Michael Stamm
Encyclopedia
Michael Eugene Stamm (born August 6, 1952) is a former backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...

 swimmer from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, who won the gold medal with the men's 4x100m medley relay team at the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

. At the same tournament, the twenty-year old also collected two individual silver medals, in the 100m and in the 200m backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...

.

At that time, Stamm was the second best backstroker in the world, behind East German Roland Matthes
Roland Matthes
Roland Matthes is a German Olympic backstroke swimmer.-Swimming career:Roland Matthes is the most successful backstroke swimmer of all times. In a period of seven years he won all backstroke competitions he entered...

. Stamm managed to break Matthes'
Roland Matthes
Roland Matthes is a German Olympic backstroke swimmer.-Swimming career:Roland Matthes is the most successful backstroke swimmer of all times. In a period of seven years he won all backstroke competitions he entered...

 world 200m backstroke record only once, in 1970, but Matthes recaptured it three weeks later.

Mike Stamm was coached by James Counsilman
James Counsilman
James Edward "Doc" Counsilman was an Olympic and hall-of-fame swimming coach from the United States. He is perhaps best known for being the head swimming coach Indiana University from 1957-1990...

 at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

.
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