Davis Tarwater

His grandfather, Richmond Flowers, Sr., was Attorney General of Alabama from 1963 to 1967.

Tarwater's uncle, Richmond Flowers, Jr., was a world champion at the 110-meter hurdles and a safety in the National Football League from 1969 to 1973.

Tarwater had his first swimming lesson at age four.

He was reluctant to put his face underwater at first, but after 15 minutes he was swimming freely.

By age seven, he was entering swimming competitions.

As a young child, he was diagnosed with epilepsy.

The family's doctor encouraged Tarwater to keep swimming, and he eventually outgrew the condition.

At age 10, he won the Knoxville City Meet title in the 25-yard butterfly for his age group.

Davis Edward Tarwater (born March 24, 1984) is an American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.

He grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and began competitive swimming at age seven.

During high school, he set three state swimming records and led Webb School of Knoxville to the state title.

Tarwater was born March 24, 1984, to Dwight and Mary Tarwater in Knoxville, Tennessee.

He grew up in Knoxville, where his father worked as a lawyer.

He is the oldest of three children.

In 1993, Tarwater won the 10-year-old and younger 50-meter butterfly at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.

As a congratulations, he got a personal letter from Olympic gold medalist Melvin Stewart.

His father later said the [letter] got Davis really excited about swimming.

The next year, Tarwater joined the Pilot Aquatic Club and began to compete on the national stage.

Tarwater played baseball and basketball, and ran track before deciding the concentrate on swimming during seventh grade.

In 1999, he won both the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle events at the Junior Nationals, beating Michael Phelps in the latter.

He qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.

He qualified for his first U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000 at age 16.

At the Trials, Tarwater finished 32nd in the 400-meter freestyle and 30th in the 1500-meter freestyle.

In 2001, Tarwater finished third at the Summer Nationals in the 1500-meter freestyle.

He represented the United States at the 2001 Goodwill Games and was named "Athlete of the Year" by Southeastern Swimming Local Swimming Committee.

The United States placed third at the Games, earning Tarwater a team bronze medal.

The following year, Tarwater led his high school – Webb School of Knoxville – to its first (and only) state swimming title before graduating in the spring.

In 2002, he was named High School Swimmer of the Year.

Tarwater attended the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor's degree in political science, and St. Antony's College, Oxford earning a master's degree in Latin American Studies.

At Michigan, he shifted his focus from the freestyle to the butterfly.

He was a three-time NCAA national champion and thirteen-time All-American.

Tarwater set three Big Ten conference and six school records en route to six Big Ten titles.

In his senior season, he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor, recognizing his joint athletic and academic excellence throughout his college career.

In 2004, 2008 and 2012, he narrowly missed making the Olympic team in the 200-meter butterfly.

Tarwater has represented the United States in the World Championships three times, winning a gold medal as part of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay team in 2009.

He has won three individual and five relay national titles, and has finished in the top three more than fifteen times.

In 2011, he set an American record in the 200-meter butterfly, and as of 2012 jointly holds two additional national records in relay events.

In 2012, he finished seventh in the 200-meter freestyle and missed qualifying for the U.S. 4×200-meter freestyle relay team by one spot.

Michael Phelps elected to scratch the 200-meter freestyle from his Olympic schedule, however, allowing Tarwater to make the team.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Tarwater won a gold medal for his contributions in the preliminary heats of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.