John Merrill
USMS National Records – pool individual 6 lifetime, 2 currently held
USMS Pool All Star Honors – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
USMS Pool All American Honors – 17 years (25 individual)
USMS Long Distance All American Honors – 1 year (1 individual)
USMS Top Ten Achievements – 350 individual
John Merrill was born February 12, 1917, in Buffalo, New York. After high school, John attended the New York State Merchant Marine Academy. There he continued his tradition of strong swimming established in high school. On one occasion in 1936, he swam an exhibition backstroke event with Olympian Walter Spence in Bermuda. He swam in a meet against the Panamanian Olympic Team in Balboa, Panama.
Merrill served in the United States Coast Guard from 1938-1951. His assignments included International Iceberg Patrol (1940), Ketchikan, Alaska (1942-1944), U.S. Coast Guard Radio Engineering and Maintenance School at Avery Point Groton, Connecticut (1944-1951). He was employed at the Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory from 1951 to 1979, eventually becoming head of the submarine electromagnetic systems department there.
After WWII, John stopped swimming competitively until the early 1970s when he caught wind of the fledgling Masters program. He held many national titles and age-group records in U.S. Masters Swimming, most recently being affiliated with the New England Masters Swim Club after many years with Connecticut Masters.
Following his retirement, Merrill wrote several books and articles on marine subjects. He served as president of the Waterford Library Board, was a member of the Connecticut State Library Board, and was a fellow of the Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport. Among other honors, Lafayette High School in Buffalo recognized him as an outstanding alumnus in 2007. The Town of Waterford named him Citizen of the Year in 1987.
From long time Connecticut Masters Teammate Ronnie Kamphausen “John has to satisfy himself. His satisfaction comes not just in winning, but in measuring his performance against what he's done and hopes to do in the future.”
John’s youngest son Justin swam for the University of Maine and his grandsons Colin and Liam swam for Connecticut College. The Merrill swimming legacy is on its third generation!