The 100 Greatest Swimmers in History by Lohn John;

Author:Lohn, John; [Lohn, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Unlimited Model
Published: 2018-04-19T00:00:00+00:00

49

Mike Burton

Country: United States

Birth date: July 3, 1947

Event: Distance freestyle

Olympic medals: Three

For Mike Burton, a near tragedy wound up being one of the best circumstances in his life. Involved in a bicycle accident with a truck as a young teenager, Burton suffered injuries that forced him away from sports involving physical contact. Consequently, he developed an affinity for the pool and became one of the world’s greatest distance freestylers.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Burton was a standout in the 400 freestyle and 1500 freestyle. He burst onto the international scene in 1967 behind strong showings at the Pan American Games and World University Games, where he combined for six medals, including a pair of victories in the 1500 freestyle, an event that turned into his specialty.

The momentum that Burton generated in 1967 carried over to the next year’s Olympic Games in Mexico City. Burton breezed by his competition in the distance freestyles, winning the 400 freestyle by nearly three seconds and making the 1500 freestyle seem like a solo swim. So dominant was Burton over the 30-lap event that he prevailed by almost 20 seconds. The combination of his success and appreciation for the Olympic movement has not been forgotten.

“Behind every athlete in the Olympic Games, there’s a story about how they got there and what they went through to get there,” Burton said. “To me, that’s more impressive than anything else. If you weren’t ready to compete after walking into the stadium [for the Opening Ceremony], you were never going to be ready. The adrenaline high you got from doing that lasted the entire Games. It was a very inspiring moment in my life, and I wasn’t going to miss that for anything.”

Burton stayed with the sport after Mexico City, his sights set on defending his championship in the 1500 freestyle. However, it proved to be a much more difficult task than anticipated. At the Olympic Trials, Burton narrowly qualified for the final and then earned the last invitation to the 1972 Games in Munich. A medal, much less a repeat, seemed out of the question.

Burton, though, rallied at his second Olympiad. Although he didn’t enjoy the same margin of victory as four years earlier, he won by almost six seconds over Australian Graham Windeatt and set a world record of 15:52.58. It was the fifth and final world record of his career, and the victory was the most satisfying of his swimming days.

“It was probably the most physically exhausting and emotionally exhausting race of my career,” Burton said. “I went out and took an early lead but lost the lead and with 300 meters got it back and won the race. As soon as I hit the wall, I turned and looked at the scoreboard and saw a world record. When I saw my coach, I just broke down crying. I was so happy and so exhausted. It was a final great swim. It’s a special medal for me.”

Burton also set two world records in the

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