Tim McKee

Tim McKee missed a gold medal by the smallest margin in Olympic history. In the 400 IM, he and Sweden’s Gunnar Larsson apparently tied for first when the electronic timing clocked them both at 4:31.98 secs. But the timing was sensitive enough to measure to thousandths of a second and Larsson’s 4:31.981 defeated McKee’s 4:31.983 – a margin of 2/1,000ths of a second. This episode caused a change in international rules, as McKee’s defeat was by less than the amount a fingernail grows over several weeks. In fact, it was determined that McKee could actually have lost had the paint on the wall in his lane been applied slightly too thin. In addition to his three Olympic silver medals, Tim McKee, who attended the University of Florida, won a silver medal in the 200 m backstroke at the 1971 Pan American Games.