Ed Townsend (swimmer)

Ed Townsend
Personal information
Full nameRobert Edward Townsend, Jr.
Nickname"Ed"
National teamUnited States
Born (1943-09-13) September 13, 1943
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight200 lb (91 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubSanta Clara Swim Club
College teamYale University
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place1963 São Paulo4x200 m freestyle relay

Robert Edward Townsend, Jr. (born September 13, 1943) is an American attorney and former competition swimmer. He was a Pan American Games gold medalist and former world record-holder.

Early life, family and education

Townsend attended Yale University, where he was a standout swimmer for coach Phil Moriarty's Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving team from 1963 to 1965. He was part of the school's water polo team as well.[1]

He won an NCAA national championship in the 400-yard individual medley (1963), and three more as a member of winning Yale teams in the 400-yard freestyle relay (1963, 1964, 1965).[1][2]

Townsend graduated from Yale in 1966 with a degree in psychology.[3] He subsequently received his Juris Doctor degree from University of California, Berkeley.[3]

Athletic career after college

Townsend won a gold medal as a member of the winning US team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 1963 Pan American Games. He participated in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he swam for the gold medal-winning US team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay.[3][4] Under the 1964 Olympic swimming rules, he was ineligible for a medal, however, because he did not swim in the relay final.[1]

Career after competitive swimming

Townsend relocated to New York City, co-founding the firm Townsend Rabinowitz Pantaleoni & Valente[3] by 1979,[5] which specialized in entertainment law.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Did You Know: The 1964 Yale University Men's Water Polo Team Had Four Olympic Swimmers". collegiatewaterpolo.org. Bridgeport, Pennsylvania. May 25, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  2. ↑ "History of the Ivy League: NCAA Championships (1957–Present)". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Robert Edward Jr [sic] Townsend". olympics.com. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ed Townsend". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  5. ↑ Townsend, R. Edward Jr. (March 1, 1979). "Letter to Mrs. J. Frank Wood" (PDF). Compiled Juhring Furniture Letters. Village Preservation – via media.villagepreservation.org.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.