John Pitann Kinsella (born August 26, 1952) 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 ...

for Indiana University, a 1968 Olympic silver, and 1972 Olympic gold medalist, and a former world record-holder in multiple events. Kinsella was a standout at Illinois

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

powerhouse

Hinsdale Central High School Hinsdale Central High School, or HCHS (locally referred to as simply "Central") is a public four-year high school located at the corner of W. 55th St. and S. Grant St. in Hinsdale, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. It is located ...

in the late 1960s. From 1967-70 greater Chicago's Hindale Central, often aided by Kinsella, won the Illinois State Championships by significant margins."Kinsella, Hinsdale Dominate Swim Meet", ''The Dispatch'', Moline, Illinois, 2 March 1970, pg. 21 In a unique achievement as a High School Senior in 1970, he became the first person to swim 1,500 meters in under 16 minutes.

Indiana University

After graduating from high school, Kinsella, together with

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the Lists of Olympic medalists#Medalist with most medals by Olympiad, most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympi ...

, Gary Hall Sr., and other notable swimmers, were part of Doc Counsilman's legendary

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

swimming and diving team at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, which dominated men's college swimming in the early 1970s. At Indiana, Kinsella lettered with the swimming team each year from 1971 through 1974 and served as Indiana's co-captain in 1974. In the early 1970's, Kinsella helped lead Indiana to four Big Ten and three NCAA national team championships. As a freestyler, with a total of 16 titles, he captured 11 Big Ten individual championships and five relay championships, and placed first in six NCAA individual championships as well as two relay championships. As a career milestone, he was the American record holder in both the 500 and 1,650 freestyles. Kinsella won NCAA national championships in the 500-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle events in 1971, 1972, and 1973.

1968, 1972 Olympic medalist

As a 16-year-old high school swimmer, Kinsella was the silver medalist in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

in Mexico City, finishing second to U.S. teammate Mike Burton. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich, Germany, Kinsella won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. The first-place team of Kinsella, Fred Tyler,

Steve Genter Robert Steven Genter (born January 4, 1951) is an American former competition swimming (sport), swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist. He was a freestyle swimming, freestyle specialist who earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. t ...

, and

set a new world-record time of 7:35.78 in the event final. John Murphy, a fellow 1972 Olympic Gold medalist, also swam for both Hinsdale Central High School, and Indiana University with Kinsella.Fornek, Kimberly, "Games Through the Eyes of an Olympian", ''Chicago Tribune'', Chicago, Illinois, 11 August 2016, pg. 14 After graduating from Indiana University, Kinsella went on to swim professionally, setting a time record for swimming the English Channel.

Honors

In 1970, while still a high school senior swimming for

and the Hinsdale McDonald's Swim Club under coach Don Watson, he was awarded the Amateur Athletic Union's James E. Sullivan Award in recognition of the outstanding American amateur athlete of the year. The exclusive honor is not frequently awarded to High School age athletes. He was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

in 1986 as an "Honor Swimmer" in recognition of his Olympic performances and professional swimming career where he achieved the title of "World's Professional Champion." After the end of his competitive swimming career, Kinsella attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. He joined RBC Dain Rauscher as an investment officer, but is no longer with the firm. He currently resides in Illinois. He has a daughter and three sons.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinsella, John 1952 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Indiana University Bloomington alumni Harvard Business School alumni Indiana Hoosiers men's swimmers James E. Sullivan Award recipients Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Hinsdale, Illinois Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen

Indiana University

1968, 1972 Olympic medalist

Honors

See also

References

External links