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In 1944, when Ford was in the prime of his swimming career, the 1944 Summer
Olympics were cancelled because of World War II. That year he won national college titles in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and the 150-yard backstroke. He came out of retirement after the war and returned to New Haven to
442:
At the US Olympic trials of the 1948 4x200-meter freestyle relay, several swimmers who had already qualified in other events slowed down in their heats or swam fast in the prelims and scratched themselves for the final to allow more swimmers to qualify for the US Olympic Team.
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After his graduation from Yale, Ford went on to become a mechanical engineer. Ford designed and managed the construction of oil refineries, chemical, ore, and food-processing plants as well as petroleum and chemical storage facilities in the United States and abroad.
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in less than 50 seconds, swimming's equivalent of running a sub-four-minute mile in track. Ford became known as the "human fish," an unofficial title he took over from
Weissmuller. This performance was unequaled for eight years. During his senior year at
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train with
Kiphuth. He had lost as much as 25 pounds of muscle and hadn't been in a pool for three years. After only six months of training, and quitting smoking during that time, he made the U.S. Olympic Team and won a silver medal at the
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as an "Honor
Swimmer" in 1966. At the ceremonies, when Ford was introduced, someone in the audience booed loudly. The crowd broke into laughter when they realized it was
363:(December 7, 1923 – November 3, 2008) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in two events. Ford won a silver medal at the
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in 2:14.2, Edwin
Gilbert in 2:15.4, Robert Gibe in 2:15.6, and William Dudley in 2:15.9, were used in the Olympic prelims. The next three swimmers-
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During his prep and university swimming careers, Ford held numerous national and world records. While at Yale, he trained under swimming coach
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who came in 2:16.3, Alan Ford in 2;16.4 and George
Hoogerhyde in 2:17.4 were not used in the 4x200 freestyle relay.
414:'s 17-year-old world record in the 100-yard freestyle. In 1944, Ford became the first person to swim 100 yards
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did hold a time trial shortly after the actual trials with eleven of the swimmers. This time trial had
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in London, and was the first person to swim the 100-yard freestyle in under 50 seconds.
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with a
Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1945. He served as an
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Alan Ford (USA) – Honor
Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame
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in 2:12.4. This quartet was used for the
Olympic final. The next four-
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on
November 3, 2008, in Sarasota, Florida; he was 84 years old.
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in London in the 100 meter freestyle losing to his teammate
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Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming
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His swimming talents can still be seen in the 1940s film,
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Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
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Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni
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World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
387:. Ford attended U.S schools in the Panama Canal Zone,
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724:Record Breakers . . . ISHOF Speaks With Alan Ford
646:Alan Ford, Top Freestyler in 1940s, Is Dead at 84
769:Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;
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652:(November 16, 2008). Retrieved March 17, 2015.
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553:World record progression 100 metres freestyle
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1094:United States Navy personnel of World War II
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737:(April 4, 2007). Retrieved March 17, 2015.
543:List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
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403:during the final months of World War II.
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576:New York Times 6 September 1943 Page 14
454:as first overall with a time of 2:11.0,
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1084:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
7:
1064:Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics
624:New York Times 26 March 1944 Page S1
615:New York Times 25 March 1944 Page 20
585:New York Times 6 August 1943 Page 14
698:International Swimming Hall of Fame
670:New York Times 28 July 1948 Page 29
661:New York Times 25 July 1948 Page S3
603:New York Times 8 April 1945 Page 49
594:New York Times 3 April 1943 Page 19
483:International Swimming Hall of Fame
14:
425:Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving
108:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
1054:World record setters in swimming
1044:American male freestyle swimmers
779:Olympics at Sports-Reference.com
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1039:20th-century American engineers
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548:List of Yale University people
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679:Page 128 1948 US Olympic Book
1079:Yale Bulldogs men's swimmers
16:American swimmer (1923–2008)
1069:United States Navy officers
481:Ford was inducted into the
252:1943 Outdoor Championships
235:1943 Outdoor Championships
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269:1943 Indoor Championships
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221:Amateur Athletic Union
1049:Deaths from emphysema
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754:on November 10, 2007.
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783:Sports Reference LLC
433:1948 Summer Olympics
408:Robert J. H. Kiphuth
365:1948 Summer Olympics
27:Personal information
389:Mercersburg Academy
344:1944 Championships
327:1944 Championships
310:1944 Championships
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799:2015-04-02 at the
729:2008-05-09 at the
650:The New York Times
487:Johnny Weissmuller
446:Ultimately, coach
412:Johnny Weissmuller
331:150 yd Backstroke
40:National team
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690:"Alan Ford (USA)"
385:Midland, Michigan
381:Sarasota, Florida
377:Panama Canal Zone
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348:100 yd Freestyle
290:100 yd Freestyle
273:220 yd Freestyle
256:220 yd Freestyle
239:110 yd Freestyle
186:the United States
98:Sarasota, Florida
72:Panama Canal Zone
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983:Clara LaMore
951:Women's Team
886:Jimmy McLane
881:Bill Heusner
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851:Keith Carter
787:the original
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771:Mallon, Bill
752:the original
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706:. Retrieved
702:the original
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375:Born in the
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167:Medal record
150:College team
92:(2008-11-03)
1034:2008 deaths
1029:1923 births
998:Penny Pence
926:Joe Verdeur
921:Allen Stack
775:"Alan Ford"
472:Joe Verdeur
208:1948 London
1023:Categories
988:Nancy Lees
963:Ann Curtis
931:Wally Wolf
911:Bill Smith
856:Bob Cowell
844:Men's Team
564:References
460:Wally Wolf
456:Bill Smith
64:1923-12-07
901:Wally Ris
866:Alan Ford
708:March 17,
694:ISHOF.org
501:emphysema
464:Wally Ris
437:Wally Ris
416:freestyle
401:U.S. Navy
371:Biography
144:Freestyle
21:Alan Ford
916:Bob Sohl
871:Bob Gibe
797:Archived
727:Archived
507:See also
130:Swimming
748:"watch"
399:in the
140:Strokes
427:team.
397:ensign
113:Weight
105:Height
76:Panama
49:
383:from
126:Sport
121:Sport
710:2015
458:and
296:NCAA
87:Died
80:U.S.
58:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.