Jerry Holan

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Jerry Holan
Personal information
Full nameGerald Ray Holan
Nickname(s)"Jerry"
National team United States
Born (1931-05-27) May 27, 1931 (age 90)
Westchester, Illinois, U.S.
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
College teamOhio State University
Medal record
Amateur Athletic Union
Gold medal – first place 1953 Indoor Championships 220 yd breaststroke[1]
Gold medal – first place 1952 Outdoor Championships 110 yd breaststroke[2]
Silver medal – second place 1952 Outdoor Championships 220 yd breaststroke[2]
Bronze medal – third place 1951 Indoor Championships 220 yd Breaststroke
Bronze medal – third place 1951 Outdoor Championships 100 m Breaststroke
NCAA
Gold medal – first place 1953 Championships 200 yd breaststroke
Silver medal – second place 1952 Championships 200 yd breaststroke
Silver medal – second place 1951 Championships 220 yd breaststroke[3]
Gold medal – first place 1953 Championships 3x100 yd Medley Relay
Gold medal – first place 1951 Championships 3x100 yd Medley Relay
Big Ten
Gold medal – first place 1953 Championships 200 yd Breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 1953 Championships 3X100 yd Medley Relay
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Championships 200 yd Breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 1952 Championships 3X100 yd Medley Relay
Gold medal – first place 1951 Championships 3X100 yd Medley Relay

Gerald Ray Holan (born May 27, 1931) is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.[4]

Biography[]

Holan was 1949 National High School Champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming for Proviso Township High School in Maywood, Illinois, and won the National YMCA 200-yard breaststroke championship that year. He started college at Iowa State but dropped out within two weeks and later attended The Ohio State University. Holan was an All-American for the Buckeyes in 1951, 1952, and 1953, helping them win the Big 10 300 yard medley relay all three years. In 1953 he won the Big 10 200 yd breaststroke and was NCAA Champion in the 200 yard butterfly, before that stroke used a dolphin kick. He also helped Ohio State win NCAA titles in the medley relay in 1951 and 1953.

He swan in the 1952 United States Olympic swim trials in the 200 meter breaststroke, finishing second behind Bowen Stassforth.[5] At Helsinki, Holan set an Olympic record of 2:36.8 in his initial heat, beating Joe Verdeur's record of 2:39.3. He failed to qualify in the semifinals for the Olympic final, however, by 0.2 seconds. Subsequently, he finished first at the 1952 Outdoor AAU National Championships in the 110 yard breaststroke and second in the 220 yard breaststroke competing with Bowen Stassforth for the top spot in both events. Holan's second place clocking of 2:35 flat at the nationals (a distance 3 feet 9 inches longer than the Olympic final) in the 220 yd breaststroke (long course) would have put him in medal contention earlier in Helsinki.[2]

After graduating from Ohio State with a business degree, Holan began work for Bell Telephone. He left for a tour of duty in the Korean War, as an artillery officer with the United States Army, but returned after the war to work for Bell for his entire business career. Holan was inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame.

Notes[]

Holan's time of 2:35 flat in the 220 yard breaststroke (long course) at the 1952 AAU Outdoor Nationals correlates to a time of 2:34[6] or faster in the 200 meter breaststroke (long course). This performance was the second fastest (pre bifurcation of the breaststroke in 1953) all-time for the 220 yard breaststroke (long course) and would have been the second fastest 200 meter breaststroke (long course) in history[6] as well if it had been dual timed. This is evidenced by the dual distance timed race in the 1950 National AAU Indoor Championships in the 220 yard breaststroke (short course) between Joe Verdeur and Robert Brawner. During the race, Verdeur broke the world record for 200 meters with a time of 2:28.3 (short course). However, Brawner won the race with a time of 2:29.3 for the full 220 yards beating Verdeur who was second in 2:29.4.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ New York Times. April 5, 1953. Page S1.
  2. ^ a b c Friel, Ed (August 28, 1952). "Stassforth's Final Sprint Beats Holan in 220-Yard Breaststroke". Newark News.
  3. ^ New York Times. March 31, 1951. Page 22.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jerry Holan". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  5. ^ 1952 US Olympic Book.
  6. ^ a b New York Times. August 28, 1952. Page 30.
  7. ^ New York Times. April 1, 1950. Page 23.

See also[]

External links[]

Records
Preceded by Men's 200 m breaststroke
Olympic record-holder
July 28, 1952 – August 1, 1952 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by Men's 220 yard breaststroke
American record-holder (long course)
August 27, 1952 		Succeeded by
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