Rick DeMont

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Rick DeMont
Rick DeMont 1972.jpg
DeMont at the 1972 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameRichard James DeMont
Nickname"Rick"
National teamUnited States
Born (1956-04-21) April 21, 1956 (age 68)
San Francisco, California, U.S. [1]
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
ClubMarin Aquatic Club [1]
Medal record
Representing the United States
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1973 Belgrade 400 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1973 Belgrade 1500 m freestyle
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1975 Mexico City 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1975 Mexico City 200 m freestyle

Richard James DeMont (born April 21, 1956) is an American former competition swimmer, world champion, and former world record-holder in multiple events. DeMont is often remembered for the controversy arising from his disqualification at the 1972 Summer Olympics because he tested positive for a prohibited substance present in his prescription asthma medication.

Contents

Biography

DeMont was born in San Francisco, California, and he attended Terra Linda High School in suburban San Rafael, California. He trained with the Marin Aquatic Club. As a 16-year-old, DeMont qualified to represent the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He won a gold medal for his first-place finish (4:00.26) in the men's 400-meter freestyle. Following the race, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped DeMont of his gold medal [2] after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substance ephedrine contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax. The positive test following the 400-meter freestyle final also deprived him of a chance at multiple medals, as he was not permitted to swim in any other events at the 1972 Olympics, including the 1,500-meter freestyle for which he was the then-current world record-holder. Before the Olympics, DeMont had properly declared his asthma medications on his medical disclosure forms, but the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) had not cleared them with the IOC's medical committee. [1]

At the 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, DeMont became the first man to swim the 400-meter freestyle in under four minutes (3:58.18). The same year he was voted World Swimmer of the Year. [3]

In 1990 DeMont was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. [3] In 2001 the USOC admitted that it had mishandled DeMont's medical information at the 1972 Olympics and appealed to the IOC to reinstate the medal. [4] To date, the IOC has not officially changed the race results nor overturned his ban. [5]

Coaching career

DeMont was an assistant coach for the South African men's swim team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

In 2014, after being a member of the coaching staff for 24 seasons, DeMont was named the head coach of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams at the University of Arizona. [6]

See also

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The men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place September 1. This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated. Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of eight lengths of the pool.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rick DeMont". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
  2. ↑ Neil Amdur, "Of Gold and Drugs," The New York Times (September 4, 1972). Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Rick DeMont (USA)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ Dan Patrick, "DeMont redeemed after 29 years," ESPN.com (December 6, 2001). Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  5. ↑ Associated Press, "Better late than never," Sports Illustrated (January 30, 2001). Archived February 3, 2014; retrieved March 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ ArizonaWildcats.com, Swimming and Diving, Coaches, Rick DeMont. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
Records
Preceded by Men's 1,500-meter freestyle
world record-holder
August 6 – September 4, 1972		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 400-meter freestyle
world record-holder
September 9, 1973 – August 22, 1974		Succeeded by
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