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William ‘Bill’ Yorzyk was an athlete, coach and student leader during his University of Toronto career. A member of two championship swim teams (1957-58 and 1958-59), Yorzyk also coached the Varsity Blues to two championships 1959-60 and 1960-61.
He was an outstanding swimmer, earning gold medals in 200-yd butterfly, 440-yd freestyle and 400-yd freestyle relay. His talent was evident prior to joining the U of T, when, in 1956, he won an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. in the butterfly event. Always his best event, Yorzyk broke a world record in the butterfly while swimming for the Blues.
Yorzyk began a two-year coaching career with the Blues in 1959, guiding the team to the 1960-61 championships and launching the team’s 32-year supremacy of Ontario university athletics swimming. In addition to his competitive and coaching duties for the Blues, Bill Yorzyk also participated in the governance of the athletic program as a member of the U of T Athletic Directorate, where he served as vice-president for two years.
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