Ken Merten, Date of Birth, Place of Birth
TweetKen Merten
American swimmer, Olympic athlete, Pan American Games silver medalist, former world record-holder
Date of Birth: 04-May-1945
Place of Birth: Akron, Ohio, United States
Profession: swimmer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About Ken Merten
- Kenneth Owen "Ken" Merten (born May 4, 1945) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Pan American Games medalist, and former world record-holder. Merten won three medals in his breaststroke specialty at the Pan American Games.
- At the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo, Brazil, he won a silver medal for his runner-up finish in the 200-meter breaststroke.
- Four years later at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he received a pair of bronze medals for his third-place performances in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke.Merten represented the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
- He competed in the semifinals of the men's 100-meter breaststroke, finishing with a time of 1:11.6.
- He also swam in the preliminary heats of the men's 200-meter breaststroke, clocking a time of 2:37.0, but did not advance.Merten was born in Akron, Ohio, but grew up in Los Angeles, California.
- He attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where he swam for the SMU Mustangs swimming and diving team in national Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition.
- While he was an SMU swimmer, he won NCAA individual national championships in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, the first ever in the history of the SMU swim team, and set new American records in doing so.Merten helped set a new world record of 3:57.2 in the 4×100-meter medley relay as a member of the winning U.S.
- relay team at the 1967 World University Games on August 31, 1967.
- The record was broken by an East German relay team a little over two months later.
- At the University Games, he also gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events.He is now retired after a 32-year career as a teacher, school administrator and coach.
- He actively competes in windsurfing within his age group, and is an active participant in Swim Across America, a non-profit organization that uses Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research.
- He lives in Dallas, Texas.
Read more at Wikipedia