 Yorzyk in 1956 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Albert Yorzyk Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "Bill" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1933-05-29)May 29, 1933 Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | September 2, 2020(2020-09-02) (aged 87) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 163 lb (74 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Butterfly,freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | New Haven Swim Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Springfield College | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Charles Silvia (Springfield College) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William Albert "Bill" Yorzyk Jr. (May 29, 1933 – September 2, 2020) was an American competitionswimmer, Olympic champion, and one-time world record-holder.[1]
As a 16-year-old entering Freshman atSpringfield College, Massachusetts, Yorzyk was so unfamiliar with swimming that when the college assessed his ability in the sport, he was declared a "water risk". Failing to make the football team, but wanting to pursue a sport, Yorzyk spent a lot of time in the pool trying to improve his swimming skills in hope of acquiring survival skills and possibly making the team.[2] While practicing swimming at Springfield's modest 20-yard McCurdy Natatorium, Yorzyk caught the eye of Springfield's Hall of Fame CoachCharles Silvia, who saw potential in Yorzyk, who showed great grit and determination, despite being a beginner. Yorzyk recalled "I lived at the pool, swam between classes, and became totally waterlogged".[2]
Later in hisfreshman year, Yorzyk won the Freshman Numerals competition at Springfield, and by the end of hissophomore year, he hadNCAA All-America status in the 1500 yard and 440 yardfreestyle events. In his senior year, Yorzyk achieved All-America status in the 1500 yard and 440 yard freestyle events again, and in the 200 yardbreaststroke event using the butterfly-breaststroke technique.[2] After the 1954NCAA Championships, Yorzyk andSilvia traveled to the 1954 NationalAAU Indoor Swimming Championships inYale, where they witnessed thebutterfly stroke for the first time, swum byBuddy Baarcke. Yorzyk recalled "As soon as I saw [Baarcke's] swim I knew I could swim that stroke", "We came home from Yale and started work on thefly. It came easily for me, and we were off and away. 'Red' had me swim in every water carnival he could find, and I ended up with a total of 23 American records at all distances.".[2] Yorzyk was also the first to use the every other stroke breathing style exclusively.[2] At the1955 Pan-American Games, Yorzyk won a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly.[3]
Yorzyk represented theUnited States at the1956 Summer Olympics inMelbourne, Australia.[4] He was the first swimmer to win the gold medal in the new200-meter butterfly event, finishing with a time of 2:19.3 in the final. At the Olympics, he was coached by his Springfield College Coach,Charles Silvia, who had been selected as the U.S. Olympic Swim Coach for the games at Melbourne.[4][5][6]
Yorzyk continued to swim competitively while he attended medical school at theUniversity of Toronto, where he qualified as ananesthesiologist. He then served as a physician in theUnited States Air Force Medical Corps and was commissioned a captain. He won the U.S.AAU indoor championship in the 220-yard butterfly in 1958, and was awarded theuniversity's Bickle Prize as its outstanding student-athlete in 1958 and 1959.[7]
Yorzyk returned to theOlympic Games in 1964 as associate physician to the US delegation.[6]
He was inducted into theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1971.[7]
William Yorzyk died on 2 September 2020, aged 87.[8]
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