Christopher Carl Cavanaugh (born July 1, 1962) is an American former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, who swam for the University of Southern California, a former world record holder in the 50 meter freestyle and an Olympic champion. Cavanaugh was born July 1, 1962, in Hialeah, Florida, and attended and swam for the

Ransom Everglades School Ransom Everglades School is an independent school, independent, non-profit, co-educational, university-preparatory school, college-preparatory day school serving grades six to twelve in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, Coconut Grove in Miami, F ...

in Coconut Grove, outside Miami, graduating around 1980. In March, 1977, as only a Freshman among all Dade County competitive swimmers, Cavanaugh placed third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.0, second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.3, third in the 100 butterfly with a 56.1, first in the 100 freestyle with a 48.9, and second in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.5. Cavanaugh was already showing his strength at the 100-yard distance, and excelled in the 50-yard distance as well. Cavanaugh was a member of the All Dade County team of the Miami Herald in May, 1977."Tipping Boat", ''The Miami Herald'', Miami, Florida, May 17, 1977, pg. 60 In March, 1977, Cavanaugh set a national age group record in the 50-yard freestyle of 22.3."Kelly, Gary, "Tant, Athlete of the Week", ''The Miami News'', Miami, Florida, March 21, 1977, pg. 40 Among his early coaches with the Ransom Everglades School team was his father "Cav Cavanaugh". In his freshman year, Cavanaugh was made a member of the ''Miami Herald's '' "All Dade County team" in May, 1977."Tipping Boat", ''The Miami Herald'', Miami, Florida, May 17, 1977, pg. 60 Qualifying for the Olympics in 1980, Cavanaugh was part of the U.S. Olympic team that led a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

of the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

in Moscow. Prior to his gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, he was on a World Record 4x100 freestyle relay team at the World Championships in Guayaquil, Equador on August 5, 1983, where he swam the first leg in a time of 50.13.

1984 Olympic gold medal

He was a member of the gold medal U.S. team in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

in Los Angeles, finishing with a final time of 3:19.03 which improved on America's own world record set at the World Championships in 1982. In a close finish, the Australian team took second for silver, finishing with a time of 3:19.68, finishing only .65 seconds later."1984 Olympics – Los Angeles, United States – Swimming"
– ''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on May 3, 2008)

University of Southern California

Cavanaugh was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

swimmer and captain of the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

swimming team at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where he swam for Hall of Fame Coach

Peter Daland Peter Daland (April 12, 1921 – October 20, 2014) was an International Swimming Hall of Fame U.S. Olympic and collegiate swim coach from the United States, best-known for coaching the University of Southern California Trojans swim team to nine N ...

. He also played water polo for USC, graduating in 1986.USC Men's Swimming & Diving All-Americans
, USC Trojans Athletic Department, Accessed August 27, 2008.USC OLYMPIANS: 1904–2008
, USC Trojans Athletic Department, Accessed August 27, 2008.

Later life

After completing his swimming career, Cavanaugh coached United States Masters swimmers and club swimmers in Southern California. Cavanaugh has volunteered as a celebrity swimmer for charitable organizations including

Swim Across America Swim Across America Inc., (SAA) is a nonprofit dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention, and treatment. It does so by hosting charity swims and donating the proceeds to a hospital. Since its founding, SAA has gr ...

, an American-based fund raiser for cancer research. He now coaches and swims Masters having held many Masters National records. He also works with United States Swimming, and club swimmers at all levels. He resides in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

and formerly served as president of the board of directors of the highly competitive Santa Clara Swim Club.

References

External links

*
Olympedia Biography, Chris Cavanaugh
1962 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers American swimming coaches World record setters in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Hialeah, Florida Swimmers from San Jose, California Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics USC Trojans men's swimmers Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-swimming-Olympic-medalist-stub

1984 Olympic gold medal

University of Southern California

Later life

See also

References

External links