Bob Bennett (swimmer)

Robert Earl Bennett (born May 23, 1943) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder.

Robert Bennett

Bennett at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Robert Earl Bennett
Nickname(s)	"Bob"
National team	United States
Born	(1943-05-23) May 23, 1943 Los Angeles, California
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	172 lb (78 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke
Club	Los Angeles Athletic Club
College team	University of Southern California
Medal record Representing the United States Olympic Games 1960 Rome 100 m backstroke 1964 Tokyo 200 m backstroke

Bennett attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he competed for the USC Trojans swimming and diving team from 1963 to 1965. He received All-American honors for three consecutive years, and graduated in 1965.[1]

Bennett represented the United States at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics. At the 1960 Rome games, he received a bronze medal for his third-place result in the men's 100-meter backstroke, finishing in 1:02.3 – a fraction of a second behind Australian David Theile (1:01.9) and fellow American Frank McKinney (1:02.1). He also swam for the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay, setting a new world record of 4:08.2 in the process.[2] He did not receive a medal, however, because he did not swim in the event final, and was not medal-eligible under the 1964 Olympic swimming rules.

Four years later at the 1964 Tokyo games, he won a second bronze medal in the men's 200-meter backstroke (2:13.1).[3] He again swam for the first-place U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay,[2] but was again ineligible to receive a medal.

Bennett set a new world record of 1.01.3 in the 100-meter backstroke on August 19, 1961; the record survived for twelve months until broken by American Tom Stock.