Jon C. Olsen (born April 25, 1969) is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Olsen was a highly successful relay swimmer for the U.S. national team in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Olsen represented the United States at two consecutive Olympic Games, and won a total number of five Olympic medals, including four golds. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, he won his first gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Joe Hudepohl, Matt Biondi and Tom Jager. He won a second gold medal for swimming the freestyle anchor leg for the first-place U.S. team in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay. With his medley relay teammates Jeff Rouse (backstroke), Nelson Diebel (breaststroke), and Pablo Morales (butterfly), he tied the world record in the event of 3:36.93. He also received a bronze medal as a member of the third-place U.S. team in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Individually, he also placed fourth in the final of the men's 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.51 seconds.
Four years later at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Olsen again won a gold medal as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay with fellow team members Josh Davis, Brad Schumacher and Gary Hall, Jr., and set a new Olympic record of 3:15.41. He received another gold for swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. He also competed in the individual men's 100-meter freestyle and placed ninth overall in the B Final of the event with a time of 49.80 seconds.
During his career Olsen was trained by former freestyle sprinter Jonty Skinner.
Was also coached by the current Laurel Swim Association head coach, Warren Holladay, who was once an assistant coach at the University of Alabama. Olsen swam collegiately for University of Alabama. His currently resides in the Florida Keys with his family where he coaches swimming. He has two daughters and a son.
Famous quotes containing the words jon and/or olsen:
“The dog is mentioned in the Bible eighteen times—the cat not even once.”
—W.E. Farbstein. Quoted in “Hundkeit,” Mondo Canine, ed. Jon Winokur, Dutton (1991)
“Women have the right to say: this is surface, this falsifies reality, this degrades.”
—Tillie Olsen (b. 1912)