Full name George Harold Kojac Club Boys' Club of New York Education Rutgers University Strokes Backstroke, freestyle Role Swimmer | Sport Swimming Name George Kojac National team United States College team Rutgers University | |
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Born March 2, 1910 ( 1910-03-02 ) New York, New York Died May 28, 1996, Fairfax, Virginia, United States Olympic medals Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke | ||
1927 Swimming Competition George Kojack Johnny Weissmuller
George Harold Kojac (March 2, 1910 – May 28, 1996) was an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.
Kojac represented the United States at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. As a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, he received a gold medal. Kojac and teammates Austin Clapp, Walter Laufer and Johnny Weissmuller set a new world record of 9:36.2 in the event final. Individually, he won another gold medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke with a second world record time of 1:08.2. He also finished fourth in the men's 100-meter freestyle in 1:00.8.
Kojac was born to Ukrainian immigrants. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, and learned to swim in the East River in New York. In 1931 he graduated from the Rutgers University and missed the 1932 Olympics because of his studies at Columbia Medical School. During his swimming career Kojac set 23 world records. In 1968 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.