Gregory Stewart Burgess (born January 11, 1972) is an American former competitionswimmer and Olympic medalist.
Burgess was born inBaltimore, Maryland.[1] He attended theBolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he swam for the Bolles high school swim team.[2] He graduated from Bolles in 1990.[2]
Burgess accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for theFlorida Gators swimming and diving team inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1991 to 1994. While in college, he set four American records: two in the 200-meter individual medley and two in the 400-meter individual medley, and was a four-time NCAA champion in the same two events in 1993 and 1994. Burgess received twelveAll-American honors as a Gator swimmer. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1994.
Burgess joined theU.S. Marine Corps in 1997, and has been promoted to the rank ofmajor.[3] In 2010, Burgess was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.[3] Burgess has served two tours of duty in Iraq,[3] and as the Chief of Mission for the U.S. military team at the international military games (CISM) for swimming in 2009 (Canada) and 2010 (Germany). He is one of a select few American Olympians to volunteer for military service.
