George Kojac
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | George Harold Kojac | ||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 2, 1910 New York, New York | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | May 28, 1996 (aged 86) Fairfax, Virginia | ||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke, freestyle | ||||||||||||||||
| Club | Boys' Club of New York | ||||||||||||||||
| College team | Rutgers University | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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George Harold Kojac (March 2, 1910 – May 28, 1996) was an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.
Kojac represented the United States at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.[1] As a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, he received a gold medal.[1] Kojac and teammates Austin Clapp, Walter Laufer and Johnny Weissmuller set a new world record of 9:36.2 in the event final.[1][2] Individually, he won another gold medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke with a second world record time of 1:08.2.[1][3] He also finished fourth in the men's 100-meter freestyle in 1:00.8.[1][4]
Kojac was born to Ukrainian immigrants. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, and learned to swim in the East River in New York. In 1931 he graduated from the Rutgers University and missed the 1932 Olympics because of his studies at Columbia Medical School. During his swimming career Kojac set 23 world records. In 1968 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[1][5]
See also[]
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of Rutgers University people
- World record progression 100 metres backstroke
- World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, George Kojac Archived November 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, United States Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games Archived February 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games, Men's 100 metres Backstroke Final Archived November 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games, Men's 100 metres Freestyle Final Archived November 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, George Kojac (USA). Retrieved August 24, 2015.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Kojac. |
- George Kojac – Olympic results from databaseOlympics.com
| Men's team |
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| Women's team |
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 Olympic champions in men's 100 m backstroke | |
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| 100 yards |
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| 100 metres |
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- 1910 births
- 1996 deaths
- American male backstroke swimmers
- American male freestyle swimmers
- Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
- World record setters in swimming
- Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
- American people of Ukrainian descent
- Sportspeople from New York City
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's swimmers
- Swimmers at the 1928 Summer Olympics