John Pitann Kinsella was a standout at Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 powerhouse Hinsdale Central High School

Hinsdale Central High School

Hinsdale Central High School, or HCHS is a public four-year high school located at the corner of W. 55th St. and S. Grant St. in Hinsdale, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded in 1879, the school is well known for its large spending per student, academic...

 in the late 1960s. As a 16 year-old, he was the silver medalist in the 1500 meter freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 at the 1968 Summer Olympics

1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

, finishing second to U.S. teammate Mike Burton.

Kinsella was a member of the gold medal-winning 800 freestyle relay team at the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

. In 1970, still a High School senior and swimming for the Hinsdale McDonald's Swim Club coached by Coach Don Watson, he was awarded the Amateur Athletic Union's James E. Sullivan Award

James E. Sullivan Award

The James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the American Amateur Athletic Union , is awarded annually in April to "the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Often referred to as the Oscar of sports awards, it was first presented in 1930. The award is named for the AAU's founder and past...

 for outstanding amateur athlete. In that same year he became the first person to swim 1,500 meters under 16 minutes. After High School Kinsella, Mark Spitz

Mark Spitz

Mark Andrew Spitz is a retired American swimmer. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement only surpassed by Michael Phelps who won eight golds at the 2008 Olympics....

 and Gary Hall Sr. were part of James Counsilman

James Counsilman

James Edward "Doc" Counsilman was an Olympic and hall-of-fame swimming coach from the United States. He is perhaps best known for being the head swimming coach Indiana University from 1957-1990...

's legendary team at Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

, which dominated men's college swimming in the early 1970s. Kinsella was the NCAA Division 1 champion in the 500 and 1650 freestyle events in 1971, 1972 and 1973. After college, Kinsella went on to swim professionally, setting a time record for swimming the English Channel. He is an inductee/member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame

International Swimming Hall of Fame

The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...

 being inducted for his Olympic Career and later for his professional swimming career where he achieved the title of "Worlds Professional Champion."

Following his swimming career, Kinsella attended Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

, and joined RBC Dain Rauscher firm as an investment officer but is no longer with them. He currently resides in Illinois.

He has a daughter Molly, and three sons Patrick, Mike, and Chris.