Jerry Heidenreich

Jerome Alan Heidenreich (February 4, 1950 – April 18, 2002) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, where he received gold medals in the 4×100-meter medley relay, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay.[2] He received a silver medal in 100-meter freestyle, and a bronze medal in 100-meter butterfly.

Jerry Heidenreich

Heidenreich (right) and Mark Spitz at the 1972 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Jerome Alan Heidenreich
Nickname(s)	"Jerry", "The Poet"
National team	United States
Born	(1950-02-04)February 4, 1950 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.[1]
Died	April 18, 2002(2002-04-18) (aged 52) Paris, Texas, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	161 lb (73 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, freestyle
College team	Southern Methodist University
Medal record Representing the United States Olympic Games 1972 Munich 4×100 m medley 1972 Munich 4×100 m freestyle 1972 Munich 100 m freestyle 1972 Munich 100 m butterfly Pan American Games 1971 Cali 4×100 m freestyle 1971 Cali 4×200 m freestyle 1971 Cali 4×100 m medley 1971 Cali 100 m butterfly Universiade 1970 Turin 100 m butterfly

He set six world records during his swimming career, all as a relay team member.

Heidenreich was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1992.[3]

He became a swimming coach in the 1980s. He was married three times.[4]

In July 2001, Heidenreich had a mild stroke which left him with a degree of paralysis on his left side. On April 18, 2002 he took his own life with an overdose of prescription medicine at his home in Paris, Texas.[5][4]

See also

• List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• List of Southern Methodist University people
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
• World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jerry Heidenreich". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15.
2. "1972 Olympics – München, Germany – Swimming" Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on May 1, 2008)
3. International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Jerry Heidenreich (USA). Retrieved March 18, 2015.
4. Harvey, Randy (3 September 2002) Spitz Cast Shadow Over Heidenreich . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 August 2002
5. Keller, Julia (17 May 2002) The descent of an Olympic champion. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 August 2020