Robert Griswold

Robert Griswold is an American swimmer. He is a member of the 2016 and 2020 US Paralympic Swimming Teams.[2] He holds multiple American and World swimming records in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and individual medleys.[3] He competes in the Paralympic classes S8/SB7/SM8 and has cerebral palsy that affects coordination and strength.[4]

Robert Griswold
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1996-11-27) November 27, 1996[1]
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1]
Weight160 lb (73 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke, freestyle, butterfly
Medal record
Men's Paralympic swimming
Representing the  United States
Paralympic Games
2020 Tokyo 100 m backstroke S8
2020 Tokyo 100 m butterfly S8
2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m backstroke S8
IPC Swimming World Championships
2017 Mexico City 100 m backstroke S8
2019 London 100 m backstroke S8
2019 London 200 m individual medley SM8
2017 Mexico City 200 m individual medley SM8
2017 Mexico City 400 m freestyle S8
2019 London 400 m freestyle S8
2019 London 100 m butterfly S8
2017 Mexico City 4x100 m Medley Relay 34pts
2015 Glasgow 400 m freestyle S8

Early life

Griswold began swimming at the age of 6 at the Ocean County YMCA. He competed for his high school swimming team and team captain and MVP. Outside of athletics, he earned his Eagle Scout rank and organized a Paralympic Swimming Clinic to educate the community about disabilities and expose individuals to some of the available opportunities.[4] He graduated from Freehold Township High School in 2015.[5] Griswold is from Freehold Borough, New Jersey.

Collegiate swimming career

Griswold has competed for two NCAA Division II schools, Carson-Newman University and Fresno Pacific University during his NCAA swimming career that began fall 2015.[4] He graduated from Indiana State University with a bachelor's degree in communications.

International swimming career

Griswold competed at his first international meet in 2014 and quickly rose to prominence within the S8 classification initially gaining success in the distance freestyle events, winning his first world championships bronze in 2015.[4]

He followed up his World Championships medals by qualifying for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and winning a bronze medal in the 100 m back. He also placed fourth in the 200 m Individual Medley and fifth in the 400 m Freestyle.

In 2016 began an era of dominance in the S8 100m Backstroke, winning the event at the 2017 World Championships and 2019 World Championships. He carried his success into the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games by winning the gold medal by 4.27 seconds and breaking the World Record.[4]

At the 2017 World Championships he was the most decorated American male with two gold medals and two silver medals[6] and was honored by being chosen as the flagbearer at the opening ceremonies.[7]

In addition to his gold medal in the 100m backstroke, Griswold won a gold medal in the 100m butterfly at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. He placed fourth in the 200m individual medley and fifth in the 400m freestyle.

On April 14, 2022, Griswold was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships.[8]

Trivia

Griswold is known to some members of the Para-Swimming community as Swim-a-pedia for his vast knowledge and memory of Paralympic Swimming statistics and times.[9]

Griswold is an avid fan of Goalball and NASCAR. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors and hiking in the Colorado Springs area.[7]

References
  1. "Robert Griswold Swimming". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  2. Joel Clarke (July 3, 2016). "2016 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team Roster announced after successful Trials in Charlotte". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  3. Anne Lepesant (February 16, 2016). "ROBERT GRISWOLD OF CNU BREAKS 4 AMERICAN RECORDS AT BMC CHAMPIONSHIPS". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  4. "Robert Griswold". TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  5. Brian Deakyne. "Robert Griswold, former Freehold Township swimmer, headed to the Olympics". NJ Advance Media. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  6. "Medalists by event" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  7. "Swimming - GRISWOLD Robert". Tokyo2020.org. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Gowdy, Kristen (April 14, 2022). "U.S. Paralympics Swimming Nominates 25 athletes to World Championship Roster". teamusa.org. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  9. “NBCSN: Tokyo Paralympics Coverage.” NBC Olympics, https://stream.nbcolympics.com/210825-nbcsn-part-2 Archived 2021-08-26 at the Wayback Machine.
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