Doug Russell

Who is Doug Russell?

Douglas Albert Russell is an American former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three different events.

Russell was born in New York City, but raised in Midland, Texas. He began swimming in high school for Midland High School, swimming in the new 50-meter "Alamo" pool built by the city in 1962. It was later renamed in his honor: the "Douglas Russell Swimming Pool." He was an all-around swimmer in high school—swimming competitively in butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley events. Other school swimmers of the era remember him as a tough competitor who was hard to beat but who brought out the best in swimmers around him.

He attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where he swam for coach Don Easterling's Arlington Mavericks swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association competition. Doug Russell Park, on the southern border of the UTA campus, was later named in his honor. At the 1967 Pan American Games, he won a gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley. He also won an NCAA national championship in the 100-yard butterfly in 1968, and Amateur Athletic Union national outdoor title in the 100-meter butterfly.