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Zachary Zorn
	Zorn at the 1967 Pan American Games
Personal information
Full name	Zachary Zorn
Nickname	"Zac"
National team	United States
Born	March 10, 1947 (age 77); Dayton, Ohio
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Phillips 66, Long Beach; Coach Don Gambril
College team	UCLA Bruins
Coach	Bob Horn; (UCLA)
Medal record
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Pan American Games
Universiade

Zachary Zorn (born March 10, 1947) is an American former competition swimmer for the University of California Los Angeles and a 1968 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.^[1] An exceptional freestyle sprinter, he was a member of three world record setting 4x100-meter freestyle relay teams.^[2]

Buena Park High School

Zorn was born March 10, 1947 in Dayton, Ohio. He swam for California's Buena Park High School, where as a Senior at the trials of the California Interscholastic Federation Swimming and Diving Finals in May 1965, he broke the National Interscholastic records for both the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.5 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.3 seconds, .4 seconds faster than the standing record.^[3] As a high performing swimmer for Buena Park, Zorn signed to swim for the University of California Los Angeles in May 1965.^[4]

Swimming for UCLA

In 1968, he won the 100-meter freestyle NCAA title competing for University of California, Los Angeles under exceptional Coach Bob Horn.^[1] At the Santa Clara Invitational, an International Meet in July 1968, he won the 100-meter event in 53.8, beating out Yale swimmer and 1964 Gold medalist Don Schollander.^[5]^[6]

International competition

1968 Olympic gold medal

He trained for the Olympics with the Phillips 66 team in Long Beach California under Hall of Fame Coach Don Gambril, who would also coach him at the 1968 Olympics, with Olympic Head Coach George Haines.^[7] In one of his most publicized swims, Zorn set a world record in the 100 m freestyle of 52.6 at the 1968 Olympic Trials in Los Angeles.^[1]^[8]^[9]

At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, he earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Though he progressed well in the preliminary rounds of the 100-meter freestyle, due to poor pacing placed eighth in the individual 100-meter freestyle finals. As he had previously set the individual world record in the 100-meter event at the Olympic trials, his last place finish was a disappointment and Australian teenager Michael Wenden's gold medal in the even was considered unexpected. Several American athletes performed poorly in Mexico City due to the high altitude.^[2]^[10]^[1]

Zorn won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle event swimming at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where the United States team heavily dominated the medal count. Winnipeg's Pan Am Pool, now a public facility, was built specifically for the 1967 Pan Am Games.^[1]

4 x 100m Freestyle relay world records

Besides swimming with the World record breaking 4x100-meter freestyle relay team at the Olympic trials with Steve Rerych, Ken Walsh, and Don Schollander, he was a member of two other World record breaking 4x100 meter teams. His first was at the 1967 Summer Universiade where he swam with Ken Walsh, Don Havens and Greg Charlton. His gold medal 4x100 meter freestyle relay team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics also broke a world record.^[2]

Honors

In 1965, he was made the Buena Park High School athlete of the year for 1964-65.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Olympedia Bio, Zac Zorn". Retrieved July 16, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Olympics.com, Zachory Zorn, Biography". Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^ "Fullerton Leads Assault on Swim Records", The Register, Santa, Anna, California, 8 May 1965, pg. 14
^ "U.S.C. Draws Four L.B. Prep Grids", Independent, Long Beach, California, 9 May 1965, pg. 25
^ "Santa Clara Swim Meet Produces Six World Marks", Santa Maria Times, Santa Maria, California, 8 July 1968, pg.12
^ "Swimming World, Randazzo, Michael, Bob Horn, U.S. Olympic and UCLA Swimming and Water Polo Coach Passes Away at 87". Swimming World. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^ Seubold, Mary, "Swimmers Take Pride in Country", Progress Bulletin, Pomona, California, 5 September 1968, pg. 34
^ Gambril coached Philips 66 Long Beach in 1968 in "Top Swimmers Train at Rosemead Park", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 18 August 1968, pg. 235
^ Zorn trained with Philips 66 for the Olympics in "32 Named to the Olympic Swim Team", The Press Tribune, Roseville, California, 5 September 1968, pg. 6
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Zac Zorn". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
^ "Four County Swimmers in AAU Meet", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 12 August 1965, pg. 128