Bo Stassforth joined the US Navy in August 1944 while still in high school. Because of poor vision, he was assigned to teach swimming and water survival skills to soldiers on North Island in San Diego. After the war ended Stassforth enrolled at the University of Iowa where he was an 8-time All-American. In 1949 he helped Iowa win the 3x100 medley relay at the NCAA Championships, swimming the lead-off leg. Stassforth competed at the 1951 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke and a gold with the US medley relay team. He was inducted into the University of Iowa Hall of Fame in 1996. Stassforth’s business career was in insurance in a company for over 50 years with his father and brother.
United States