American swimmer Pablo Morales earned the nickname “The Comeback Kid” after he defied age and skeptics to become the oldest Olympic swimming gold medalist.
Morales was considered a bright prospect for the United States’ Olympic swimming program after he won a relay gold and two individual silvers at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. After stamping his class in the US NCAA swimming competitions, Morales was widely considered to be a gold medal prospect for the US in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
But in a shocking development, he failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. In the aftermath, Morales quit swimming and went to law school, but decided to launch a comeback in 1991 at the relatively advanced age of 27. He made the Olympic team this time, and in Barcelona, at age 28, won the gold in the 100m butterfly and another gold as part of the men’s 4x100m medley.
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