Rod Strachan

Rodney Strachan (born October 16, 1955) is an American former high school and college competition swimmer, 1976 Olympic gold medalist, and physician with a specialization in internal medicine. Starting at the age of eight, Rod did age group training and competition with the Sammy Lee Swim School on Anaheim's Lincoln Avenue under Swimming Hall of Fame Coach John Urbanchek who swam for and later coached the University of Michigan. When the Sammy Lee Club disbanded in 1967, Rod swam for Anaheim Aquatics under Urbanchek until he left for USC, while swimming additional high school swim practices. He returned to Anaheim Aquatics, after graduating USC, until he retired from swimming. Eventually the Anaheim Club became the Fullerton Anaheim Swim Club, still coached by Urbancheck, and Strachan continued swimming with the club shortly after Olympic trials in June 1976, where he excelled. The club is now known as the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team. Strachan was a standout swimmer and 1973 graduate of Foothill High School in Tustin, California, where he helped his team win three consecutive California Interscholastic Federation Championships from 1971-1973. Ron's Foothill teams featured several championship swimmers that included future Olympic medalists Bruce and Steve Furniss who also swam with him at Anaheim Aquatics. At the 1973 CIF Championship in his Senior year, Ron placed second in the 200 Individual Medley, and fifth in the 400 freestyle, helping Foothill High to win the meet. A dominant team, by April of '73, Foothill swimming had won 35 straight dual meets with opponents.