Donald Arthur Schollander (born April 30, 1946) is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events. He won a total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

. With four gold medals, he was the most successful athlete at the 1964 Olympics.

Early career

Schollander was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

, and learned competitive swimming from his uncle, Newt Perry, who ran a swimming school in Florida. As a boy, Schollander moved with his family to Lake Oswego, Oregon. Although his first sporting passion was

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, he was too small to compete in high school football. Instead, he joined

Lake Oswego High School Lake Oswego High School (LOHS) is a public high school in Lake Oswego, Oregon, United States. History Lake Oswego High School first opened in September 1951 as a six-year school, with an enrollment of 564. In 1956, it became a four-year high sch ...

's swim team, and in 1960, helped lead the team to an Oregon state swimming championship as a freshman.

Olympics

As a teenager in 1962, Schollander moved to

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

to train under swim coach

George Haines George Frederick Haines (March 9, 1924 – May 1, 2006) was a swimmer and swimming coach who coached at the Santa Clara Swim Club, Stanford University and UCLA. He also coached for seven U.S. Olympic swim teams. He was inducted into the Int ...

of the

Santa Clara Swim Club The Santa Clara Swim Club (abbreviated SCSC) is a renowned swimming club and team based in Santa Clara, California. Part of USA Swimming, it is a USA Swimming Silver Medal Club and a part of the Pacific Swimming LSC, sub-governed by Zone 1 South. ...

. Two years later at the age of 18, he won three freestyle events at the AAU national championships. He made the U.S. Olympic team in two individual events and two relays. Months later, he won four gold medals and set three world records at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

, at the time the most medals won by an American since

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lif ...

in 1936. His success helped earn him the

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

as the top amateur athlete in the United States, and the AP Athlete of the Year, defeating runner-up

Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...

by a wide margin. He was also named ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' Athlete of the Year. Schollander appeared on an episode of '' To Tell the Truth'' immediately after winning his four gold medals.

College and Olympic swimming

Schollander attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

and is a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

, a secret society, and the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

(Phi chapter) fraternity. He was the captain of Yale's swim team, winning three individual

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

championships. At the

, Schollander won another gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, but finished second in the 200-meter freestyle, the event that Schollander had considered to be his best. This was the first Olympics in which 200-meter swimming events were part of the competition. Following the 1968 Olympics, Schollander retired from competitive swimming.

After swimming

Schollander 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 ...

at age 19 in 1965. In 1983, he was one of the first group of inductees into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. He is also a member of

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

. In 1971, he published his first book, ''Deep Water'' (with Duke Savage) chronicling his swimming, his teammates and coaches, and the behind-the-scenes politics of international swimming, especially the Olympic Games. He followed this book in 1974 with ''Inside Swimming'' (with Joel H. Cohen). Schollander and his wife Cheryl reside in Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he runs Schollander Development, a real estate development company. His gold medals are on display to the public at a

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

branch location in downtown Lake Oswego. Schollander has three children, Jeb, Kyle and Katie.

References

Bibliography

*Schollander, Don, and Duke Savage, ''Deep Water'', Pelham Books (1971). . *Schollander, Don, and Joel H. Cohen, ''Inside Swimming'', Contemporary Books (1974). .

External links

* * * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schollander, Don 1946 births Living people American people of German descent American male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming James E. Sullivan Award recipients Lake Oswego High School alumni Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Sportspeople from Lake Oswego, Oregon Swimmers at the 1963 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Yale Bulldogs men's swimmers Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Swimmers from Oregon Pan American Games medalists in swimming Yale College alumni Yale University alumni Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games