| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Adolph Blick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "Dick" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 29, 1940 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Shirley L. Youngberg | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle mid-range, and distance | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | North Central Swim Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | North Central College 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Hal Henning (North Central College) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Richard Adolph Blick (born July 29, 1940) is an American former competition swimmer, 1960 Olympic champion in the 4x200-meter freeestyle relay, and former world record-holder. He competed for North Central College under International Hall of Fame Coach Dr. Hal Henning Jr. After his swimming career ended in 1962, he earned a Masters in Physical Education from Indiana University, and had a long career in High School education as a coach, math teacher, and principal in California.[1][2]
Born to German immigrants Helen and Frank Blick in Los Angeles, California on July 29, 1940,[3] Blick attended Bakersfield High School, where he played football, basketball, and helped lead the Bakersfield High swim team to two league titles. Along with a few other team members, he got an edge on the competition in his Senior year by finding a motel pool to train at in the winter, as the Bakersfield area had no heated outdoor pools.[4][2] At the 1961 National Outdoor swimming championships in Los Angeles, he went under the standing record in the 200 freestyle, swimming a 2:01.5, though it placed him in third behind University of Southern California swimmer and two-time Olympian Murray Rose who set the new record. Rose would swim for the Australian 4x200 meter relay team in 1960 and earn the bronze medal, competing against Blick's American team in the event.[5]
In international swimming competition, Blick was a member of the U.S. Pan American team from 1959-1961. Prior to his Olympic gold medal, Blick competed in the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, helping the US win gold in the 4x200 free relay.[6][2] Yale swim coach Bob Kiphuth declared Blick at 19, "the finest 200-meter swimmer ever born in the United States", and considered him a "certain member of the 1960 Olympic team".[7]
- ^ "International Swimming Hall of Fame, Dr. Harold Henning". ishof.org.
- ^ a b c "Richard Blick First Swimmer in Elias Hall", The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California, 27 January 1977, pg. 39
- ^ "4 Couples Tell Wedding Plans", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, 11 March 1962, pg. 294
- ^ "Omaha Magazine online, "From Oceanside to Riverside", November/December 2019". www.omahamagazine.com.
- ^ Kahn, Alex, "4 World Swim Marks Fall", The Fresno Bee, Fresno, California, 20 August 1961, pg. 55
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Olympediawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Lancaster, Dale, Rounsavelle Mate Biggest Swimmer", The Daily Breeze, Torrence, California, 30 August 1959, pg. 19