David Lee "Dave" Wharton (born May 19, 1969) 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 ...

, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, and former world record-holder in two events. During his competition swimming career, Wharton set world records in both the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events.

Swimming career

Germantown Academy

Wharton was born on May 9, in Abington, Pennsylvania. He was diagnosed with a 50% hearing loss, not long after his birth and began wearing a hearing aid as a toddler. He started swimming around the age of six at the Warminster Swim Club in Pennsylvania. He was later mentored by Dick Shoulberg, the long serving ASCA Hall of Fame Head Coach at Fort Washington's

Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the ...

who had managed Germantown swimmers since around 1969. Wharton attended, graduated and swam for Germantown, and by 1990 was one of four Olympians Shoulberg had coached at the school. At Germantown, Wharton also benefitted from a solid dry land training program as part of his swim training. Another Germantown Academy graduate, Trina Radke, also swam in the 1988 Olympics with Wharton. Wharton set Germantown school records in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:22.4, the 200-yard freestyle at 1:38.2, and the 200-yard IM at 1:47.1. While at Germantown, Wharton set National prep school records in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle at the 1986 Eastern Championships.

International competition

He achieved his first recognition in international swimming as an 18-year-old at the

1987 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The second edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 1987 at the Chandler Aquatic Centre in Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and larg ...

in Brisbane, Australia, where he won gold medals in both the 200- and 400-meter individual medley events. He was recognized as the American Swimmer of the Year, together with

Janet Evans Janet Beth Evans (born August 28, 1971) is an American former competition swimmer who swam from 1989 to 1992 for Stanford University and specialized in distance freestyle events. Evans was a world champion and world record-holder, and won a to ...

, by ''

Swimming World Magazine } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

'' in 1987. He repeated his exceptional performance in international competition at the

1989 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The third edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 1989 in Tokyo, Japan at the Yoyogi National Olympic Pool from August 17–20.1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

in Seoul, South Korea. He received a silver medal for his second-place performance in the men's 400-meter individual medley, in which he recorded a time of 4:17.36 in the event final. He also competed in the B Final of the men's 200-meter individual medley, finishing ninth overall with a time of 2:03.50. At the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona, Spain, Wharton again competed in the men's 400-meter individual medley, bettering his 1988 Olympic time with a 4:17.26 and finishing fourth overall. He also swam in the men's 200-meter butterfly, advancing to the B Final and posting a time of 2:01.08.

USC

Wharton attended 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 ...

(USC), enrolling in January 1988, where he swam for 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 and diving team under 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 ...

. From 1988-1991 he competed in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) and

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

competition where he was recognized as the Pac-10 Male Swimmer of the Year all four of his college years. As only a USC Freshman at the April 1988 NCAA Swimming Championships in Indianapolis, he broke the American record for the 400 IM with a 3:42.23, also won the 200-meter IM, and took second in the 200-meter butterfly.Didinger, Ray, ''Philadelphia Daily News'', Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "He's Making Quite a Splash", 2 August 1988, pg. 67 During his years at USC, he won three NCAA national championships in the 200-yard individual medley (1988–1990) and four more NCAA championships in the 400-yard individual medley (1988–1991).

Life after swimming

Wharton later completed graduate school at The Ohio State University, working as their assistant swim coach. He received a masters’ in sports management, and met Tammy Hunt, a member of the school’s synchro swim team, whom he would later marry. In 1997 Wharton became Natatorium Director and coached swimming at the New Albany High School through at least 2008. In 2001, he worked as Parks and Recreation Director for the New Albany-Plain Local Joint Park District, and later worked as the New Albany Aquatics Center director. In 2008, he was inducted into the Bucks County Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, David 1969 births Living people American male butterfly swimmers American male medley swimmers World record setters in swimming Germantown Academy alumni Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming People from New Albany, Ohio American swimming coaches Sportspeople from Ohio Swimmers from Pennsylvania Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics USC Trojans men's swimmers Sportspeople from Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics People from Warminster, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Bucks County, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen

Swimming career

Germantown Academy

International competition

USC

Life after swimming

See also

References