In 1976, John Naber became the most highly decorated member of the US Olympic Team, winning four gold medals and one silver, and setting four world records in the sport of swimming. In the process, he became the first swimmer in Olympic history to win two individual medals on the same day. In 1977 he led his school (the University of Southern California) to his and their fourth consecutive undefeated season and national title, and won the James E. Sullivan award as the nation’s outstanding amateur athlete.
Quickly moving to broadcasting, John Naber worked for all the major networks and almost every cable channel covering his sport at local, national, and international meets. In 1984 he was inducted into the US Olympic Committee Hall of Fame, just two days before he carried the Olympic torch, and later the Olympic flag into the Los Angeles Olympic Opening Ceremony. In 1986, John Naber began working as a play by play announcer, covering sports as varied as motorcross, skiing, gymnastics, football, bowling and equestrian events. He has hosted coverage for over 34 different sports, and for seven Olympic Games.
As a keen observer of excellence, John Naber has discovered the method by which champions in all walks of life use to reach their goals, and he shares this process along with his personal insights to audiences all over the globe.
In a nationwide USA TODAY poll, John was elected as the male captain of the “100 Golden Olympians,” an all star collection of America’s greatest Olympic Champions. He is also the President of the US Olympians, the alumni association of America’s athletes. Naber has written articles for various publications, and even produced his own competitive swimming instructional video program. His book is entitled Awaken the Olympian Within: Stories from America’s Greatest Olympic Motivators.
As a volunteer, John Naber has assisted the International Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs, national and local YMCA’s and the Women Sports Foundation, and as president of the AAF Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, he raised over six million dollars to build one of the greatest outdoor competition pools in the country.
“I congratulate you on the extraordinary speech you gave at our recent meeting. As you undoubtedly have heard, the audience was overwhelmed by not only the substance but the style of your presentation. I agree. In my considerable experience, I have never heard a motivational speaker who incorporated the meeting’s objectives and major emphasis points into the message as effectively as you do. Your ‘Gold Medal Performance’ truly set the gold standard for motivational presentations.”
“Your discussion on ‘Eight Steps to Gold Medal Performance’ was right on target… the Win/Win attitude you talked about along with your humorous Olympic stories will surely help all of us become champions in our personal and professional lives.”
"I am frequently asked by speakers we invite to address our managers and members of our sales force elite to write referral letters... as a rule, I do not... well, not this time. It is now months later (from your speech) and I want you to know I continue to hear your message on `No Deposit-No Return.'... I frequently see sales people with their sales goal for the year on a 3x5 card. Your message is a good one. It is energizing and memorable."
"You are the best motivational and practical speaker we have seen in six years of this forum. You spoke in a manner that made the audience want to listen to your message. You took the time to learn about PARAMINS, what makes us "tick", and then incorporated this into your presentation."