John Van Blom (1992) - Hall of Fame - Long Beach State University Athletics

John Van Blom

Induction:
1992

Another of Long Beach's celebrated multi-Olympic athletes. Van Blom was on four U.S. Olympic teams as a rower - 1968, 72, 76 and 1980 (boycott team) and that total very nearly was five. As a 16-year-old he finished second in the pair without cox at the 1962 Olympic Trials. His favorite victory internationally came in 1969 when he and fellow 49er Athletic Hall of Fame member Tom McKibbon won the gold medal in the double sculls at the World Championships in Klaugenfurt, Austria. A year later, Van Blom and McKibbon were Royal Henley Regatta champions in the double sculls and finished third in the world. In 1984, Van Blom earned his first Olympic medal, a silver, by coaching the women's quad to a second-place finish in Los Angeles. That team included Van Blom's wife, Joan, who is also a member of the 49er Athletic Hall of Fame. A part of the CENTURY CLUB'S best moments in the City of Long Beach in February, 2006.