View source for Zac Zorn

{{Short description|American swimmer (born 1947)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox swimmer
| name           = Zachary Zorn
| image          = Zac Zorn 1967.jpg
| image_size     = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| alt            =
| caption        = Zorn at the 1967 Pan American Games
| full_name      = Zachary Zorn
| nicknames      = "Zac"
| national_team  = United States
| strokes        = [[Freestyle swimming|Freestyle]]
| club           = Phillips 66, Long Beach<br>Coach [[Don Gambril]]
| collegeteam    = [[UCLA Bruins]]
| coach          = [[Robert Horn (water polo)|Bob Horn]]<br>(UCLA)
| birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1947|3|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Dayton, Ohio]]
| death_date     =
| death_place    =
| height         = {{convert|6|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
| weight         = {{convert|190|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
[[File:Olympic rings.svg|center|80px]]
{{MedalGold | [[1968 Summer Olympics|1968 Mexico City]] | [[Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics - Men's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay|4×100 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1967 Pan American Games|1967 Winnipeg]] | [[Swimming at the 1967 Pan American Games|100 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Universiade]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1967 Summer Universiade|1967 Tokyo]] | [[Swimming at the 1967 Summer Universiade|4×100 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1967 Summer Universiade|1967 Tokyo]] | [[Swimming at the 1967 Summer Universiade|100 m freestyle]]}}
}}
'''Zachary Zorn''' (born March 10, 1947) is an American former competition [[swimming (sport)|swimmer]] for the University of California Los Angeles and a 1968 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.<ref name=Olympedia/>  An exceptional freestyle sprinter, he was a member of three world record setting 4x100-meter freestyle relay teams.<ref name=Olympics.com/>
== Buena Park High School ==
Zorn was born March 10, 1947 in Dayton, Ohio.  He swam for California's [[Buena Park High School]], where as a Senior at the trials of the California Interscholastic Federation Swimming and Diving Finals in May 1965, he broke the National Interscholastic records for both the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.5 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.3 seconds, .4 seconds faster than the standing record.<ref>"Fullerton Leads Assault on Swim Records", ''The Register'', Santa, Anna, California, 8 May 1965, pg. 14</ref>  As a high performing swimmer for Buena Park, Zorn signed to swim for the University of California Los Angeles in May 1965.<ref>"U.S.C. Draws Four L.B. Prep Grids", ''Independent'', Long Beach, California, 9 May 1965, pg. 25</ref>
== Swimming for UCLA ==
In 1968, he won the 100-meter freestyle NCAA title competing for [[University of California, Los Angeles]] under exceptional Coach [[Robert Horn (water polo)|Bob Horn]].<ref name=Olympedia/>  At the Santa Clara Invitational, an International Meet in July 1968, he won the 100-meter event in 53.8, beating out Yale swimmer and 1964 Gold medalist Don Schollander.<ref name=SC>"Santa Clara Swim Meet Produces Six World Marks", ''Santa Maria Times'', Santa Maria, California, 8 July 1968, pg.12</ref><ref name=SW>{{cite web|url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/bob-horn-u-s-olympic-and-ucla-mens-swimming-and-water-polo-coach-passes-away-at-87/|title=Swimming World, Randazzo, Michael, Bob Horn, U.S. Olympic and UCLA Swimming and Water Polo Coach Passes Away at 87|publisher=Swimming World|access-date=17 July 2024}}</ref>
==International competition==
===1968 Olympic gold medal===
He trained for the Olympics with the Phillips 66 team in Long Beach California under Hall of Fame Coach [[Don Gambril]], who would also coach him at the 1968 Olympics, with Olympic Head Coach [[George Haines]].<ref>Seubold, Mary, "Swimmers Take Pride in Country", ''Progress Bulletin'', Pomona, California, 5 September 1968, pg. 34</ref>   In one of his most publicized swims, Zorn set a [[World record progression 100 metres freestyle|world record in the 100 m freestyle]] of 52.6 at the 1968 Olympic Trials in Los Angeles.<ref name=Olympedia/><ref>Gambril coached Philips 66 Long Beach in 1968 in "Top Swimmers Train at Rosemead Park", ''The Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 18 August 1968, pg. 235</ref><ref>Zorn trained with Philips 66 for the Olympics in "32 Named to the Olympic Swim Team", ''The Press Tribune'', Roseville, California, 5 September 1968, pg. 6</ref>
At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, he earned a gold medal in the [[Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay|4×100-meter freestyle relay]].  Though he progressed well in the preliminary rounds of the 100-meter freestyle, due to poor pacing placed eighth in the [[Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle|individual 100-meter freestyle]] finals.  As he had previously set the individual world record in the 100-meter event at the Olympic trials, his last place finish was a disappointment and Australian teenager Michael Wenden's gold medal in the even was considered unexpected.  Several American athletes performed poorly in Mexico City due to the high altitude.<ref name=Olympics.com>{{cite web|url=https://olympics.com/en/athletes/zachary-zorn|title=Olympics.com, Zachory Zorn, Biography|access-date=17 July 2024}}</ref><ref name=sroprofile>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/zo/zac-zorn-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418105617/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/zo/zac-zorn-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Zac Zorn |access-date=September 19, 2012}}</ref><ref name=Olympedia>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51631|title=Olympedia Bio, Zac Zorn|access-date=16 July 2024}}</ref>
Zorn won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle event swimming at the [[1967 Pan American Games]] in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where the United States team heavily dominated the medal count.  Winnipeg's [[Pan Am Pool]], now a public facility, was built specifically for the 1967 Pan Am Games.<ref name=Olympedia/>
===4 x 100m Freestyle relay world records===
Besides swimming with the World record breaking 4x100-meter freestyle relay team at the Olympic trials with [[Steve Rerych]], [[Ken Walsh]], and [[Don Schollander]], he was a member of two other World record breaking 4x100 meter teams.     His first was at the 1967 Summer Universiade where he swam with [[Ken Walsh]], Don Havens and Greg Charlton.  His gold medal 4x100 meter freestyle relay team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics also broke a world record.<ref name=Olympics.com/>
===Honors===
In 1965, he was made the Buena Park High School athlete of the year for 1964-65.<ref>"Four County Swimmers in AAU Meet", ''The Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 12 August 1965, pg. 128</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)]]
* [[List of University of California, Los Angeles people]]
* [[World record progression 100 metres freestyle]]
* [[World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Footer USA Swimming 1968 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Freestyle Relay Men}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zorn, Zachary}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male freestyle swimmers]]
[[Category:World record setters in swimming]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's swimmers]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Summer World University Games medalists in swimming]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]