Martín López-Zubero facts for kids
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| Born | April 23, 1969 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
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| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Club Natació Sabadell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Florida (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Martín López-Zubero Purcell, born on April 23, 1969, is a famous former competition swimmer. He is an Olympic gold medalist! Martín, also known as Martin Zubero, was born in the United States. However, he swam for Spain in international competitions. He has dual citizenship, meaning he is a citizen of both Spain and America.
Contents
Martín López-Zubero: An Olympic Swimmer
Early Life and Family
Martín López-Zubero was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969. His father, Jose, was born in Zaragoza, Spain. He moved to the United States to study medicine.
Martín grew up in a family of swimmers. His older brother, David López-Zubero, was also a talented swimmer. David won a bronze medal in the 100-meter butterfly event. He competed for Spain at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Martín attended The Bolles School, a special preparatory school in Jacksonville. He trained there with coach Gregg Troy. He swam for the Bolles Bulldogs high school swim team. Martín graduated from the Bolles School in 1987.
College Swimming Journey
Martín's older brother David and sister Julia both swam for the University of Florida. Martín also received a scholarship to attend the university. He swam for the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams. His coaches were Randy Reese and Skip Foster.
Martín swam for the Gators from 1988 to 1991. During this time, he won four NCAA championships. These included the 200-meter individual medley and the 400-meter medley relay. He also won the 200-meter backstroke twice. He earned fifteen All-American honors, which means he was recognized as one of the best college athletes.
After his college career, Martín continued to train. He joined the Florida Aquatic Swim Team (FAST). His older brother David became his personal trainer and coach.
International Success
Martín López-Zubero competed in three Summer Olympics. These were in 1988, 1992, and 1996.
At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, he finished eleventh. This was in the 200-meter backstroke event. Four years later, he returned to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There, he won the gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke! He also placed fourth in the 100-meter backstroke. He finished seventh in the 100-meter butterfly.
In the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, he competed again. He finished fourth in the 100-meter backstroke. He was sixth in the 200-meter backstroke.
Martín also won world championship titles. He won the 200-meter backstroke at the 1991 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Australia. He also won the 100-meter backstroke at the 1994 World Aquatic Championships in Rome, Italy. He earned a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke in 1991. He got a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke in 1994.
He was a five-time European champion. He won the 100-meter backstroke in 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1997. He also won the 200-meter backstroke in 1991. He was the runner-up in 1993 for that event. Martín also won both the 100 and 200-meter backstroke events at the 1990 and 1994 Goodwill Games.
Life After Swimming
Martín López-Zubero graduated from the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance. He earned a bachelor's degree in recreation in 1998.
He later worked as an assistant head swimming coach at The Bolles School. He was named "Florida Age Group Coach of the Year" three times. This was in 1998, 1999, and 2002.
In 2001, Martín was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. He was recognized as a "Gator Great." In 2004, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Today, Martín López-Zubero is the aquatics director at Episcopal School of Jacksonville in Florida.
Martín is married and has a son and a daughter.
See also
In Spanish: Martín López-Zubero para niños
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of Spanish records in swimming
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
- List of University of Florida Olympians
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
- World record progression 200 metres backstroke
