Mike Burton Swimmer
Michael ("Mike") J. Burton (born July 3, 1947) is former World-Record-holding, American swimmer who won gold in the 400 m and 1500 m frees at the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1500 m at the 1972 Summer Olympics. When he was an eight grader he was hit by a furniture truck while riding a bicycle with a friend. The accident caused injuries that made him have to quit contact sports. He loved to play football and basketball, but the accident made him want to be the best swimmer in the world. Burton graduated from El Camino Fundamental High School. At the 1967 University Games swimming competition in Tokyo, he won a gold medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle, ahead of Russian Semyon Belits-Geiman. At the 1972 Olympics, Burton became the only American ever to repeat as the Olympic 1500 free champion, also recapturing the World Record in the process. Burton's repeat proved a stunning win. In the Spring of 1972 he had been diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency, and at the USA Olympic Trials had barely made the Olympic Team, qualifying 8th for the final and then finishing third to make the team (at the time, a country could enter up to 3 athletes per event in swimming). The celebration in Munich of his historic repeat; however, was overshadowed by Mark Spitz's performance at those Games and by the terrorist attack on the Olympic Village, which occurred the day after his race. Burton coached the Seahawks in Billings, Montana at the local YMCA. His daughter Loni, embarked on a her own successful swimming career. She is one of just two swimmers in NCAA history to win twelve individual titles. She was able to perform the feat in just three years as Division II swimmers are eligible to participate in four individual events versus three in Division I and III.