Michael Francis Troy (October 3, 1940 – August 3, 2019) was an American competitive

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 ...

, a two-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

champion, and world record-holder in three events. The peak of Troy's swimming career occurred between 1959 and 1960 while he was coached by

Doc Counsilman James Edward "Doc" Counsilman (December 28, 1920 – January 4, 2004)
...

of the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

swimming and diving team at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. At the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

in Rome, he won his first gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Individually, he won a second gold with his first-place finish in the men's 200-meter butterfly—his signature event. Troy broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly six consecutive times before it was taken over by fellow American swimmer

Carl Robie Carl Joseph Robie III (May 12, 1945 – November 29, 2011) was an American competitive swimmer, who swam for the University of Michigan and was first a silver medalist in the 1964 Olympics, and then a gold medalist in the 1968 Olympics. He was ...

in 1961. In 1971 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 ...

. After college, Troy entered active duty with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

on February 15, 1964, and completed Officer Candidate School. Troy was commissioned as an Ensign and volunteered for Underwater Demolition Training, now known as Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. After months of grueling training, Troy graduated with BUD/S class 33 in December 1964. Troy received assignment to Underwater Demolition Team ELEVEN (UDT-11) and later deployed with his team to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

in 1966. He was recommended for the numerous awards for his combat service during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Troy resigned from active duty on February 28, 1969. After leaving military service Troy settled in the

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

area where he worked as a real estate agent and swimming coach. His trainees included

Mike Stamm Michael Eugene Stamm (born August 6, 1952) is an American former backstroke swimmer who earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter medley relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. At the 1972 ...

. At the time of his death in 2019 Troy was co-owner of the Gold Medal Swim School in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, fourth-most populous city in Arizona ...

, with two time Olympic coach Mike Walker. Troy served as Chairman of the International Section of the Olympic Committee and Vice President of the American Swimming Coaches Association. Troy was the National Director of the USA Paralympic Swimming Team. He accompanied the team to Athens, Greece in September 2004 where the U.S. Paralympic team won numerous medals. Troy died on August 3, 2019, in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

at the age of 78.

References

External links

"Glory Of Old IU / 100 years of Indiana Athletics" by Bob Hammel and Kit Klingelhoffer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Mike 1940 births 2019 deaths American male butterfly swimmers American male freestyle swimmers United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War American swimming coaches World record setters in swimming Indiana Hoosiers men's swimmers Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Military personnel from Indiana Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Indianapolis Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics United States Navy SEALs personnel Swimmers at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in swimming 20th-century American sportsmen

See also

References

External links