14 Facts About Richard McGeagh

Richard Michael McGeagh was an American competition swimmer and water polo player in his youth, and later a real estate appraiser.

The US team won its preliminary heat and won the event final, but McGeagh did not swim in the finals and was consequently not eligible for an Olympic medal under the rules in place at the time.

Richard McGeagh attended Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, where he won the 100-yard backstroke event at the CIF Southern Section championships three consecutive times from 1960 to 1962.

Richard McGeagh established the national high school record for that event in 1961, with a time of 51.8 seconds.

Richard McGeagh went on to study at the University of Southern California from 1962 to 1967.

Richard McGeagh was involved in swimming and water polo for the USC Trojans and received All-American honors in both sports.

Richard McGeagh won the 400-yard individual medley at the 1964 NCAA championships during his sophomore year.

Richard McGeagh was part of the American team that established the long course world record of 4:00.1 in the same event at a meet in Osaka that year.

Richard McGeagh took a semester off in order to get ready for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Richard McGeagh's time of 1:01.1 was an Olympic record for the backstroke leg of the relay.

Richard McGeagh was ultimately omitted from the medal round and was consequently not awarded a medal.

Richard McGeagh was married to Barbara for 55 years until his death.

Richard McGeagh initially resided in La Crescenta-Montrose, California, before moving to the Nashville neighborhood of Hermitage, Tennessee, in 2013.

Richard McGeagh died of complications from COVID-19 in Hermitage on September 9,2021, at the age of 77, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee.