Throughout the 1980s Rowdy Gaines was the fastest swimmer on the planet. His world records confirmed his place in swimming history. The Olympic boycott of 1980 came during the peak of his career, when he set world records in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle events and he was expected to win five Olympic gold medals in Moscow. Swimming World magazine voted him World Swimmer of the Year.

After a brief retirement, the allure of competing proved too strong, and he returned to the pool, where the consummate technician resumed his attack on the record books. World records continued to fall on his way to the XXIII Olympiad. At the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, no swimmer won more races than he did with his three gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle, the 4 x 100-meter freestyle and medley relays.

In 1991, the swimming world was shocked to hear that Rowdy had contracted Guillan-Barre Syndrome, an autoimmune virus that attacks the nervous system. Paralyzed for more than two weeks, Rowdy fought back, overcame the disease, and one year later went to the World Masters Championships and won the glamorous 50- and 100-meter freestyle events.

He has worked with CBS, TNT, and ESPN as a regular announcer for swimming events, and will call his third Olympic telecast for NBC at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.

Awaken the Olympian Within
Stories from America's Greatest Olympic Motivators
Paperback $19.95
© 1999, Griffin Publishing; ISBN: 1882180984
288 pages

For information on purchasing the book from bookstores or here online, please go to the Web page for Awaken the Olympian Within (Griffin Publishing) or Awaken the Olympian Within (Amazon).