Austin Clapp

Who was Austin Clapp?

Austin Rhone Clapp was an American competition swimmer and water polo player who represented the United States at the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1932 Summer Olympics.

Clapp grew up on the small island of Nauru, one of three sons of parents who served as medical personnel for the British phosphate mining operations on the island.

At the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Clapp won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay, together with Walter Laufer, George Kojac and Johnny Weissmuller. The Americans set a new world record of 9:36.2 in the relay event. Individually, he placed fifth overall in the men's 400-meter freestyle and also competed in the preliminary heats of the men's 1,500-meter freestyle.

He attended Stanford University, where he was a member of the Stanford Cardinal swimming and water polo teams in National Collegiate Athletic Association competition. As a college swimmer, Clapp won two NCAA national championships: the 1931 title in the 220-yard freestyle, and 1932 title in the 1,500-meter freestyle. After completing his undergraduate degree at Stanford, he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley's law school.