Bruce Hunter

Richard Bruce Hunter (July 6, 1939 – July 6, 2018) was an American competition swimmer who competed for Harvard University and represented the United States at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where he competed in the 100-meter freestyle. After completing an MBA from Harvard in 1974, he worked as a Business Manager for State Street Bank, the tech firm Raytheon, and Fidelity Investments from 1975-2003.

Early life Bruce Hunter was born July 6, 1939, in greater Boston, Massachusetts, to Anne Gertrude Reagan, and James Hunter. Bruce's father James worked in sales for Jordan Marsh, who helped cover Bruce's travel expenses to the Rome Olympics. In September, 1952, winning the 30-yard freestyle and backstroke events at the City of Cambridge Swimming Championships, he was selected as the Outstanding Male performer.

High School In 1957, Hunter graduated Cambridge Latin School. As the sole swimmer representing Cambridge Latin High, which had neither a team or pool, he was a six-time Interscholastic All American. He learned to swim as a sprinter at the Cambridge YMCA, where he continued to train through High School.

Harvard University Hunter attended Harvard University, enrolling in 1957, and graduating in 1961 with a B.A. in English Literature. Specializing in sprint freestyle while swimming for Harvard under Coach Bill Brooks, Bruce was a 100-freestyle Eastern College Athletic College Champion in 1960, captaining the team in his Senior year. While swimming at Harvard, Hunter established eight records in freestyle for the varsity team, and won NCAA championships in both the 50-yard freestyle sprint event, and as a member of Harvard's 4x100 yard freestyle relay team. Bruce's younger brother Dennis also swam varsity at Harvard. Bob Kaufmann, both a Harvard, and Olympic team mate, attributed Hunter's success partly to a strong and effective program of weight-lifting and dryland training. Bruce would earn an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1974, majoring in finance and investments.

Naval service After college graduation, Hunter served in the Navy around 1961, where competing in the International Military Games, he captured three gold medals in swimming. He trained for the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo while training and competing in swimming internationally with the Navy, but did not qualify for the team. John Devitt of Australia won the gold with a time of 55.2, Lance Larson of the U.S. won the silver with a time of 55.1, and Manuel dos Santos of Brazil won the bronze with a time of 55.4. A discrepancy for the order of finish for Larson and Devitt was resolved by going with the electronic timers, despite the U.S. lodging an unsuccessful protest.

Careers From 1975-2003, Hunter worked for firms that included State Street Bank, the tech firm Raytheon, and Fidelity Investments.

Hunter died at age 79 on July 6, 2018 at his home in the suburb of Braintree in his native town of greater Boston, Massachusetts, survived by a daughter and siblings. Strokes had left him in declining health over the prior years, beginning with a severe stroke around 2015.