won an amazing four gold medals! He also set three new world records. At that time, no American had won so many medals since Jesse Owens in 1936.
His success made him very popular. He won the James E. Sullivan Award as the best amateur athlete in the U.S. He was also named AP Athlete of the Year. ABC's Wide World of Sports also named him their Athlete of the Year.
After the 1964 Olympics, Don took some time off from training. He had been sick. But with help from coach George Haines, he got his speed and endurance back.
College and More Olympics
Don Schollander went to Yale College. He was the captain of Yale's swim team. While there, he won three individual NCAA championships.
At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Don won another gold medal. This was for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He also won a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle race. This was the first Olympics to include 200-meter swimming events.
After the 1968 Olympics, Don stopped competing in swimming.
Life After Swimming
Don Schollander was honored for his amazing career. In 1965, at just 19 years old, he was added to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 1983, he was one of the first people to join the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.
Don also wrote two books about his experiences. The first, Deep Water, came out in 1971. It talked about his swimming journey and the world of international swimming. His second book, Inside Swimming, was published in 1974.
Today, Don and his wife Cheryl live in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He runs a company that builds real estate. You can even see his gold medals on display at a Bank of America branch in downtown Lake Oswego! Don has three children: Jeb, Kyle, and Katie.
See also
In Spanish: Don Schollander para niños
- 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 Yale University people
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
- World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay
