Ken Merten
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Kenneth Owen Merten | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Ken" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1945-05-04) May 4, 1945 (age 79) Akron, Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 176 lb (80 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Breaststroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Los Angeles Athletic Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | Southern Methodist University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Kenneth Owen Merten (born May 4, 1945) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Pan American Games medalist, and former world record-holder.
Merten won three medals in his breaststroke specialty at the Pan American Games.[1] At the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo, Brazil, he won a silver medal for his runner-up finish in the 200-meter breaststroke.[1] Four years later at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he received a pair of bronze medals for his third-place performances in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke.[1]
Merten represented the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.[2] He competed in the semifinals of the men's 100-meter breaststroke, finishing with a time of 1:11.6.[2][3] He also swam in the preliminary heats of the men's 200-meter breaststroke, clocking a time of 2:37.0, but did not advance.[2][4]
Merten was born in Akron, Ohio,[2] but grew up in Los Angeles, California.[5] He attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where he swam for the SMU Mustangs swimming and diving team in national Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition.[5] While he was an SMU swimmer, he won NCAA individual national championships in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, the first ever in the history of the SMU swim team, and set new American records in doing so.[5]
Merten helped set a new world record of 3:57.2 in the 4×100-meter medley relay as a member of the winning U.S. relay team at the 1967 World University Games on August 31, 1967.[6] The record was broken by an East German relay team a little over two months later. At the University Games, he also gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events.[5]
He is now retired after a 32-year career as a teacher, school administrator and coach.[5] He actively competes in windsurfing within his age group, and is an active participant in Swim Across America, a non-profit organization that uses Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research.[5] He lives in Dallas, Texas.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Pan American Games: Men's Swimming Medalists". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ken Merten". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Breaststroke Semi-Finals". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Breaststroke Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g Swim Across America, Olympians, Ken Merten. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ "A Roundup Of The Sports Information Of The Week". Sports Illustrated. September 11, 1967. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- v
- t
- e
- Larry Barbiere
- Brent Berk
- Greg Buckingham
- Mike Burton
- John Ferris
- Gary Hall
- Charlie Hickcox
- Jack Horsley
- Mitch Ivey
- Chet Jastremski
- Brian Job
- David Johnson
- William Johnson
- John Kinsella
- Philip Long
- Don McKenzie
- Ken Merten
- Ronnie Mills
- John Nelson
- David Perkowski
- Stephen Rerych
- Carl Robie
- Doug Russell
- Don Schollander
- Andy Strenk
- Mark Spitz
- Ross Wales
- Michael Wall
- Ken Walsh
- Zac Zorn
- Sherman Chavoor (women's head coach)
- Frank Elm (assistant)
- Don Gambril (assistant)
- George Haines (men's head coach)
- Bill Lippman, Jr. (manager)
- Olive Mucha (assistant)
- Edwin Olson (assistant)
- Kenneth Treadway (manager)