Jeffrey Float
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey "Jeff" James Float (born April 10, 1960 in Buffalo, New York
) is a former American
swimmer
, world record holder, world champion and Olympic champion. He qualified for the 1980 Moscow-bound Olympic Swimming Team, which was boycotted by the U.S., and four years later competed at the 1984 Olympic Games
in Los Angeles
. There he was named team captain by his peers, earned a gold medal in 4×200m freestyle
relay and finished fourth in the 200m individual freestyle event.
At 13 months of age, Float lost most of his hearing and nearly his life to viral meningitis. As the result, he is 90% deaf in his right ear and 65% in his left. Jeff became the first legally deaf athlete from the USA to win an Olympic gold medal. When he emerged from the pool after swimming the third leg for the American 4x200 relay and shattering the world record by five seconds, he heard the roar of the crowd. “It was the first time I remember distinctively hearing loud cheers at a meet. I’ll never forget what 17,000 screaming people sounds like. It was incredible!” Float said. He graduated from both Jesuit High School in Sacramento and obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in business administration from the University of Southern California
in Los Angeles.
Float garnered 10 gold medals in 10 events (unprecedented) at the 1977 World Games for the Deaf in Bucharest
; a silver medal in 400m freestyle at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships
in Berlin
; and a gold medal in the 4×200m freestyle relay at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships
in Guayaquil
.
Float is now employed by Spare Time, Inc., as the aquatics director at Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, California. There he is the head coach of the Gold River Stingrays summer recreational team and personal trainer to swimmers of all levels. Float is also co-head coach of STAS (Spare Time Aquatics Sacramento), a USS year-round swim program. In addition to coaching, Jeff is a popular motivational speaker. He and his wife Jan Ellis Float are both active and longtime participants in Swim Across America, a national nonprofit organization which Makes Waves to Fight Cancer — to date, over $25 million.
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
) is a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
swimmer
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, world record holder, world champion and Olympic champion. He qualified for the 1980 Moscow-bound Olympic Swimming Team, which was boycotted by the U.S., and four years later competed at the 1984 Olympic Games
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. There he was named team captain by his peers, earned a gold medal in 4×200m freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
relay and finished fourth in the 200m individual freestyle event.
At 13 months of age, Float lost most of his hearing and nearly his life to viral meningitis. As the result, he is 90% deaf in his right ear and 65% in his left. Jeff became the first legally deaf athlete from the USA to win an Olympic gold medal. When he emerged from the pool after swimming the third leg for the American 4x200 relay and shattering the world record by five seconds, he heard the roar of the crowd. “It was the first time I remember distinctively hearing loud cheers at a meet. I’ll never forget what 17,000 screaming people sounds like. It was incredible!” Float said. He graduated from both Jesuit High School in Sacramento and obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in business administration from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in Los Angeles.
Float garnered 10 gold medals in 10 events (unprecedented) at the 1977 World Games for the Deaf in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
; a silver medal in 400m freestyle at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships
1978 World Aquatics Championships
The 1978 World Aquatics Championships took place in West Berlin, West Germany between August 20 and August 28, 1978.-Medals table:-Diving:MenWomen-Swimming:MenWomen-Synchronised swimming:-Water polo:Men-External links:***...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
; and a gold medal in the 4×200m freestyle relay at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships
1982 World Aquatics Championships
The 1982 World Aquatics Championships took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador between July 29 and August 8, 1982 with 848 participating athletes.- Medals table :-Diving:MenWomen-Swimming:MenWomen-Synchronised swimming:-Water polo:Men...
in Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
.
Float is now employed by Spare Time, Inc., as the aquatics director at Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, California. There he is the head coach of the Gold River Stingrays summer recreational team and personal trainer to swimmers of all levels. Float is also co-head coach of STAS (Spare Time Aquatics Sacramento), a USS year-round swim program. In addition to coaching, Jeff is a popular motivational speaker. He and his wife Jan Ellis Float are both active and longtime participants in Swim Across America, a national nonprofit organization which Makes Waves to Fight Cancer — to date, over $25 million.
External links
- Profile
- Jeff Float leads the Gold River Stingrays Team Cheer
- Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 1
- Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 2
- Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 3
- Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 4
- Jeff Float on the cover of Sports Illustrated