Biondi Named Pac-12 Swimmer Of The Century

Pac-12 Release

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - In a conference that has few rivals when it comes to the amount of Olympic talent it has produced in the pool, the conversation for greatest male swimmer of the last 100 years starts and stops in Berkeley.

So said the Pac-12 on Monday when it announced Cal legend Matt Biondi has been named the conference's Male Swimmer of the Century. The 11-time Olympic medalist headlines a phenomenal group of swimming talent that makes up a Pac-12 All-Century Swimming and Diving team that includes 26 swimmers and six divers who were named by a panel of 20 coaches, swimmers, administrators and members of the media.

Biondi certainly isn't the only Golden Bear on the list. Nathan Adrian, Par Arvidsson, Peter Rocca and Tom Shields also earned recognition for their amazing careers and Cal swimming ranked third among conference schools with its five honorees.

One of the greatest freestyle swimmers in American history, Biondi won 12 NCAA and 14 Pac-10 titles during his Cal career and was a four-time All-American from 1984-87. He set 12 world records during his swimming career, including being the first man to swim a sub-49 second time in the 100 freestyle.

Biondi left Cal with nine individual NCAA records along with a pair of NCAA relay records and won seven medals (five gold) at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He was named the U.S. Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year in 1986 and 1988 and is a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, International Swimming Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

Joining Biondi on the list was a pair of fellow Cal Athletic Hall of Fame members in Arvidsson and Rocca. Arvidsson competed at Cal from 1978-81 and won the 100 butterfly at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Russia after setting the world record in the same event a few months earlier. Between 1976 and 1983 he became Swedish champion 22 times and while at Cal he won five NCAA titles. He was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

Rocca was inducted into Cal's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 after a remarkable run of success from 1976-79. His then-school record of 1:46.21 in the 200 backstroke gave him the NCAA title and helped the Bears claim the 1979 NCAA team title. Rocca earned All-America honors 17 times at Cal and as a freshman won a gold medal in the 100 backstroke at the 1975 Pan-Am Games. Rocca went on to claim silver in both the 100 and 200 backstroke at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

In Adrian and Shields, Cal landed two swimmers on the list who aren't nearly finished writing their career stories. Adrian is one of the world's top sprint freestylers currently and is looking for more international success after a collegiate career that included 11 NCAA championships and 12 Pac-12 titles. Adrian was named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year twice (2009, 2011) and CSCAA National Swimmer of the Year in 2011. He owns the school record in the 50 and 100 freestyle and brought four medals (three gold) home from the 2012 London Olympics.

Shields also ranks among the world's best in his events, and the butterfly expert won 11 NCAA titles and 17 Pac-12 titles during his Cal career. In 2012, he joined Adrian as a CSCAA National Swimmer of the Year after winning NCAA titles in both the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly and was part of Team USA's winning 400 medley relay at the 2015 World Championships alongside fellow Golden Bears Adrian and Ryan Murphy.

Pac-12 All-Century Men's Swimming & Diving roster

Matt Biondi – California, 1984-87 (Freestyle Sprints, Butterfly)
Nathan Adrian – California, 2006-07, 2009-11 (Freestyle Sprints)
Tom Jager – UCLA, 1983-86 (Freestyle Sprints)
Joe Bottom – USC, 1974-77 (Freestyle Sprints)
Bruce Furniss – USC, 1976-79 (Freestyle Sprints)
Brian Goodell – UCLA, 1978-81 (Freestyle Distance)
Mike Burton – UCLA, 1967-70 (Freestyle Distance)
Ryk Neethling – Arizona, 1996-00 (Freestyle Distance)
Rick DeMont – Washington,1973-75 Arizona 1977-79 (Freestyle Distance)
Murray Rose – USC, 1959-62 (Freestyle Distance)
John Naber – USC, 1974-77 (Backstroke)
Jeff Rouse – Stanford, 1988-1992 (Backstroke)
Lenny Krayzelburg – USC, 1997-98 (Backstroke)
Peter Rocca – California, 1976-79 (Backstroke)
Kevin Cordes – Arizona, 2012-15 (Breaststroke)
John Hencken – Stanford, 1972-1976 (Breaststroke)
John Moffett – Stanford, 1982-1986 (Breaststroke)
Bill Barrett – UCLA, 1980-82 (Breaststroke)
Pablo Morales – Stanford, 1983-1987 (Butterfly, Individual Medley)
Tom Shields – California, 2010-13 (Butterfly)
Par Arvidsson – California, 1978-81 (Butterfly)
Mike Bruner – Stanford, 1974-1979 (Butterfly)
David Wharton – USC, 1988-91 (Individual Medley)
Steve Furniss – USC, 1971-75 (Individual Medley)
Erik Vendt – USC, 2000-03 (Individual Medley)
Tom Wilkens – Stanford, 1994-1998 (Individual Medley)
Kristian Ipsen – Stanford, 2011-2015 (1M, 3M, Platform)
Hongping Li – USC, 1986-89 (1M)
Joona Puhakka – Arizona State, 2002-06 (3M)
Mickey Benedetti – Arizona State, 2006-08 (3M)
Brian Earley – USC, 1991-94 (Platform)
Ben Grado – Arizona, 2008-12 (Platform)