University of Tennessee Athletics
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Stewart Named to International Swimming Hall of Fame
May 15, 2002 | Men's Swimming & Diving
May 11, 2002
All-Time UT Olympic Swimmers & Divers
Former Tennessee All-America swimmer Melvin Stewart received one of his sport's highest honors as he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
On what is considered the short course by the USA Swimming team, Stewart's time of 1:41.78 still stands as the American, U.S. Open and NCAA record. During his career he was the No. 1-ranked swimmer in the world in the 200-meter butterfly.
Stewart was known as the greatest 200-meter butterfly swimmer of his era. Not only did this 14-time national champion win the 200-meter event at the 1991 Perth World Championships, defeating legendary Hall of Famers Michael Gross of Germany and Tamas Darnyi of Hungary, he became the gold medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in Olympic record time, 1:56.26. Stewart won a second gold as a preliminary heat member of the 4x100m medley relay and a bronze on the 4x200m freestyle relay. In his first Olympic Games at Seoul in 1988, he placed fifth in the 200m butterfly. Stewart held the world record at 1:55.69 from 1991 to 1995 when it was broken by Denis Pankratov of Russia.
It all began for Stewart in 1974. Under the direction of Coach Frankie Bell at the Johnston Memorial YMCA pool in Charlotte, N.C., he won National YMCA titles. Bell taught him stroke technique and built his love for the sport, motivating the already inspired youngster with a banana split every time he won. By age 10, he was ranked among the top 10 in the nation in his age group in 16 events. "Little Melvin," as he was called, grew up on the grounds of Heritage USA, the PTL Ministries Theme Park and religious retreat where his father was recreation director of Jim and Tammy Bakker's Heritage Church and Athletic Director of his school, Heritage Academy.
| "He is very deserving of his recognition and is a great role model for all athletes to follow. His accomplishments were exceeded only by his work ethic." UT Head Coach |
In need of some academic tutoring, his mentor, George Baxter, enrolled Stewart at Mercersburg Academy, a small boarding school known for its academics and competitive swimming teams. In his three years there, Stewart became an honor student and a leader.
He followed his Mercersburg coach, John Trembley, to the University of Tennessee and swam on to international stardom one year later, winning the 200-meter butterfly at the Goodwill Games of 1986. He repeated with Goodwill Game wins in 1990 and 1994 in Moscow, and at the Pan Pacific Championships of 1987, 1989 and 1991. While at Tennessee, he won two NCAA titles in the 200-yard butterfly.
Stewart holds the record in United States Swimming for winning the most national championships (14) in one event (200 butterfly), more than any other male swimmer in U.S. history.
"He is very deserving of his recognition and is a great role model for all athletes to follow," said Trembley. "His accomplishments were exceeded only by his work ethic."
After failing to qualify for the 1996 Olympic Team, Stewart began to pursue his second dream of acting. He appeared in plays, movies and television shows. He has served as an ABC Sports field reporter, hosted ESPN's "American Outback" and appeared in "Pentathlon," starring Dolph Lundgren. Stewart was also a hotel lifeguard in "Baywatch." He is a partner, producer and writer for Symbiotic Entertainment.
