Jeffrey Float

Jeffrey "Jeff" James Float (born April 10, 1960 in Buffalo, New York) is a former American swimmer, world record holder, world champion and Olympic champion. He qualified for the 1980 Moscow-bound Olympic Swimming Team, which was boycotted by the U.S., and four years later competed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. There he was named team captain by his peers, earned a gold medal in 4×200m freestyle relay^[1] and finished fourth in the 200m individual freestyle event.

At 13 months of age, Float lost most of his hearing and nearly his life to viral meningitis. As the result, he is 90% deaf in his right ear and 65% in his left. Jeff became the first legally deaf athlete from the USA to win an Olympic gold medal. When he emerged from the pool after swimming the third leg for the American 4x200 relay and shattering the world record by five seconds, he heard the roar of the crowd. “It was the first time I remember distinctively hearing loud cheers at a meet. I’ll never forget what 17,000 screaming people sounds like. It was incredible!” Float said.^[2] He graduated from both Jesuit High School in Sacramento and obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in business administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. ^[3]

Float garnered 10 gold medals in 10 events (unprecedented) at the 1977 World Games for the Deaf in Bucharest; a silver medal in 400m freestyle at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships in Berlin; and a gold medal in the 4×200m freestyle relay at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships in Guayaquil.

Float is now employed by Spare Time, Inc., as the aquatics director at Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, California. There he is the head coach of the Gold River Stingrays summer recreational team and personal trainer to swimmers of all levels. Float is also co-head coach of STAS (Spare Time Aquatics Sacramento), a USS year-round swim program. In addition to coaching, Jeff is a popular motivational speaker. He and his wife Jan Ellis Float are both active and longtime participants in Swim Across America, a national nonprofit organization which Makes Waves to Fight Cancer — to date, over $25 million.

References

Jeff Float became the first U.S. Olympic swimmer with a hearing disability to receive a gold medal. The 10 gold medals earned in 10 events at the World Games for the Deaf in 1977 remains undefeated.

External links

• Profile
• Jeff Float leads the Gold River Stingrays Team Cheer
• Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 1
• Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 2
• Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 3
• Jeff Float Story: The pursuit of Olympic Gold part 4
• Jeff Float on the cover of Sports Illustrated