Joshua Clark Davis (born September 1, 1972) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Davis represented the United States at two consecutive
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
.
College and international career
He attended the
University of Texas at Austin, where he swam for coach
Eddie Reese's
Texas Longhorns swimming and diving team in
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition.
At the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in Atlanta, Georgia, he won gold medals by swimming for the winning U.S. teams in the
4×100-meter freestyle relay and
4×200-meter freestyle relay. He earned a third gold medal by swimming for the first-place U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the
4×100-meter medley relay. He also competed in the
200-meter freestyle, and finished seventh in the event final with a time of 1:48.54.
Four years later at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in Sydney, Australia, he served as the captain of the U.S. swimming team. At the 2000 Olympics, he won silver medals swimming for the second-place U.S. teams in the preliminary heats of the
4×100-meter freestyle relay, and the final of the
4×200-meter freestyle relay. He again competed in the
200-meter freestyle, finishing in fourth place in the final with a time of 1:46.73.
He also swam for the U.S. national team at:
* World Championships:
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
,
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
* Pan American Games:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
* Pan Pacific Championships:
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
,
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
,
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
* World University Games:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
* Short Course Worlds:
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
Life outside competitive swimming
Completed in 2001, the newer
natatorium at
North East independent school District's Virgil T. Blossom Athletic Center (the district where Davis attended school) in San Antonio was named in his honor.
In February 2009 four of Davis' Olympic medals—three gold medals and one silver medal—were stolen from his car after he returned from a swim clinic in
St. Louis. On February 13, 2009, cleanup crews found the medals outside one of the Salvation Army's Boys and Girls Clubs in San Antonio. The medals were returned to Davis at a news conference later that night.
On June 1, 2016, Davis was named as the first coach of
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian University (OC) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1950 by members of the Churches of Christ.
History
Oklahoma Christian University, originally named Central Christian College, w ...
's swimming programs, charged with building men's and women's teams for competition that will begin with the 2017-18 season. It is Davis' first collegiate coaching job.
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian University (OC) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1950 by members of the Churches of Christ.
History
Oklahoma Christian University, originally named Central Christian College, w ...
is currently the only college in Oklahoma offering intercollegiate swimming.
Davis and his wife Shantel live in
Edmond, Oklahoma, and have six children.
See also
*
Bill Boomer, swimming coach
*
List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
*
List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
*
List of University of Texas at Austin alumni
*
List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
*
World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay
References
External links
US Olympic CommitteeJosh Davis homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Josh
1972 births
Living people
American male freestyle swimmers
World record setters in swimming
Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming
Sportspeople from San Antonio
Swimmers at the 1995 Pan American Games
Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Texas Longhorns men's swimmers
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in swimming
Universiade medalists in swimming
Goodwill Games medalists in swimming
Oklahoma Christian Eagles and Lady Eagles swimming coaches
FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States
Universiade silver medalists for the United States
Universiade bronze medalists for the United States
Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 1995 Summer Universiade
Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games
Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games
Swimmers from Texas