CLINTON, Arkansas, October 3. ARKANSAS’ own 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist John Hargis is returning home to coach the team for which he swam, the Arkansas Dolphins Swim Team. He will be working with his former coach Paul Blair, along with Keith McAfee and Basil Hicks, a national-age-group Champion.
Blair is an eight-time USA National Team Coach and has been the head coach of the Dolphins for 27 years. The Dolphin team originally formed at the Little Rock Racquet Club in 1967, then relocated to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Donaghey Center in 1998. Hargis won his gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games as a part of the 400 medley relay team.
Hargis attended Auburn University and was team captain of the 1997 national championship team. By the time he graduated he was a 12-time All American, part of three SEC championship teams, an SEC record holder as part of the NCAA champion 200 and 400 medley relay teams and silver medalist at the 1998 World Championships.
Hargis was inducted into the Arkansas Swimming Hall of Fame in 2001. Hargis is joining Blair and the Arkansas Dolphin staff from Penn State University where he has been an assistant since 2003. Prior to that time, he was an assistant at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the Raleigh Swim Association.