Olympic champion Mike Burton dies at 79 after Alzheimer’s
Three-time Olympic swimming champion Mike Burton has died at 79 after a battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia, his son Eric announced. Burton, who won three Olympic gold medals across the 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Games, died on September 18, according to Olympedia. His son announced the death in a Facebook post. “My dad, Mike Burton, has passed away after a gruelling battle with…
Three-time Olympic swimming champion Mike Burton, who won three gold medals at the 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Games, has died at the age of 79 after battling Alzheimer's and dementia, his son Eric announced. Burton, born on July 3, 1947, in Des Moines, Iowa, was an enduring inspiration who suffered a serious bicycle accident at the age of 12.
He turned to swimming as a result and became one of America's leading distance swimmers. Burton won two gold medals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, setting a never-to-be-matched 18-second margin in the 1,500m freestyle final. He defended his title in Munich in 1972 with a world-record time. Burton's Olympic success helped begin a period of American dominance in the 1,500m freestyle.
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