John Naber

John Phillips Naber (born January 20, 1956) is an American former competitive swimmer, five-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in multiple events.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Naber studied in England and Italy where his father worked as a management consultant. then completed his bachelor's degree in psychology in 1977 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. While at USC, he led the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA titles (1974–1977).

1976 Olympics

At age twenty, Naber won four gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. Each of these victories was swum in world-record time; he swept the two backstroke events and was a member of two winning relay teams.

One of Naber's gold medals was for the first 200-meter backstroke completed in under two minutes; his world record time of 1:59.19 stood for seven years. His world record of 55.49 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke also stood for seven years.

For these accomplishments in Montreal and elsewhere, Naber won the 1977 James E. Sullivan Award, which is presented to the top American amateur athlete of the year. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1982.

After swimming Naber joined The Walt Disney Company in 1977 as a marketing representative, then became a full-time "roving ambassador" for the swimwear maker Speedo. He later was a sports broadcaster, motivational speaker, and professional writer.