Richard William Roth (born September 26, 1947) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. He swam in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, where he won the gold medal for his first-place finish in the men's 400-meter individual medley, setting a new world record of 4:45.4 in the event final. Shortly before the individual medley final, Roth suffered an appendicitis, but refused an immediate operation. He insisted the surgeons delay to allow him to swim in the final, and won the gold medal as a result.[1]
![]() Dick Roth in 1964 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Richard William Roth | |||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | "Dick" | |||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1947-09-26) September 26, 1947 (age 74) Palo Alto, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Individual medley | |||||||||||||||||||
Club | Santa Clara Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||
College team | Stanford University | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Roth attended Stanford University. He was a two-time individual NCAA champion for the Stanford Cardinal swimming and diving team, winning the 200- and 400-yard individual medley.
Records | ||
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Preceded by | Men's 400-meter individual medley world record-holder (long course) July 31, 1964 – April 3, 1968 |
Succeeded by Andrei Dunayev |
Preceded by | Men's 200-meter individual medley world record-holder (long course) August 2, 1964 – July 24, 1966 |
Succeeded by |
1964 USA Olympic swimming team | ||
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Men's team |
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Women's team |
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Staff |
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Summer Universiade Champions in Men's 400 m Individual Medley | |
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Summer Universiade Champions in Men's 4×200 m Freestyle Relay | |
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NCAA Champions in Men's 200 y Individual Medley | |
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NCAA Champions in Men's 400 y Individual Medley | |
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General | |
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National libraries |
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