CWRU Athletics

Doug Conrad was the Spartans’ first swimming All-American,along with two of his teammates, in 1980. He also set then schoolrecords in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, the two events inwhich he earned four All-America awards. Additionally, Conrad heldthe school mark in the 400 individual medley and was part of theschool-record 200 medley relay team. A Nip Heim Award winner,Conrad was best known for his attempt to swim across Lake Erie onAugust 25, 1980. He fell only a few miles short after swimming morethan 50 miles – roughly twice the width of the EnglishChannel. He earned national media attention as he zigzagged acrossthe lake continuously for 25 hours.