Career
1971 Pan Am Games
At the 1971 Pan American Games he won gold in the 4×100 metre freestyle (with Dave Edgar, Jerry Heidenreich, and the non-Olympian Frank Heckl) as well as in the 4×200 metre freestyle (with1972 Olympics
At the 1972 Olympics, he had a collapsed lung about a week before the 200-meter freestyle event, possibly brought on by a persistent cough and altitude changes during the cramped plane ride to Munich. On August 24, only five days prior to his first competition, Genter underwent a relatively minor surgical procedure to reinflate his lung with a tube, but he received thirteen stitches, and spent five days of full rest mostly in bed recovering with a few lung rehabilitation and light torso exercises given to him by his coach Jim Montrella. He took only a day of light swim training before his first competition on September 29.200-meter silver
Several American Doctors felt he could compete, German Doctors advised him to withdraw; he refused and with the consent of his coach, competed. Remarkably in his first race, he won a silver medal in the 200-meter swim against rival Mark Spitz who took the gold. In the 200-meter qualifying heat on the morning of August 29, Genter finished only .13 second behind Spitz who, like other qualifiers, was conserving energy. In the Final Medal race for the 200-meter later on August 29, Genter finished about a second behind Spitz, about a body length, but actually led by a tiny margin at the 100-meter mark until the last 25 meters of the event when Spitz finished strong. Despite his injury, Steve swam a personal best time of 1:53:73, holding off the third-place finisher4x200-meter relay gold medal
Two days later on August 31, Genter won a gold in the 4 x 200 meter relay where he swam third, helping to set a World Record relay time, though he sat out the qualifying heat to conserve energy. His time of 1:52:72 gave the Americans a considerable lead, and Mark Spitz finished off the swim, giving the American team a time of 7:43:3.400-meter bronze medal
On September 1, he won a Bronze medal in the 400 meter swim, beating the standing Olympic record in his qualifying heat, though it was not the fastest time of the day. In the 400 meter final, he lost to Brad Cooper by a full 1.67 seconds, but still went under the standing Olympic record time with a 4:01.94.Foster, Richard J., ''Mark Spitz; The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion'', Santa Monica Press, Santa Monica, California, (2008) pgs. 162-175 In late March 1974, after a break from competition, he swam in the NCAA Championships as a Senior at UCLA.Life after swimming
Genter was engaged to marry Swiss swimmer, national breast stroke champion, and 1972 Olympic Competitor, Erika Ruegg in Long Beach on September 14, 1974. After his graduation from UCLA, Genter moved to Switzerland, where he lived after the late 1970s. He raised a family of 5 children, worked in the computer industry, and coached water polo, his favorite sport.Foster, Richard J., ''Mark Spitz; The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion'', Santa Monica Press, Santa Monica, California, (2008) pg. 274See also
*References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genter, Steve American male freestyle swimmers 1951 births Living people World record setters in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers at the 1971 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics UCLA Bruins men's swimmers Sportspeople from Artesia, California Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in swimming 20th-century American sportsmen