George Harrison (swimmer)

George Harrison
Harrison in 1960
Personal information
Full nameGeorge Prifold Harrison
National teamUnited States
Born(1939-04-09)April 9, 1939
Berkeley, California, U.S.[1]
Died3 October 2011(2011-10-03) (aged 72)
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight179 lb (81 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubSanta Clara Swim Club
College teamStanford University
Medal record
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 4×200 m freestyle
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1959 Chicago 400 m freestyle

George Prifold Harrison (April 9, 1939 – October 3, 2011) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events.[2] He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where he received a gold medal as the lead-off swimmer of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Harrison, together with his American relay teammates Dick Blick, Mike Troy and Jeff Farrell, set a new world record of 8:10.2 in the event final.[3]

Individually Harrison won a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle at the 1959 Pan American Games. He also held the world record in 200-meter individual medley (long course) from August 24, 1956, to July 19, 1958, and the world record in the 400-meter individual medley (long course) from June 24 to July 22, 1960.

Harrison studied at Acalanes High School, and in 1965 graduated from Stanford University, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity and was later inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame. He spent most of his career with Lee & Associates at Pleasanton, California, working in investment and industrial brokerage.[1] At the time of his death, from complications during surgery, he lived in Moraga, California.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "George Harrison". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-12-11.
  2. ^ George Harrison's obituary. legacy.com
  3. ^ "1960 Summer Olympics – Rome, Italy– Swimming" Archived 2007-09-04 at the Wayback MachinedatabaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on April 30, 2008)
  4. ^ George Harrison Obituary. Walnut Creek, CA, East Bay Times.
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