Stephen Rerych
Stephen Karl "Steve" Rerych (born May 14, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a retired American surgeon and former swimmer who competed for North Carolina State University. He swam for NC State from 1964 to 1968 under coach Willis Casey and also played baseball, reaching the College World Series as a pitcher. He won the 1966 AAU title in the 100-yard indoor freestyle.
At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Rerych earned two gold medals. He swam the second leg for the United States in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, which set a world record of 3:31.7 (teammates Zac Zorn, Mark Spitz, and Ken Walsh). He also helped the U.S. win the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with teammates John Nelson, Spitz, and Don Schollander. In the individual 200-meter freestyle, he swam in the preliminaries with a time of 2:00.6 but did not advance.
After his swimming career, Rerych became a general surgeon. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University in 1974, completed a Duke University internship in general and thoracic surgery in 1975, and in 1986 was named Chief Resident in General, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery at Duke and the Veteran's Medical Center in Asheville, North Carolina. He had his first and only child, Stephanie, in 1990. In 1991 he served as an assistant clinical professor of general, vascular and thoracic surgery at Duke and in Asheville. He later practiced as a general, thoracic and plastic surgeon in Asheville at Memorial Mission Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital (now Mission St. Joseph's Health System), before moving to West Virginia.
Rerych is a graduate of Peekskill Military Academy, class of 1964, in Peekskill, New York.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:51 (CET).