Olympic Speaker Rowdy Gaines is a celebrated Olympic Champion and Motivational Keynote Speaker who currently works as a swimming analyst for NBC and ESPN. Rowdy ruled the pool at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He brought home 3 Gold Medals in the 100M Freestyle, 4x100M Freestyle and the 4x100M Medley events. Now his energy on camera has brought life to swimming competitions at both the U.S. Olympic Trials and the Summer Olympic Games since he first got on the air at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Rowdy has channeled his passion and excitement for swimming into a successful career as a motivational speaker. His story of overcoming doubt and adversity to reach the pinnacle of success is sure to inspire your audience!

Olympic Speaker Rowdy Gaines was a very talented swimmer in his own right. He was a natural, picking up the sport in high school and earning a scholarship to swim for Auburn University. Rowdy thrived at Auburn. He was a 5-time NCAA champion and was named “World Swimmer of the Year” in 1980. He was a shoe-in for several Gold Medals at the 1980 Olympics but was devastated when the United States boycotted the Games that year.

Believe it or not, Rowdy decided to retire from competitive swimming assuming his shot at competing at the Olympics was over. But he couldn’t quite stay away from the pool and a year and a half later he began training harder than he ever had in his life. He qualified for the 1984 Olympics and the rest is history! He wasn’t a heavy favorite but had the home crowd on their feet when he won 3 Gold Medals in the pool for the United States.

Today, Olympic Speaker Rowdy Gaines is often referred to as “Swimming’s Greatest Ambassador” because of the work he has done to grow and share the sport with others. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995 and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2006.

Would you like to hire Rowdy Gaines to speak at your event? Contact Celebrity Speakers Bureau today to speak to a representative and discuss how you can hire Rowdy Gaines or another Olympic Speaker for your upcoming conference, leadership summit, fundraiser or another special event.