Eric Lindroth

Eric Emil Lindroth (September 12, 1951 – June 17, 2019) was a water polo player from the United States, who competed for the University of California Los Angeles, and won the bronze medal with the Men's National Team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. In 1988, he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Early life Lindroth was born September 12, 1951, in Huntington Beach, California to Mr. and Mrs. Reynold Lindroth. During his High School career, Lindroth was a 1967 and 1968 High School All American, and in 1968 was a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Player of the year.

University of California Los Angeles Graduating in 1973 with a degree in Physical Education, At UCLA, he was managed and trained by Hall of Fame Coach and Head UCLA Coach Bob Horn. A long serving coach, Horn coached men's water polo at UCLA from 1965 to 1991.

In national competition, in 1974, Lindroth was the Most Valuable Player at the AAU Sr. National Championships, and the recipient of the James E. Lee Award. The U.S. had not stood on the medal podium in water polo since 1932.

In the preliminary rounds at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the U.S. team won over Cuba by a score of 7–6 on August 28 and then defeated Canada on August 29. On August 30, the team defeated Mexico, 7–5. They defeated Yugoslavia 5–3 on August 31, and tied with West Germany 4–4 on September 1. But in a rare loss, the U.S. team went 5–3 to Hungary on September 2. In a closely followed subsequent game, the US Team tied with the future Gold medal winner, the Soviet Union, 6–6 on September 3, leaving the U.S. team disappointed with the tie outcome, but the recipient of the bronze medal. In their Final 1972 Olympic game, the US Team defeated Italy 6–5 on September 4. Russia took the gold medal, and a highly skilled team from Hungary, who had defeated the United States, the silver.

Lindroth died June 17, 2019, in San Diego, California of metastatic melanoma, and was survived by his wife Deborah Ann and three children. Memorial services were held at the Church of Rancho Bernardo at Bernardo Plaza Court in Dan Diego on Saturday, July 20.

Honors In 1988, he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, and in 2018 became a member of the University of California Los Angeles Hall of Fame.