Rick DeMont

Richard James DeMont (born April 21, 1956) is an American former competition swimmer, world champion, and former world record-holder in multiple events. Despite placing first in the 400-meter freestyle at the 1972 Summer Olympics, DeMont is remembered for the controversy subsequently arising from his disqualification and being stripped of the 400-meter gold medal after testing positive for a prohibited substance present in his prescription asthma medication. After retiring from his swimming career, where he won gold and silver medals at the World Aquatics and Pan American Championships, DeMont had an accomplished career as a swim team coach with the University of Arizona for thirty years from 1987 to 2017. Around the age of seven, he began swimming with two time Olympic medalist Ann Curtis (Cuneo)'s Ann Curtis swim team in Terra Linda, where at ten, he set the AAU National record for the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:09.5. Around his senior year at Terra Linda High in 1973, after setting two distance freestyle world records and winning gold and silver medals at the World Aquatic Championships, he was named World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine. At the Los Angeles Invitational Swim Meet on August 2, 1973, DeMont swam a 16:05.7, the fastest time that year for the 1500-meter freestyle. Don Swartz, his Marin Aquatics Coach, predicted DeMont would soon go under sixteen minutes for the 1500 event. after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substance ephedrine contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax. As a swimmer, DeMont earned All-American honors all four years of his collegiate career. He earned eight All-America honors during his two years swimming for the Arizona Wildcats where he was coached and trained by Bob Davis. Davis, who was a graduate of the University of Arizona, had led their swim team to several Western Athletic Conference titles by 1975. Davis served as one of the coaches of DeMont's Marin Aquatics Club beginning in May, 1973.

At the 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, DeMont became the first man to swim the 400-meter freestyle in under four minutes (3:58.18). At the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City, Swartz won a gold medal in the 4x200 meter freestyle and a silver in the 200 meter freestyle. To date, the IOC has not officially changed the race results nor overturned his ban.

Outstanding swimmers DeMont has coached include Matt Grevers, and South Africans Roland Schoeman, a three-time 2004 Olympic medalist, Lyndon Ferns, a 2004 gold medalist, Darian Townsend, and Ryk Neethling.

Rick DeMont Swim School He founded the Rick Demont Family Swim School in Tucson, Arizona in 2009 which he managed with his wife Carrie. Carrie, who received her masters from the University of Arizona in Special Education, taught swimming with the DeMont Family Swim School beginning around 2005. As another vocation, DeMont has worked as an artist and painter whose works have been shown in both local and national venues.