John Nelson

Who is John Nelson?

John Maurer Nelson is an American former swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.

Nelson was born in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Pompano Beach High School in Pompano Beach, Florida. He enrolled in Yale University, where he swam for coach Phil Moriarty's Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving team, which included other Olympic-caliber swimmers such as Don Schollander.

At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Nelson received a silver medal for his second-place finish in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle. Four years later, he competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he received a gold medal in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay beside his teammates Stephen Rerych, Mark Spitz and Schollander, and individually, he received the bronze medal for his third-place finish in the men's 200-meter freestyle.

Nelson improved the world record on the 400-meter freestyle on August 18, 1966, only to be beaten by Schollander, his American teammate, on the same day.