Lance Melvin LARSON

In the most controversial Olympic swim race ever, Lance Larson received a silver medal for his gold medal efforts. Swimming in the 100m free against Australia’s John Devitt, Larson and Devitt touched almost simultaneously. The six finish judges were split in their opinion, but all three watches had Larson timed faster (55.1, 55.1, 55.0 vs. 55.2 for Devitt on all three). The back-up electric timer also had Larson timed faster, but the president of the International Swimming Federation gave the nod to Devitt, even though the rules did not give him a vote in the matter. Protests were made ad nauseam, but to no avail. Larson did manage to strike gold in the relay, however. Lance Larson, who attended Southern Cal, was a superb all-round swimmer and was the first man to break one minute for the 100m butterfly. He won AAU titles in the freestyle, fly and IM events, and set five world and 12 U.S. records. Larson became a successful dentist in California and a prolific record breaker in master’s swimming competition.