Gold Medalist, All-America Swimmer Thompson Mann Passes Away

An Olympic gold medalist, world record holder and one of the greatest men's swimmers ever to represent the University of North Carolina, Thompson Mann died April 4 at the age of 76.

A native of Virginia who was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1984, Mann was the first man to break the one-minute mark in the 100-meter backstroke. After setting a world record of 60 seconds flat at the 1964 Olympic Trials, Mann led off the 400-meter medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics in 59.6, with Bill Craig (breaststroke), Fred Schmidt (butterfly) and Steve Clark (freestyle) finishing the race in a world-record time of 3:58.4 to claim the gold.

Mann was a standout performer under head coach Pat Earey during his time in Chapel Hill, winning 10 ACC titles and earning All-America honors seven times in three seasons from 1961-64. The Tar Heels were ACC co-champions in his final season at UNC and finished tied for sixth at NCAAs that year, one of four top-10 national finishes in program history. Mann was named one of the 50 greatest men's swimmers in ACC history in 2002.

Following his Olympic success, Mann won U.S. Indoor and Outdoor national titles in both the 100 and 200 back in 1965, swimming a world's best time and American record of 52.5 in the 100-yard backstroke.

After graduating from UNC in 1964, Mann attended the Medical College of Virginia and worked as a doctor of internal medicine.

Former Carolina head coach Frank Comfort remembers Mann as a great athlete and doctor. "I do remember that he was one of my swimming heroes and that Coach Earey always enjoyed telling me stories about him," Comfort said. "I always felt that Thompson and Coach Earey got along quite well as both were rather quiet people."

For more on the life of Mann, read this story by former UNC swimmer Bruce Wigo at Swimming World.

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