Stephen Rerych Stephen Rerych Stephen Karl "Steve" Rerych (born May 14, 1946) is an American former swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Rerych won two gold medals. He swam the second leg for the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay; with relay teammates Zac Zorn, Mark Spitz and Ken Walsh, he helped set a new world record of 3:31.7 in the event final. He received another gold medal as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates John Nelson, Spitz and Don Schollander.
United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics highest total medal count, and won more silver and bronze medals than any other participating nation. This games also saw a gold medal record for U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who won 8 golds surpassing Mark Spitz's record of 7 golds in a single Olympic event in 1972. Phelps also surpassed Spitz, Larisa Latynina of the USSR, Paavo Nurmi of Finland, and U.S. sprinter Carl Lewis to become the current record holder for the most Olympic gold medals (14). The United States also saw milestones in women's swimming. Natalie Coughlin won 6 medals in Beijing, the most for a female Olympic