First Olympic Gold Medalist

David Edgar, gold medalist in the 1972 Olympics in the 400-meter freestyle relay, was UT’s first Olympic gold medalist and one of the three first UT students to participate in the Olympics (although others, such as Harry Anderson in 1935, had participated in Olympics preliminaries). The two other UT athletes participating were sophomore Douglas Charles Brown, 3,000-meter steeplechase (the first UT athlete to qualify for Olympic competition in 1972); and Trevor Jones, who represented his native Trinidad in the 200- and 1,600-meter relay. Edgar won gold as a member of the 400-meter freestyle swimming relay, joining an American team that starred Mark Spitz, who garnered seven gold medals. The first UT athlete to win a gold medal in individual competition was Matt Vogel, who won two gold medals—an individual gold in the 100-meter butterfly and a team gold in the 400-meter medley relay in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal.

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The following information is provided for citations.

  • Title First Olympic Gold Medalist
  • Author
  • Keywords First Olympic Gold Medalist
  • Website Name Volopedia
  • Publisher University of Tennessee Libraries
  • URL
  • Access Date April 24, 2024
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update October 7, 2018