Fritz C. Bedford (born 1963) is a competitive American swimmer who currently holds eight U.S. national records and has held seven world records.

Fritz Bedford
Personal information
Born1963 (age 60–61)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, backstroke, butterfly

College

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Bedford attended St. Lawrence University where he was a nineteen time All-American. This included all four years in both the 50-meter freestyle and 400-meter medley relay. He qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual all four years. He was the New York state champion in the 50-meter freestyle and 200-meter backstroke as an individual and the 400 medley relay. He was named Outstanding Male Senior Athlete in 1985 and inducted into the university's Hall of Fame in 2006. While at St. Lawrence he joined Sigma Pi fraternity. He earned his master's degree from the University of New Hampshire and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin.[1][2]

Masters

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Bedford began swimming in the Masters in 2009.

U.S. records held

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Age group Event Time Age Date Current Ref
45–49 50 Fly (SCM) 25.74 46 December 13, 2009 Yes [3]
50–54 50 Back (SCY) 24.57 50 May 4, 2014 Yes [3]
50–54 100 Back (SCY) 52.72 52 March 21, 2015 Yes [3]
50–54 50 Back (SCM) 26.69 53 October 24, 2015 Yes [3]
50–54 100 Back (SCM) 58.47 53 October 24, 2015 Yes [3]
55–59 50 Back (SCY) 25.30 55 March 23, 2019 Yes [3]
55–59 100 Back (SCM) 1.00.78 55 October 20, 2018 Yes [3]
55–59 50 Fly (SCM) 26.55 55 October 20, 2018 Yes [3][4]

World records held

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Age group Event Time Age Date Current Ref
45–49 50 Free (SCM) 23.80 46 December 13, 2009 No [5]
45–49 50 Fly (SCM) 25.74 46 December 13, 2009 No [5]
50–54 50 Back (SCM) 27.36 50 October 26, 2013 No [6][7]
50–54 100 Back (SCM) 59.91 50 October 26, 2013 No [6][7]
50–54 100 Back (SCM) 58.47 52 October 24, 2015 No [5]
50–54 50 Back (SCM) 26.69 52 October 24, 2015 No [5]
55–59 100 Back (SCM) 1.00.78 55 October 20, 2018 Yes [5][4]

SCM – Short Course Meters
SCY – Short Course Yards

Personal

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Bedford works as a mechanical engineer[1] and is the brother of Olympian BJ Bedford.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Fritz Bedford". St. Lawrence University Athletics.
  2. ^ Langhammer, Jay (Spring–Summer 1985). "Sigma Pi Standouts in Sports". The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 73, no. 1 and 2. p. 28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "USMS National Records Currently Held for Fritz C. Bedford". U.S. Masters Swimming. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Ross, Andy (October 23, 2018). "Fritz Bedford Breaks Masters World Record in Vermont". SwimmingWorldMagazine.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e "FINA WORLD MASTERS TOP 10 – SHORT COURSE METERS – ALL TIME (1986–2019)" (PDF). Federation Internationale de Natation. March 7, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "FINA WORLD MASTERS TOP 10 – SHORT COURSE METERS 2013" (PDF). Federation Internationale de Natation. July 2, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Stewart, Mel (October 28, 2013). "Two Masters World Records for Fritz Bedford". SwimSwam.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020.