John Murphy

John Joseph Murphy (born July 19, 1953) is an American former backstroke and freestyle swimmer who attended Indiana University and won a gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Beginning around the mid-1980s, he worked as a CPA in New Mexico, and coached age group swimming in Los Alamos and Santa Fe. By January, 1970, Murphy was rated the third best backstroker in the State of Illinois.

Murphy's Hinsdale team won the Illinois State Championship again in 1971, and dominated the meet, with Murphy winning the 200 Individual Medley in 1:56.6, and the 100-backstroke in :52.4, a State and National record. John Kinsella, a fellow 1972 Olympic gold medal winner, swam for Hinsdale Central High School with Murphy and was often a major factor in their frequent Illinois State Championship wins. A 1971 graduate of Hinsdale, in his Senior year, Murphy was elected Captain of the swim team.

Indiana University He attended Indiana University, where he swam for coach James Counsilman's Indiana Hoosiers swim team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition.

1972 Olympics Around the age of 19, Murphy won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany with a world record breaking combined time of 3:26.42.

International competition Murphy won a gold medal at the first World Aquatics Championships (FINA) in the 4×100 metres freestyle in Yugoslavia in 1973, where he swam with Joe Bottom, Jim Montgomery, and Mel Nash, who was not an Olympian. At the 1975 World Aquatics Championships, he won two gold medals, one in the 4×100 metres freestyle with Jim Montgomery, Bruce Furniss, and Andy Coan and one in the 4×100 metres medley where he swam with Rick Colella, Andy Coan, and Greg Jagenburg.

Post swimming career Majoring in Finance at Indiana, Murphy passed the CPA exam after graduation. Around ten years after graduating from Indiana, he moved to New Mexico, and has resided in Los Alamos, where he served as a youth swim team coach as a volunteer. After his move, he was Head Coach of the Dolphins de Santa Fe Swim team in 1984 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has had a successful accounting business as a CPA in Santa Fe, New Mexico, about 30 miles Southeast of Los Alamos, and has served as the head coach of the Los Alamos Swim Club, an age group team for ages 6-17, also known as the Los Alamos Aquatomics. In Santa Fe, he was head coach of Santa Fe High School beginning in 1990, and also coached the Santa Fe Seals in 2017.