Jeffrey Float
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competitor for the  United States |
|||
| Men's swimming | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | |
| World Aquatics Championships | |||
| Gold | 1982 Guayaquil | 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | |
| Silver | 1978 Berlin | 400 m freestyle | |
Jeffrey Float (born April 10, 1960) is an American swimmer, world champion and olympic champion. He competed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he received a gold medal in 4 × 200 m freestyle relay.[1]
Float lost most of his hearing and nearly his life to viral meningitis when he was 13 months old. He was 90% deaf in his right ear and 65% in his left, and became the only legally deaf athlete from the U.S. to win an Olympic gold medal. But when he emerged from the pool after swimming the third leg for the U.S. in the relay, he heard the roar of the crowd. “It was the first time I remember hearing distinctive cheers at a meet. I’ll never forget what 17,000 screaming people sound like. It was incredible” he said. [2]
He received a silver medal in 400 m freestyle at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships in Berlin, and a gold medal in 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships in Guayaquil.
[edit] References
- ^ "1984 Olympics – Los Angeles, United States – Swimming" – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on May 6, 2008)
- ^ World Class Speakers & Entertainers - Jeff Float, Swimmer
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