Joseph Stuart Bottom (born April 18, 1955) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic silver medalist, and former world record-holder in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly and 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, Bottom moved with his family at age 11 to

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Clare of Assisi, Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns i ...

, where he was a member of the Santa Clara Swim Club under noted swim coach

George Haines George Frederick Haines (March 9, 1924 – May 1, 2006) was a competitive swimmer and coach who for twenty-three years coached the highly successful Santa Clara Swim Club which he founded in 1951. He later coached UCLA, Stanford University, ...

.Santa Clara High School Reunion Event to Include Multiple Classes
Business Wire, March 19, 2008, Accessed August 13, 2008. He attended Santa Clara High School, where he contributed to the Panthers numerous

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

– Central Coast Section championships and set several Section records from 1971–73.Historical Record of CCS Boys Swimming and Diving Championship Results
, CIF – Central Coast Section, Accessed August 13, 2008. Bottom 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), where he 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 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 from 1974 to 1977. He graduated in 1977 with a bachelor of science degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and was a member of

Eta Kappa Nu Eta Kappa Nu () or IEEE-HKN is the international honor society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Joining HKN is by invitation only. Membership is a lifelong designation for individuals who have distinguished them ...

and

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

.USC Mens Swimming & Diving All-Americans
, USC Trojans Athletic Department, Accessed August 13, 2008.Joseph Bottom
LinkedIn, Accessed August 13, 2008. In 1977, he was the first swimmer ever to crack 20 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, at 19.70.Jerry Kirshenbaum
Bottom Was Up To Topping A Mark
''Sports Illustrated'', September 5, 1977, Accessed March 23, 2018. He held USC's record for 50-yard freestyle until the 2006–2007 season, and has the third fastest 100-yard freestyle and sixth-fastest 100-yard butterfly times in school history. He won five

NCAA 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. ...

individual and 4 relay titles with the Trojans. He was the captain of the 1977 Trojans swim team.2007 Inductees For USC Athletic Hall of Fame Announced
, USC Trojans Athletic Department, October 13, 2006, Accessed August 13, 2008. Known for an easygoing personality, Bottom was a fierce competitor during meets. At the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

in Montreal, Bottom won the silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly and came in sixth in the 100-meter freestyle. He also won a gold medal as a member of the 4×100-meter medley relay team, swimming in the qualifying round. At the prime of his career, he was unable to compete at 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 due to the U.S. boycott. During the inaugural,

1973 World Aquatics Championships The 1st FINA World Championships in Aquatics were held in the Tašmajdan SRC in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, from 31 August to 9 September 1973. Medal table Results Diving ;Men ;Women Swimming ;Men ;Women Synchronised s ...

in Belgrade, Bottom took silver in the 100-meter butterfly and gold in both the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relay events. At the 1978 World Championships in Berlin he took gold in the 100-meter butterfly as well as the 4×100-meter medley relay. He won nine U.S. national championships between 1974 and 1980. On August 27, 1977, at the East Germany-United States dual meet in East Berlin, Bottom broke

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 ...

's five-year-old 100-meter butterfly world record with a time of 54.18 seconds. The night before the record-setting race, Bottom suffered from

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

and took a

sleeping pill A hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), also known as a somnifacient or soporific, and commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep and to treat insomnia (sleeplessness). Th ...

only to oversleep and miss his usual pre-race warmup swim; incredibly, he broke Spitz's record anyway. He was also a part of the team that set the new 4×100-meter freestyle relay world record on September 1, 1974. In 2007, Bottom was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame; several of his records set at USC remain unbroken. 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 2006. Bottom currently resides in

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 United Sta ...

, where he is a management consultant and serving as Senior Manager in

Accenture Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...

's Marketing Sciences Practice within the Retail Products Industry.Accenture Marketing Sciences: Retail & Sales Optimization — Leadership
Accenture, Accessed August 13, 2008. His younger brother, Mike Bottom, also swam at USC where he was a three-time All-American (1975–77); Mike is currently one of the world's top sprint coaches and coaches the University of Michigan swim team.Duncan Scott,
Fred Bousquet, the Barrier Basher: Can You Say, 'Déjà vu, All Over Again?'
," ''Swimming World Magazine'', March 24, 2005, Accessed August 13, 2008.Player Bio: Mike Bottom :: Men's Swimming
, Cal Bears Athletic Department, Accessed August 13, 2008.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bottom, Joe 1955 births Living people American male butterfly swimmers American male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Santa Clara, California Swimmers from Akron, Ohio Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics USC Trojans men's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen

See also

References

External links