Chet Jastremski

Chet Jastremski
Personal information
Full name Chester Andrew Jastremski
Nickname(s) Chet
Nationality  United States
Born January 12, 1941 (1941-01-12) (age 71)
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Stroke(s) Medley swimming, Breaststroke

Chester ("Chet") Andrew Jastremski (born January 12, 1941 in Toledo, Ohio) is a former American Olympic swimmer who won the bronze medal in the 200 meter Breaststroke at the 1964 Tokyo Games. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1977. He also swam with the Indiana Hoosiers swim team. He received his MD from Indiana University in 1968.

He was featured on the January 29, 1962 cover of Sports Illustrated.

Dr. Chet Jastremski was on the 1976 U.S. Olympic Medical Team. He served as a family practice physician for 35 years before rheumatoid arthritis led him to retire. He practiced medicine in Bloomington, Indiana and frequently visited the Indiana University swim team throughout the years.

Chet and his coach, Doc Counsilman, invented the whip kick to replace the frog kick in the breaststroke. The whip kick minimized drag and accentuated Chet's very powerful shoulders and upper arms. Over the years, the original whip kick (done from the knee to feet) morphed into the breast stroke kick that uses the entire leg.

References