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Class of 1988
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Dr. Thompson Mann
It was in 1964 at the Tokyo Olympics when Thompson Mann made history. As the leadoff swimmer in the 400m Medley Relay, Mann not only lead his team to gold, but broke his own world record becoming the first man ever to swim under one minute (59.6) in 100-meter backstroke. In Tokyo, Mann shared backstroke headlines with Jed Graeff of New Jersey, both setting world and Olympic marks.
Born in Hickory, Virginia in 1943, Mann moved to Richmond at the age of 4, started swimming and subsequently swam for the Country Club of Virginia. While a junior in high school playing basketball he developed a malady of the lower back, which took him out of all sports for over a year. He attended high school at Great Bridge and went on to the University of North Carolina, where he was a two-time All American on the swim team and held three Atlantic Coast conference records.
During his swimming career, Mann held two world records in the 100-meter backstroke and the medley relay. He held 4 backstroke records plus 2 relay marks in the AAU Nationals. Then came the 1964 trip to Tokyo.
"The Olympics were so much fun,” Mann once said, “that I decided to keep swimming and prove my Olympic gold medal was not a fluke!" In 1965, he went on to win U.S. Indoor and Outdoor titles in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke. Mann set a world's best time and American record of 52.5 for the 100yd backstroke. Overall, he held 4 American records (100 yard and 100 meter backstroke) and an American relay mark.
Mann completed his internship and residency in Medicine at the University of California and practiced in San Francisco until 1982, moving to Richmond where he now practices Internal Medicine. In 1984, Thompson Mann was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
(To Sports Inductees List) |
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