Matt Cetlinski

Matthew J. Cetlinski (born October 4, 1964) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder.

Matt Cetlinski
Personal information
Full nameMatthew J. Cetlinski
Nickname(s)"Matt"
National team United States
Born (1964-10-04) October 4, 1964
Lake Worth, Florida
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight161 lb (73 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubWellington Swim Club
College teamUniversity of Florida
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul 4x200 m freestyle relay
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal – first place 1987 Brisbane 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1987 Brisbane 4x200 m freestyle
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1983 Caracas 400 m freestyle

Cetlinski was born in Lake Worth, Florida. He attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida.[1] As a junior swimmer, he trained with the Wellington Wahoos Swim Club in nearby Wellington, Florida.

Cetlinski accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for coach Randy Reese's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Southeastern Conference (SEC) competition from 1983 to 1986.[2][3] He was a member of the Gators' 1983 and 1984 NCAA men's championship teams, as well as four consecutive SEC championships teams.[2] As Gator swimmer, he won the NCAA championship in the 500-yard freestyle event in 1986 and received eight All-American honors over the course of his collegiate career.[2] Cetlinski graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in religion in 1987,[4] and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1997.[5][6]

Cetlinski won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he was a member of the first-place U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Troy Dalbey, Doug Gjertsen and Matt Biondi who swam in the final, as well as Craig Oppel and Dan Jorgensen who swam in the qualifying heats of the event. The Americans set a new world record of 7:12.51 in the event final. Individually, Cetlinski also placed fourth in the men's 400-meter freestyle (3:48.09) and the men's 1,500-meter freestyle (15:06.42).

Cetlinski now works as an acupuncturist in Gainesville, Florida.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Cetlinski Nominated for Amateur Award," The Palm Beach Post, p. D7 (January 12, 1984). Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  2. Florida Swimming & Diving 2014–15 Media Supplement Archived 2015-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 76, 78, 79, 83, 87, 90, 94, 96, 97, 100 (2014). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  3. Mike Bianchi, "UF still harvesting bumper crop of 1983," The Gainesville Sun, p. 1D (March 27, 1985). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  4. University of Florida Alumni Directory, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2000).
  5. F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  6. "Eight Join UF Hall of Fame," The Gainesville Sun, p. 2C (April 4, 1997). Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  7. Sharon Robb, "Swimming & Diving: Bolles continues state domination," The Gainesville Sun, p. 13C (November 5, 2006). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  • Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Matt Cetlinski". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
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