Matt Cetlinski

Who is Matt Cetlinski?

Matthew J. Cetlinski is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.

Cetlinski attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida. He received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for coach Randy Reese's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association competition from 1983 to 1986. As Gator swimmer, he won the NCAA championship in the 500-yard freestyle event in 1986 and received eight All-American honors over the course of his collegiate career. Cetlinski graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in religion in 1987, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1997.

Cetlinski won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he was a member of the first-place U.S. team in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Troy Dalbey, Doug Gjertsen and Matt Biondi who swam in the final, as well as Craig Oppel and Dan Jorgensen who swam in the qualifying heats of the event. The Americans set a new world record of 7:12.51 in the event final. Individually, Cetlinski was also placed fourth in the men's 400-meter freestyle and the men's 1,500-meter freestyle.