Melvin Stewart

{{Infobox swimmer

| name = Melvin Stewart

| image = Melvin Stewart 2009.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Stewart in 2009

| full_name = Melvin Monroe Stewart Jr.

| nicknames = "Mel"

| national_team = United States

| strokes = Butterfly, freestyle

| club =

| collegeteam = University of Tennessee

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|11|18|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| hometown = Fort Mill, South Carolina, U.S.

| height = {{convert|6|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|183|lb|kg|abbr=on}}

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}

File:Olympic rings.svg

{{MedalGold | 1989 Tokyo | {{nowrap|4×200 m freestyle}}}}

}}

Melvin Monroe Stewart Jr. (born November 18, 1968) is an American swimming promoter, former competition swimmer and world record-holder who won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He is the co-founder and publisher of the swimming news website, SwimSwam, and a producer-director of commercials through his company, Gold Medal Media.

Early life and education

Stewart was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and raised in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Noden, Merrell (July 6, 1992). [https://vault.si.com/vault/1992/07/06/swimming-great-expectations-melvin-stewarts-journey-from-the-world-of-the-ptl-ministry-to-his-life-as-the-worlds-best-butterflyer-has-been-well-dickensian "Great Expectations: Melvin Stewart's Journey From the World of the PTL Ministry to his Life as the World's Best Butterflyer Has Been Well, Dickensian"]. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 20, 2021.[https://www.charlottemagazine.com/where-are-they-now-mel-stewart/ "Where Are They Now?: Mel Stewart"]. Charlotte Magazine. July 20, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2021. He began swimming competitively at the Johnston Memorial YMCA in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He attended Fort Mill High School until partway through his junior year at the school. That year, he switched high schools to Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania after a sponsor paid Stewart's tuition expenses. At Mercersburg, he was coached by John Trembley."Trembley", The Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, Tennessee, 15 January 2012, pg. 30

Collegiately, he competed for the University of Tennessee, where he was again coached by John Trembley.

Career

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Stewart placed fifth in the men's 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:59.19.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417162742/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1988/SWI/mens-200-metres-butterfly.html Men's 200 metres Butterfly Final Standings]. Retrieved February 16, 2015. The 1988 Olympics were the first Olympic Games Stewart competed in, qualifying for the event when he was 20 years old.

Following Seoul, Stewart began dominating the event. At the 1987, 1989, and 1991 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Stewart won gold in the 200-meter butterfly. At the 1991 World Championships in Perth, Stewart won gold in the 200-meter butterfly, and set the world record with a time of 1:55.69.

At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Stewart won the 200-meter butterfly in an Olympic record time of 1:56.26.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417163857/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1992/SWI/mens-200-metres-butterfly.html Men's 200 metres Butterfly Final Standings]. Retrieved February 16, 2015. Stewart also won gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay by swimming in the prelims, and a bronze in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417163840/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1992/SWI/mens-4-x-100-metres-medley-relay.html Men's 4 × 100 metres Medley Relay Final Standings]. Retrieved February 16, 2015.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417163845/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1992/SWI/mens-4-x-200-metres-freestyle-relay.html Men's 4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay Final Standings]. Retrieved February 16, 2015.

When Stewart did not qualify for the 1996 Summer Olympics at the US Olympic Trials, he still attended the Olympic Games, this time as an analyst for ABC instead of as a swimmer. After the 1996 Summer Olympics, Stewart hosted a season of a television show titled "American Outback" on ESPN. He spent the next decade doing contract work writing screenplays.

In 2006, Stewart joined a team launching a new swimming news website through USA Swimming named SwimNetwork.com. His focus was bringing people to the website and managing the flow of traffic for the website.

Two years later, he began serving an ambassador to the United States Swimming Foundation, where one of his focuses since 2008 has been managing alumni of the US national team.Papadatos, Markos (June 4, 2019). [https://www.digitaljournal.com/sports/meet-mel-stewart-olympic-gold-medalist-co-founder-of-swimswam/article/551314 "Meet Mel Stewart: Olympic gold medalist, Co-founder of SwimSwam (Includes interview)"]. DigitalJournal.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.

By 2010, Stewart was blogging and hosting an interview show. Not long after, USA Swimming shut SwimNetwork.com down, and Stewart started a new joint venture of his own.

In 2011, Stewart and a team of co-founders, including his wife Tiffany, Braden Keith, Gary Hall Jr., Garrett McCaffrey, and Rich Roll, founded the swimming news website SwimSwam. The website was launched on March 7, 2012, and a print magazine followed in 2016.

Personal

Stewart and his wife Tiffany moved to Austin, Texas in 2009. Previously, they had been living in California.[https://www.statesman.com/ENTERTAINMENT/20120924/Website-launch-goes-swimmingly "Website launch goes swimmingly"]. Statesman. September 24, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2021. SwimSwam was headquartered in Austin in part because Stewart and his wife lived there.[https://mrmagazine.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/swimswam-from-a-website-to-a-printed-magazine-the-new-publication-that-proves-adding-a-high-quality-print-component-to-your-brands-identity-is-always-a-swimmingly/ "SwimSwam: From A Website To A Printed Magazine – The New Publication That Proves Adding A High-Quality Print Component to Your Brand's Identity Is Always A "Swimmingly" Good Idea – The Mr. Magazine™ Interview With Braden Keith, Editor In Chief, SwimSwam Magazine"]. mrmagazine.wordpress.com. October 24, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2021.

References

External links

{{Olympedia}}
{{Olympics.com|melvin-stewart}}
{{webarchive |title=Melvin Stewart (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217050322/http://www.ishof.org/melvin-stewart-(usa).html |date=2015-02-17 }}

{{succession box

| before =
Michael Gross

| title = Men's 200-meter butterfly
world record-holder (long course)

| years = January 12, 1991 – June 14, 1995

| after =
Denis Pankratov

}}

Category:1968 births

Category:Living people

Category:American male butterfly swimmers

Category:American male freestyle swimmers

Category:World record setters in swimming

Category:Mercersburg Academy alumni