The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2017
Sport: Swimming (2000-04)
Inducted: 2017
One of the best butterflyers in swimming history and among the biggest rivals to Olympic legend Michael Phelps, Ian Crocker led Texas to a pair of NCAA team titles, won three Olympic gold medals and held the 100m butterfly world record for six years. All totaled, Crocker won five Olympic medals (three gold, one silver, one bronze), eight World Championship medals, 10 NCAA titles, 24 All-America honors and 21 Big 12 titles. He will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame later this year. Crocker came to Texas fresh off making the U.S. Olympic team as a 17-year old in 2000 by winning the 100-meter butterfly at the Olympic Trials. He won gold that year swimming the butterfly leg on the 4x100m medley relay, and also finished fourth in the 100m butterfly while setting an American record. As a freshman, he won the NCAA title in the 100m butterfly and was a part of Texas' American record-setting 400 freestyle and medley relays, as the Longhorns won the 2001 NCAA Championship. As a sophomore, Crocker and the Horns repeated as National Champions as he registered NCAA and American records in the 100m butterfly. He again won the 100m butterfly NCAA title as a junior and helped Texas to NCAA and American records in the 200m and 400m medley relays. Crocker knocked off Phelps and his world record as he won gold at the 2003 World Championships. As a senior, Crocker became the third Longhorn named NCAA Swimmer of the Year, joining Olympic greats Mark Spitz and Pablo Morales as the only swimmers to win four consecutive NCAA titles in the 100m butterfly. He also captured his first NCAA title in the 100m freestyle and helped Texas to a national title in the 400m medley relay. Crocker lowered his 100m butterfly world record at the U.S. Olympic Trials and won gold at the 2004 Olympics in the 4x100m medley relay, helping the Americans set a world record. He earned silver in the 100m butterfly, finishing a fraction of a second behind Phelps for the gold, and added a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Crocker lowered his 100m butterfly world record for a third consecutive year when he won gold in the event at the 2005 World Championships, where he also earned a gold medal in the 4x100m medley relay. He made a third U.S. Olympic Team in 2008, becoming just the fifth Longhorn swimmer to represent Team USA three times. He went on to win another gold medal in the 4x100m medley relay and finished fourth in the 100m butterfly. Crocker, who currently is a swimming coach at Western Hills Athletics Club in Rollingwood, Texas, earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from UT in 2005.
