Thomas Edwin Bruce (April 17, 1952 – April 9, 2020) was an American competitive swimmer, who competed for UCLA, a 1972 Munich Olympic champion, swimming the breaststroke leg in the 4x100-meter medley relay, and a former world record-holder.
Bruce was born April 17, 1952, in Red Bluff, California, where he grew up. A graduate of Marian A. Peterson High School in Sunnyvale, California, he trained and competed with the Santa Clara Swim Club under Hall of Fame Coach George Haines. From his Sophomore through his Senior year at Peterson High, he received All-American honors. Representing the Santa Clara Club, at a meet sponsored by the Sacramento Bee in June, 1968, Bruce won the 100-yard breaststroke event in an age-group record time of 1:02.8."Bee-KFBK-KOVR Swim Meet Results", The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, June 3, 1968, pg 22 At the Los Angeles Invitational in early August, 1970, at 16, Bruce won the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:08.60."Swimming LA Invitational", Peninsula Times Tribune, Pao Alto, California, August 3, 1970, pg. 32
UCLA He attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), from around 1970-1974, where he swam for the UCLA Bruins swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and PAC-8 Conference competition under Head Coach Robert "Bob" Horn. In his mid-collegiate career, Bruce had problems with his knees, a common injury among breaststrokers, which were treated by the UCLA trainer "Ducky Drake". At a high point in his collegiate career, in 1972, he won the 100-yard breaststroke Championship in NCAA collegiate competition, defeating rival and Santa Clara Club teammate Brian Job. That year, Bruce earned a third place finish in the 100-yard breast at the American Athletic Union Championships In 1971, Bruce set a new American record in the 100-yard breaststroke in the preliminaries of the NCAA championships. As previously noted, in April 1972, Bruce set a new American record for the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 56.83, at the NCAA finals, taking first place. Job planned to take off a quarter at UCLA to train with the Santa Clara Club for the 1972 Olympics.Beubis, Seymour, "Bruin Merman Finds Theory Really Works", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, April 20, 1972, pg. 204 At the Pacific 8 Championships in his Senior year at UCLA, Bruce placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of :58.6."Sports Roundup, Swimming", The Peninsula Times Tribune, Palo Alto, California, March 3, 1973, pg. 11
1972 Munich Olympics Bruce represented the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. At Munich, he won a silver medal in the men's 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:05.43. At the eighty-five meter mark, with the race nearing completion, Bruce seemed to have won the race, but Nobutaka Taguchi of Japan quickly accelerated, passing Bruce to capture the gold medal with a world record time of 1:04.94. In a close finish, Bruce managed second place in 1:05.43, with American John Hencken winning bronze in a time of 1:05.61, followed by American Mark Chatfield.
Bruce earned a gold medal swimming the breaststroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter medley relay. Bruce, together with his relay teammates Mike Stamm (backstroke), Mark Spitz (butterfly) and Jerry Heidenreich (freestyle), set a new world record of 3:48.16.
Later life He married his wife Marilee around 1987.
He died on April 9, 2020, at the age of 67 in Royal Oaks, California after a battle with cancer. Before retirement, he worked as a director of hospital facilities, largely at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister, California. He was survived by his wife Marilee, son Cameron, daughter Lanie, brother Phil, a large loyal group of family, friends, and his dog Buster.
See also List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) List of University of California, Los Angeles people World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
References
External links
Olympedia Biography, Tom Bruce