Tim Jecko

Perry Timothy Jecko (January 24, 1938 – January 11, 2005) was an American competition swimmer who competed for Yale, and represented the United States at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating Yale, he served in the Navy, worked as an actor in live theater and television and taught at the High School and collegiate level.

Early life and swimming Timothy Jecko was born January 4, 1938 in Washington, D.C. to father Perry Joseph and mother Cora Timothy Jecko. By 1952, he represented the Walter Reed Swim Club which did not officially take the name until that year. Swimming unattached at only 14, he won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 27.7 seconds, and placed second in the men's 100-yard backstroke at an AAU meet in Washington, D.C.

Yale University He swam for Yale University under Hall of Fame Head Coach Robert J. H. Kiphuth enrolling around 1956, and captained the team as an upperclassman. He graduated while taking a number of courses from the School of Drama, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in English in 1959. Jecko won the 200-yard butterfly in 2:11.8 and the 200-yard Individual Medley at the Harvard Pool in 2:08.7 at the Eastern Collegiate swimming championships. While at Yale, as shown at right, he won three individual NCAA Championships in 1957 at Chapel Hill which included first places in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly, and the 200-yard Individual Medley. Returning to Yale after spending some time in theater, he received a Masters in Fine Arts from the Yale's School of Drama in 1968. Jecko did not receive a medal, however, because only relay swimmers who competed in the event final were eligible under the 1956 Olympic rules. The team from Australia won the gold with a time of 8:23.6, and the team from the Soviet Union took the bronze medal with a time of 8:34.7.

In early April, 1957, as a defending AAU champion in the 400-yard individual medley, while a Yale sophomore, he represented New Haven Swim Club coached by Bob Kiphuth, at the National AAU National Swimming Championships.

Naval service He began a career as an Officer in the U.S. Navy around 1959-1960, serving in the seventh fleet, and practicing with a Navy swim team while training for the 1960 Olympics. He reached the rank of Lieutenant, before leaving the military around 1963. Around 2003, he had received a diagnosis of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. He had continued swimming throughout much of his life. A memorial service was observed at the Waldron Avenue Unitarian Church in Summit, New Jersey at mid-day on January 29, and on February 12 at St. John's Church in Chevy Chase, Maryland, closer to his birthplace.