Richard James DeMont (born April 21, 1956) 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 ...

, world champion, and former world record-holder in multiple events. DeMont is often remembered for the controversy arising from his disqualification at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972 ...

because he tested positive for a prohibited substance present in his prescription asthma medication.

Biography

DeMont was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and he attended Terra Linda High School in suburban

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...

. He trained with the Marin Aquatic Club. As a 16-year-old, DeMont qualified to represent the United States at the

in Munich, Germany. He won a gold medal for his first-place finish (4:00.26) in the men's 400-meter freestyle. Following the race, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC) stripped DeMont of his gold medal after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substance

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in n ...

contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax. The positive test following the 400-meter freestyle final also deprived him of a chance at multiple medals, as he was not permitted to swim in any other events at the 1972 Olympics, including the 1,500-meter freestyle for which he was the then-current world record-holder. Before the Olympics, DeMont had properly declared his asthma medications on his medical disclosure forms, but the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) had not cleared them with the IOC's medical committee. At the

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

in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, DeMont became the first man to swim the 400-meter freestyle in under four minutes (3:58.18). The same year he was voted World Swimmer of the Year. In 1990 DeMont 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 st ...

. In 2001 the USOC admitted that it had mishandled DeMont's medical information at the 1972 Olympics and appealed to the IOC to reinstate the medal.Dan Patrick,
DeMont redeemed after 29 years
" ESPN.com (December 6, 2001). Retrieved March 16, 2015. To date, the IOC has not officially changed the race results nor overturned his ban.Associated Press,
Better late than never
" ''Sports Illustrated'' (January 30, 2001). Archived February 3, 2014; retrieved March 16, 2015. DeMont was an assistant coach for the South African men's swim team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. In 2014, after being a member of the coaching staff for 24 seasons, DeMont was named the head coach of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

.ArizonaWildcats.com, Swimming and Diving, Coaches
Rick DeMont
Retrieved March 16, 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Demont, Rick 1956 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers American sportspeople in doping cases Arizona Wildcats swimming coaches Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Doping cases in swimming World record setters in swimming Olympic swimmers of the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Swimmers from San Francisco Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1975 Pan American Games World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games

Biography

See also

References

External links