Dick Roth
Richard William Roth is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. He swam in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, where he won the gold medal for his first-place finish in the men's 400-meter individual medley, setting a new world record of 4:45.4 in the event final. Shortly before the individual medley final, Roth suffered an appendicitis, but refused an immediate operation. He insisted the surgeons delay to allow him to swim in the final, and won the gold medal as a result.
Roth attended Stanford University. He was a two-time individual NCAA champion for the Stanford Cardinal swimming and diving team, winning the 200- and 400-yard individual medley.
