José Luis Ballester Rubert (born August 17, 1969) is a former

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

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 ...

from Spain, who competed at three consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

for his native country, starting in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. At each Olympic appearance he was eliminated in the qualifying heats. Ballester was born in

Vinaròs Vinaròs () () is a city located in eastern Spain and the capital of the Baix Maestrat in the province of Castellón. It is in the border between the Valencian Community and Catalonia. Vinaròs is a fishing harbour and tourist destination. His ...

, Castellón, Spain. Ballester received an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for the Florida Gators swimming and diving team 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) competition. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in management in 2003.

References

External links

Spanish Olympic Committee
* 1969 births Living people Florida Gators men's swimmers Spanish expatriate swimmers in the United States Spanish male butterfly swimmers Olympic swimmers for Spain Sportspeople from Castellón de la Plana Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Spain Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1987 Mediterranean Games 20th-century Spanish sportsmen {{spain-swimming-bio-stub

See also

References

External links