Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Robin James Backhaus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Lincoln, Nebraska |
February 12, 1955 ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Butterfly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Riverside Aquatic Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robin James Backhaus (born February 12, 1955) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder.
Backhaus represented the United States as a 17-year-old at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He won a bronze medal for his third-place performance in the men's 200-meter butterfly, finishing with a time of 2:03.23 behind Mark Spitz and Gary Hall, and completing an American sweep of the event.
At the 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, he won gold medals for his first-place finish in the 200-meter butterfly, and as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He also received a bronze medal third for finishing in the 100-meter butterfly. He also worked as a coach at Konawaena High School.
He graduated from Redlands High School in Redlands, California