Bruce Furniss
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Bruce MacFarlane Furniss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
May 27, 1957 Fresno, California |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 161 lb (73 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, individual medley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Long Beach Swim Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Southern California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Bruce MacFarlane Furniss (born May 27, 1957) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder in four events. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, he won the 200-meter freestyle and was a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, both in world record time.
Furniss broke ten world and nineteen American records, and won eleven Amateur Athletic Union and six NCAA titles.
Furniss was a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic men's swimming team, a team regarded by most sports historians as the most dominating Olympic sports team ever assembled, winning 12 of 13 (92%) possible gold medals and 27 of 35 (77%) possible total medals. Furniss won Olympic gold in the 200-meter freestyle, (one of three Americans to ever win this Olympic event; Mark Spitz in 1972 and Michael Phelps in 2008 being the other two), and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, setting world records in each event. In the 200-meter freestyle he led an American sweep finishing ahead of fellow Americans John Naber (silver) and Jim Montgomery (bronze). He teamed up with Naber, Montgomery and Mike Bruner on the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
Furniss also garnered two gold and two silver medals in the 1975 World Aquatics Championships in Cali, Colombia and 1978 World Aquatics Championships in West Berlin.
As a 7-year-old in 1964, Furniss was inspired by the four gold medal performance of American swimmer Don Schollander, who broke the 200-meter freestyle world record ten times during his career. Eleven years later, Furniss became the twelfth of fourteen Americans in history to break the 200-meter freestyle world record. During his career he broke the 200-meter freestyle world record four different times. Furniss laid claim to the 200-meter freestyle world record from 1975 to 1979.
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