Jeff Norman ROUSE

Jeff Rouse won medley relay gold medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, adding a gold in the 100 backstroke in 1996 and a silver in that event in 1992. He had a similar record at the LC World Championships, with medley relay golds in 1991 and 1994, 100 back gold in 1991 and 100 back silver 1994. At the 1995 Pan American Games, Rouse won gold in the 100 back and the medley relay. He competed four times at the Pan Pacific Championships (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995), winning nine gold medals, four in the 100 backstroke, four in the medley relay, and in 1991 in the 200 back.

Rouse set two world records in the 100 back, the first at the 1991 Pan Pacs when he became the first backstroker to complete the distance under 54 seconds. His second world record was leading off the medley relay at the Barcelona Olympics. Prior to recognition of the 50 metre backstroke for record purposes, Rouse had the fastest recognized time for that distance, set at the Robert Burns Invitational in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1993.

Rouse swam in college at Stanford, where he won seven NCAA Championships. He was captain of his swim team at Stanford and also captained the 1996 US Olympic swim team. He was a four-time US Champion. Rouse is a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.