Gunnar Bentz
American swimmer (born 1996)
Joseph "Gunnar " Bentz (born January 3, 1996) is an American former competitive swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.
Early life
Bentz graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School in 2014.[ 1]
Career
He is a four-time medalist (two gold, two bronze) at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships and a two-time medalist (one silver, one bronze) at the Pan American Games .[ 2] Bentz competes for the University of Georgia with the Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team in American collegiate swimming. Bentz was the 2015 USA National Champion in the 400m Individual Medley. In June 2016, he qualified for the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics .[ 3] Bentz swam in the preliminaries of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics . Replaced by the team of Michael Phelps , Ryan Lochte , Conor Dwyer , and Townley Haas , Bentz was not in the final but received a medal.[ 4]
In 2018, Gunnar Bentz was qualified for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima , Peru.[ 5]
Gas station incident during 2016 Olympics
On the morning of August 14, Bentz's teammate Ryan Lochte claimed that he, Bentz, Jack Conger , and Jimmy Feigen were robbed after four men forced them out of their taxi at gunpoint.[ 6] Bentz, 20 at the time of this incident, was required to be back in the Olympic Village by 1:00 am as the 1:00 am curfew was relaxed just for team members 21 or older by Frank Busch, U.S.A. Swimming's national team director.[ 7] The Brazilian authorities questioned this account, and after Lochte had flown home on August 16, Bentz and Conger were prevented from leaving the country and their passports were seized; this was done in order to have them testify as witnesses of the incident.[ 8] [ 9] Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro concluded that the athletes were not robbed, but instead had been involved in an incident at a gas station in Barra da Tijuca , west of the city.[ 10] This investigation found that the swimmers stopped at a gas station near Casa França, where they were involved in a confrontation with security guards regarding vandalism some or all of the swimmers had caused in a bathroom while intoxicated.[ 11] They also claimed that the swimmers had already paid in cash 100 reais ($31) and $20 in U.S. currency as compensation for objects from the bathroom which were damaged, such as a soap holder, a mirror, and a "Please Do Not Enter" sign.[ 12]
According to anonymous police sources, Bentz and Conger told the police that Lochte's robbery story was fabricated.[ 13] The Associated Press reported that Bentz and Conger "refuted Lochte's claim that the group was held up by armed assailants".[ 14]
After Bentz returned to the United States, he released a statement about the incident. He admitted to urinating behind the gas station, and wrote that Lochte pulled down a framed metal advertisement, but denied witnessing any damage caused to the bathroom.[ 15]
International Swimming League
In 2019, Bentz was member of the 2019 International Swimming League , representing Team Iron .
2020 Olympic Trials
In 2021, Bentz qualified for the 2020 Olympic Team, placing 2nd in the 200m butterfly at the finals of the US Olympic Team Trials.[ 16]
Career best times
Long course (50-meter pool)
Event
Time
Venue
Date
200 m freestyle
1:47.33
Omaha
June 28, 2016
200 m Butterfly
1:55.34
Omaha
June 16, 2021
200 m IM
1:58.31
Indianapolis
July 1, 2017
400 m IM
4:11.66
Indianapolis
June 29, 2017
References
^ "St. Pius X alum on 2016 U.S. Olympic swim team" . July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ Michael Pavitt (December 19, 2018). "Adrian among USA Swimming squad for Lima 2019 Pan American Games" . Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ John Durham; Tori McElhaney; Zach Shugan (August 9, 2016). "Gunnar Bentz wins a gold medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay" . The Red & Black . Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ David Rieder (June 4, 2014). "Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz Move Past Infamous Olympic Incident" . Swimming World . Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ Andy Ross (December 18, 2018). "USA Swimming Sets Pan American Games Roster: Margo Geer, Nathan Adrian Highlight" . Swimming World .
^ Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Mather, Victor (August 14, 2016). "Ryan Lochte and Three Teammates Robbed at Gunpoint". The New York Times . p. D7. ISSN 0362-4331 .
^ Crouse, Karen (August 19, 2016). "Gleam Tarnished, Far From the Pool, for U.S. Swimmers" . The New York Times . p. D9.
^ "U.S. swimmers Bentz, Conger leave Rio after robbery scandal; Feigen pays fine" . NBC Olympics . August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ "Two US swimmers in Rio removed from flight home" . CNN . Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ Romero, Sam (August 18, 2016). "The Police Say Ryan Lochte Lied About Gunpoint Assault". The New York Times . p. A1.
^ Moreira, Gabriela (August 18, 2016). "Polícia conclui que nadadores norte-americanos mentiram sobre assalto" [Police conclude that American swimmers lied about robbery] (in Portuguese). ESPN . Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ Rodrigo Viga; Jeb Blout (August 19, 2016). "U.S. says sorry as swimmers leave Brazil to jeers" . Reuters . Retrieved August 19, 2016 .
^ Dave Sheinin; Dom Phillips; Joshua Partlow (August 18, 2016). "As Ryan Lochte's story unravels, three teammates remain detained for questioning" . The Washington Post . Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ " 'Ryan was very evasive': How Lochte's robbery story started to unravel" . National Post /The Washington Post . August 18, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ Reilly, Katie (August 20, 2016). "Swimmer Gunnar Bentz Tells His Story of Rio Gas Station Incident in Statement" . Time . Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
^ "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 200m Butterfly Final Results" (PDF) . Omega Timing . June 16, 2021.
External links
Qualification Men's team Women's team Coaches
Qualification Men's team Women's team Coaches
1908 : John Derbyshire , Paul Radmilovic , William Foster , Henry Taylor (GBR )
1912 : Cecil Healy , Malcolm Champion , Leslie Boardman , Harold Hardwick (ANZ )
1920 : Perry McGillivray , Pua Kealoha , Norman Ross , Duke Kahanamoku (USA )
1924 : Johnny Weissmuller , Wally O'Connor , Harry Glancy , Ralph Breyer (USA )
1928 : Johnny Weissmuller , Austin Clapp , Walter Laufer , George Kojac (USA )
1932 : Masanori Yusa , Yasuji Miyazaki , Takashi Yokoyama , Hisakichi Toyoda (JPN )
1936 : Masanori Yusa , Shigeo Sugiura , Shigeo Arai , Masaharu Taguchi (JPN )
1948 : Wally Ris , Jimmy McLane , Wally Wolf , Bill Smith (USA )
1952 : Wayne Moore , Bill Woolsey , Ford Konno , Jimmy McLane (USA )
1956 : Kevin O'Halloran , John Devitt , Murray Rose , Jon Henricks (AUS )
1960 : George Harrison , Dick Blick , Mike Troy , Jeff Farrell (USA )
1964 : Don Schollander , Steve Clark , Roy Saari , Gary Ilman (USA )
1968 : Don Schollander , Mark Spitz , John Nelson , Stephen Rerych (USA )
1972 : Mark Spitz , John Kinsella , Fred Tyler , Steve Genter (USA )
1976 : Mike Bruner , Bruce Furniss , John Naber , Jim Montgomery (USA )
1980 : Sergey Koplyakov , Vladimir Salnikov , Ivar Stukolkin , Andrey Krylov (URS )
1984 : Mike Heath , David Larson , Jeff Float , Bruce Hayes (USA )
1988 : Troy Dalbey , Matt Cetlinski , Doug Gjertsen , Matt Biondi (USA )
1992 : Dmitry Lepikov , Vladimir Pyshnenko , Veniamin Tayanovich , Yevgeny Sadovyi , Aleksey Kudryavtsev , Yury Mukhin (EUN )
1996 : Josh Davis , Joe Hudepohl , Brad Schumacher , Ryan Berube , Jon Olsen (USA )
2000 : Ian Thorpe , Michael Klim , Todd Pearson , Bill Kirby , Grant Hackett , Daniel Kowalski (AUS )
2004 : Michael Phelps , Ryan Lochte , Peter Vanderkaay , Klete Keller , Dan Ketchum , Scott Goldblatt (USA )
2008 : Michael Phelps , Ryan Lochte , Ricky Berens , Peter Vanderkaay , David Walters , Erik Vendt , Klete Keller (USA )
2012 : Ryan Lochte , Conor Dwyer , Ricky Berens , Michael Phelps , Charlie Houchin , Matt McLean , Davis Tarwater (USA )
2016 : Conor Dwyer , Townley Haas , Ryan Lochte , Michael Phelps , Clark Smith , Jack Conger , Gunnar Bentz (USA )
2020 : Tom Dean , James Guy , Matt Richards , Duncan Scott , Calum Jarvis (GBR )
2024 : James Guy , Tom Dean , Matt Richards , Duncan Scott , Jack McMillan , Kieran Bird (GBR )