Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | William Albert Yorzyk, Jr. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | "Bill" | |||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Northampton, Massachusetts |
May 29, 1933 |||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 163 lb (74 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Butterfly, freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||
Club | New Haven Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||||
College team | Springfield College | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William Albert Yorzyk, Jr. (born May 29, 1933) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.
Yorzyk represented the United States at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He was the first swimmer to win the gold medal in the new men's 200-meter butterfly event, finishing with a time of 2:19.3 in the final.
Yorzyk continued to swim competitively while he attended medical school at the University of Toronto. He won the U.S. AAU indoor championship in the 220-yard butterfly in 1958. He was awarded the university's Bickle Prize as its outstanding student-athlete in 1958 and 1959.
Yorzyk was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1971.