Matthew Haynes Vogel

Olympic medal-winning swimmer from the University of Tennessee, Matt Vogel was born June 3, 1957, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As a high school senior swimming for the Huntingdon YMCA in Indiana, Vogel won the 1975 YMCA National Championship in the 100-meter butterfly. Recruited by Coach Ray Bussard for the University of Tennessee swim program, Vogel had a spectacular freshman season, winning the NCAA Division I 100-meter butterfly, finishing second in the 200-meter race, and being named All-American. Vogel was the only Tennessee swimmer to make the 1976 Olympic team, and on July 21 at Montreal, Canada, he upset the world record holder and a favored teammate to win the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 54.35. Vogel’s second medal came in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay in which the United States team took the gold with a world-record time of 3:42.22. That same year, Vogel shared honors with UT basketballer Ernie Grunfeld as Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Athletes of the Year.

Despite a disappointing sophomore year at UT, Vogel still made the All-American team. He quit school and swimming in 1977. Returning to the University of Tennessee in early 1978, he helped the Aqua Vols capture their seventh straight SEC title and first national championship and was again named All-American. Vogel last swam competitively in 1979. On May 9, 1996, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. After coaching the Atomic City Aquatic Club in Oak Ridge for more than a decade, Vogel moved in 1997 to another coaching position in California.