Eric Namesnik, 35, Swimmer Won Olympic Medals
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Eric Namesnik, who won silver medals in swimming at the 1992 and ’96 Olympics, died Wednesday following a car accident. He was 35, and died of injuries suffered in a Pittsfield, Mich., automobile accident.
Namesnik won silver medals in the 400-meter individual medley at the ’92 Barcelona Games and four years later in Atlanta. He became the first American to swim under 4 minutes, 15 seconds in the four-stroke IM event and lowered the American record four times. He was ranked no. 1 in the world in 1991 and ’93.
He also won a bronze medal in the 400 IM at the 1994 world championships, and two silvers at the 1991 world meet.
Namesnik, who answered to his nickname “Snik,” swam for the University of Michigan from 1989-93, then spent seven years as an assistant with the men’s team, coaching 11 Olympians and helping the Wolverines win three Big Ten championships.
