Steve Pickell

{{Infobox swimmer

| name = Steve Pickell

| image =

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| fullname = Stephen John Pickell

| nicknames = "Steve"

| national_team = Canada

| strokes = Backstroke, freestyle

| club = Canadian Dolphin Swim Club

| collegeteam = University of Southern California

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|8|11|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height =

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| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{CAN}}}}

|show-medals=yes

}}

Stephen John Pickell (born August 11, 1957) is a retired Canadian competitive swimmer for the University of Southern California, and was a silver medalist for Canada in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Swimming career

Pickell began swimming competitively around the age of eight and joined the Canadian national team five years later, making his debut at the 1973 World Championships. At the 1974 British Commonwealth games, he won gold as a member of the 4×100 meter medley relay, swimming with Bill Mahony, Brian Phillips, and Bruce Robertson, and captured a silver in the 100-meter backstroke, behind Mark Tonelli of Australia.

=1976 Montreal Olympics=

He won a silver medal in the men's 4x100-metre medley relay at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He did so alongside Graham Smith, Clay Evans and Gary MacDonald. Despite being Canadian he won the 1969 ASA National British Championships 100 metres backstroke title and the 200 metres backstroke title.{{cite web|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS135756534/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=4765091a|title="Nine new faces and a strong Scots accent." Times, 22 July 1974, p. 8|website=Times Digital Archive}}{{cite web|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS135363315/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=0f92c2c0|title=Fox, Norman. "Brinkley's lone salvage operation." Times, 19 July 1974, p. 8|website=Times Digital Archive}}

He swam for the University of Southern California on an athletic scholarship after the 1976 Olympics, and attended from around 1976-80, where he was mentored by Hall of Fame Head Coach Peter Daland. A major contributor to the NCAA Championships, as a Sophomore in 1978, he was unable to attend the championships due to a shoulder separation he suffered playing for the USC Water Polo team."Vols NCAA Swim Favorites", Ukiah Daily Journal, Ukiah, California, 23 March 1978, pg. 6{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/46006|title=Olympedia Olympic Bio, Steve Pickell|website=Olympedia}}

He was again picked for the Canadian team for the 1980 Summer Olympics, but did not attend when Canada joined the United States to boycott the Moscow Games. Prior injuries convinced him to retire not long after, since graduating from USC, he has worked in insurance and coached swimming at high school and club levels.

References

[http://72.232.38.190/EN/athletes/query/details2.php?id=37115 Canadian Olympic Committee]{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200418090518/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pi/steve-pickell-1.html sports-reference]

Category:1957 births

Category:Living people

Category:Canadian male backstroke swimmers

Category:Olympic silver medalists for Canada

Category:Olympic swimmers for Canada

Category:Swimmers from Vancouver

Category:Swimmers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games

Category:Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Category:Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games

Category:USC Trojans men's swimmers

Category:Canadian expatriate swimmers in the United States

Category:Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics