Alan Robert Ford ( Eng. Alan Robert Ford ; December 7, 1923 - November 3, 2008 ) is an American swimmer , Olympic medalist and world record holder. Ford won the silver medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and became the first person to sail 100 yards in less than 50 seconds.
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| Date of Birth | December 7, 1923 |
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| Date of death | November 3, 2008 (84 years old) |
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Biography
Born in the Panama Canal Zone , he moved to Sarasota , Florida from Midland , Michigan . Ford studied at US schools in the Panama Canal area , at the Academy of Mersersburg, and in 1945 he graduated from Yale University with a bachelor 's degree in mechanical engineering . In the last months of World War II, he served as a warrant officer of the US Navy .
While studying at the University, Ford set a number of national and world records. At Yale , he trains under the guidance of swimming coach Robert J. Kiput, an innovator who was the first to use land exercises and interval training . Ford broke Johnny Weismüller 's 17-year world record at a 100- yard freestyle race . In 1944, Ford became the first person to sail 100 yards in less than 50 seconds [1] . Ford became known as the "man of the fish", a nickname that he received from Weissmüller . While studying at Yale, he was the captain of the Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving team.
In 1944, when Ford was at the height of his sports career, the 1944 Summer Olympics were canceled due to World War II . In 1944, he won the US student championship at 50, 100 and 150 yards in backstroke . After the war, he left for New Haven to train with Robert Kifut. After only six months of training under Kifut and quitting smoking, Ford joined the US Olympic team and won the silver medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London at the 100m freestyle , losing only to his teammate Wally Rhys [2 ] .
After graduating from Yale, Ford worked as a mechanical engineer. Ford designed and managed the construction of oil refineries, chemical, ore and food processing plants, as well as storage facilities for oil and chemicals in the United States and abroad.
Ford was inducted into the World Navigation Hall of Fame in 1966 [3] .
Ford died of emphysema on November 3, 2008 in Sarasota , Florida ; he was 84 years old [1] .
His swimming talents can still be seen in the 1940s film Blue Winners.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Bruce Weber. Alan Ford, Top Freestyler in 1940s, Is Dead at 84 . The New York Times (November 16, 2008). Date of treatment March 17, 2015.
- ↑ New York Times - 25 July 1948 - Page S3
- ↑ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Alan Ford (USA) . Retrieved March 17, 2015.