John Nelson is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Professional Swimmer

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...

 and Olympic Gold Medalist. Nelson attended Pompano Beach High School

Pompano Beach High School

Pompano Beach High School is a full magnet high school located in Pompano Beach, Florida, which instructs grades 9 through 12...

 and eventually enrolled in Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 where he met his future Gold Medalist teammate and World Record competitor, Don Schollander

Don Schollander

Donald Arthur Schollander is a former Olympic swimmer for the United States. He won total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics...

. Nelson competed at the 1968 Olympic Games

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...

 in Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, where he received the Gold Medal

Gold Medal

Gold Medal is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band The Donnas, released in 2004 on Atlantic Records. It was one of the first albums released in the DualDisc format, but was recalled due to a mastering error which resulted in the final track being partially omitted from the CD...

 in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay beside his teammates Stephen Rerych

Stephen Rerych

Stephen Karl Rerych is a former freestyle swimmer from the United States, who won gold in the 4×100m and 4×200m freestyle relays at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He won golds along with other swimmers such as Mark Spitz....

, 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 Don Schollander

Don Schollander

Donald Arthur Schollander is a former Olympic swimmer for the United States. He won total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 and a Bronze Medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 in the 200 m freestyle. He received a Silver Medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 in 1500 m freestyle at the 1964 Olympic Games

1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...

 in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

.

World record

Nelson improved the world record on the 400 m freestyle (long course) on August 18, 1966 (4:11.8), only to be beaten by Don Schollander

Don Schollander

Donald Arthur Schollander is a former Olympic swimmer for the United States. He won total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics...

, his American teammate, within the same day (4:11.6).