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11 Facts About Joe Bottom

1.

Joe Bottom attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American swimmer for the USC Trojans swimming and diving team from 1974 to 1977.

2.

Joe Bottom graduated in 1977 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and was a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi.

3.

Joe Bottom won five NCAA individual and 4 relay titles with the Trojans.

4.

Joe Bottom was the captain of the 1977 Trojans swim team.

5.

At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Joe Bottom won the silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly and came in sixth in the 100-meter freestyle.

6.

Joe Bottom won nine US national championships between 1974 and 1980.

7.

The night before the record-setting race, Joe Bottom suffered from insomnia and took a sleeping pill only to oversleep and miss his usual pre-race warmup swim; incredibly, he broke Spitz's record anyway.

8.

In 2007, Joe Bottom was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame; several of his records set at USC remain unbroken.

9.

Joe Bottom was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2006.

10.

Joe Bottom currently resides in Chico, California, where he is a management consultant and serving as Senior Manager in Accenture's Marketing Sciences Practice within the Retail Products Industry.

11.

Joe Bottom's younger brother, Mike Bottom, swam at USC where he was a three-time All-American ; Mike is currently one of the world's top sprint coaches and coaches the University of Michigan swim team.