Bill Forrester

William Ronald Forrester Jr. (born December 18, 1957) is an American former competition swimmer, who swam for Auburn University, a July, 1976 Montreal Olympic medalist in the 200-meter butterfly, and a former world record-holder. Forrester won three gold and two bronze medals at the world championships in 1975 and 1978. After retiring from swim competition, he worked as an age-group coach for over 30 years, first coaching in a summer league, and then founding the Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team (GCAT) in 1994. While still representing Jacksonville Episcopal, he won the AAU 200 meter butterfly in American Athletic Union competition at the AAU World Trials in Long Beach, California in June, 1975 with a time of 2.00.79. Swimming in the All Southern Boy's competition of swimmers from 12 Southern States around his Junior Year in 1976 at Jacksonville Episcopal, he won the 200 freestyle, and 100 butterfly with a time of 20.24, also swimming on Episcopal's winning medley and free relay teams.

The summer after graduating High School, he represented the United States as an 18-year-old at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, where he won a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly, finishing behind U.S. teammates Mike Bruner who took the gold and Steve Gregg who took the silver medal. In a close finish, Forrester swam a 1:59.96, less than a second behind the times of either Bruner or Greg. Forrester did not break into the top three swimmers until after the 150-meter mark, three fourths of the way into the 200-meter race. He passed East German swimmer Roger Pyttel after the 150-meter mark, finishing only .06 seconds ahead before him.

World Championships At the 1975 long course World Championships in Cali, he won a gold in the 200-meter butterfly, and a bronze in the 100-meter butterfly. Forrester was part of a U.S. team at 1978 World Championships that set a long-course world record in the 4x200 freestyle relay of 7:20.82 on August 24, 1978, in West-Berlin, Germany that held until August 23, 1983. At the 1978 World Championships, he also won a golds in the 200-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 400-meter freestyle.

A very talented team, 1984 Olympic triple gold medalist Rowdy Gaines was one of Auburn's top swimmers while Forrester swam for the school. On March 7, 1980, Forrester swam with Gaines on a winning 880 freestyle relay at the Southeastern Conference Championship, where the Auburn team clocked a combined time of 6:34.34. The win led Auburn to a second-place finish in the 1980 SEC Championship, only three points behind Florida, the American's top rated teams, giving them their second successive SEC championship. A twenty-year coach by 2016, several of his swimmers had qualified to swim in the Olympic trials, but had not yet been chosen for the U.S. team. In 2025, the team met at Chatham County Aquatic Center in Savannah, and at the Outdoor pool at Richmond Hill Swim Club, about roughly 20 miles Southeast.

Honors Forrester is a member of the Pennsylvania Aquatics Hall of Fame.