UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame swimmer Mike Burton passed away in September battling Lewy body dementia. He was 79 years old.

Burton attended UCLA from 1965-1971 and won five NCAA individual championships during that span. He also captured two gold medals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and a third at the Munich Games. Burton was part of the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame’s esteemed 1984 charter class, which included the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Arthur Ashe, Rafer Johnson, Jackie Robinson and John Wooden.

Severely injured at the age of 12 when hit by a truck while riding his bicycle, Burton was forced to quit contact sports. He turned to swimming as part of his rehabilitation and developed into one of the sport’s distance greats in under 10 years. Burton was the first swimmer to utilize a high-mileage training regimen and precision pacing of laps during races, both of which are commonplace today. At the 1966 American Athletic Union (AAU) national championships, he established a new American record in the 1,650-yard freestyle by 30 seconds. He set seven world records throughout his career, the last in Munich.

A 17-year-old Burton had already qualified for the 1964 United States Olympic trials, but narrowly missed the cut. He chose to attend UCLA, largely because of Hall of Fame coach Bob Horn, as his next stop. While freshmen were not allowed to compete at the NCAA Championships, Burton prevailed in two events at the AAU Short Course National Championships. A decorated debut season was capped by Burton winning gold in 1,500 free at the Tokyo World University Games.

He ultimately won five NCAA crowns, including three – 1,650 free, 200 fly and 500 free – at his final meet as a Bruin. That year also saw UCLA earn the Pacific-8 Conference championship and finish a program-best third nationally. Burton was named an All-American nine times.

Already a force on the AAU summer circuit, Burton burst onto the international scene in 1968 by winning two gold medals at the Mexico City Olympics while fighting illness. His first came in the 400 free, setting a new Olympic record of 4:09:0. Then came a remarkable performance in the 1,500 free, as Burton shattered the previous Olympic record by 22.8 seconds, clocking a time of 16:38.9 that was 18.4 seconds faster than the next closest competitor.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Burton made history once again. In a come-from-behind effort, he broke the 1,500 free world record with a time of 15:52.58 that also made him the event’s first repeat winner. In a vote of all American athletes at the Games, Burton was chosen as flag bearer at the closing ceremonies. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer in 1977 and was later enshrined in the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame.

Upon retirement, Burton followed in the footsteps of lifelong mentor Sherm Chavoor into coaching. Burton helped BYU claim its first-ever conference title and also made stops in Olympia, Wash., Des Moines, Iowa and finally Billings, Mont. He took great pride in the accomplishments of his pupils, especially 1988 Olympian Craig Oppel. Burton was a mainstay at the Olympic trials, congratulating men’s and women’s 1500 free qualifiers.

He was born in Des Moines, but relocated to Sacramento with his family at the age of two. Burton and his wife of 39 years, Carol, loved to travel – especially to rodeos – as well as camp and spend time with family and friends. He also enjoyed cooking, sharing stories about his greatest races and supporting UCLA football and men’s basketball. Mike Burton is survived by his wife, their children, brother Randy and sister Barbara.