Robin Backhaus
# Robin Backhaus

Robin James Backhaus (born February 12, 1955) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder.

Backhaus represented the United States as a 17-year-old at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He won a bronze medal for his third-place performance in the men's 200-meter butterfly, finishing with a time of 2:03.23 behind Mark Spitz and Gary Hall, and completing an American sweep of the event.

At the 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, he won gold medals for his first-place finish in the 200-meter butterfly, and as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He also received a bronze medal third for finishing in the 100-meter butterfly.

Domestically Backhaus won three AAU titles, in the 200 yd butterfly indoors in 1973–74, and in the 100 m butterfly in 1973. He also won NCAA titles in the 200 butterfly in 1974–75. After retiring from competitions Backhaus worked as a teacher and coach at Konawaena High School in Hawaii for four years, and then trained swimmers in Texas and California for over 20 years.

