| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Joseph Stuart Bottom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "Joe" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 18, 1955 Santa Clara, California |
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| Height | 6'4" (194 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 192 lbs (87 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stroke(s) | Butterfly, 4×100m Freestyle, 4×100m Medley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Southern California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Joseph ("Joe") Stuart Bottom[1] (born April 18, 1955 in Santa Clara, California) is an American, Hall of Fame swimmer and one time world record holder in 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly and 4×100 meter freestyle relay.
Born in Santa Clara, Bottom was a member of the Santa Clara Swim Club under noted swim coach George Haines.[2] He attended Santa Clara High School, where he contributed to the Panthers numerous California Interscholastic Federation — Central Coast Section championships and set several Section records from 1971–73.[3]
Bottom attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American swimmer for four years (1974–77); he graduated in 1977 with a BSEE and was a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi.[4][5] In 1977, he was the first swimmer ever to crack 20 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, at 19.70.[6] He held USC's record for 50 yard freestyle until the 2006-2007 season, and has the third fastest 100 yard freestyle and sixth-fastest 100-yard butterfly times in school history. He won five NCAA individual and 4 relay titles with the Trojans. He was the captain of the 1977 Trojans swim team.[7][8] Known for an easygoing personality, Bottom was a fierce competitor during meets.[6][7]
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Bottom won the Silver medal in the 100 meter Butterfly and came in sixth in the 100 meter freestyle. He also won a Gold medal as a member of the 4x100 metre medley relay team, swimming in the qualifying round.[9][10] At the prime of his career, he was unable to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow due to the U.S. Boycott.[7][8]
During the inaugural, 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Bottom took Silver in the 100 meter butterfly and Gold in both the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley events. At the 1978 World Championships in Berlin he took Gold at the 100 meter butterfly as well as the 4×100-meter medley. He won nine U.S. National Championships between 1974 and 1980.[7]
On August 27, 1977, at the GDR-US dual meet in East Berlin, Bottom broke Mark Spitz's 5–year world record on the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 54.18. The night before the record-setting race, Bottom suffered from insomnia and took a sleeping pill only to oversleep and miss his usual pre-race warmup swim.[6] He was also a part of the team that set the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay on September 1, 1974.[7]
In 2007, Bottom was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame.[8] He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2006.[7]
Bottom currently resides in Chico, California, where he is a management consultant and serving as Senior Manager in Accenture's Marketing Sciences Practice within the Retail Products Industry.[5][11] His younger brother, Mike Bottom, also swam at USC where he was a three time All-American (1975–77); Mike is currently one the world's top sprint coaches.[4][12][13]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jonty Skinner |
Men's 50 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) July 3, 1977 – July 29, 1978 |
Succeeded by Ron Manganiello |
| Preceded by Mark Spitz |
Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) August 27, 1977 – April 11, 1980 |
Succeeded by Pär Arvidsson |
| Preceded by Bruce Stahl |
Men's 50 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) August 15, 1980 – August 15, 1981 |
Succeeded by Robin Leamy |
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