Olympian and revered Bay Area swim coach Richard Thornton died of drowning, authorities say

Authorities have announced that Richard Thornton — a revered figure in Northern California’s swimming community and a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic swim team — died of drowning two weeks ago in the waters off Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said his cause of death was “determined to be seawater drowning,” and that it had been ruled an accident, according to Ashley Keehn, a sheriff’s spokesperson. He was 65.

The determination comes after Thornton died Jan. 4 in the waters off Santa Cruz. Authorities received a call at 8 a.m. that day from the 23000 block of East Cliff Drive, near Pleasure Point, for a water rescue, according to Keehn. Other people in the water helped him out before paramedics and firefighters arrived. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

At the time, his family said he “died while stepping into the water,” but released few other details. A member of Thornton’s family did not respond to a request for comment sent Thursday.

Richard Thornton during his time at Cal. (Photo courtesy of Thornton family) 

Thornton’s name had been synonymous with Bay Area swimming for decades, beginning with his elevation to the U.S. Olympic swim team in 1980. He did not compete, however, due to the nation’s boycott of those games. Thornton and his family have deep ties to the East Bay’s competitive swim community.

He graduated from Cal with a degree in physical education, got his master’s at Saint Mary’s and went on to become a prolific swim coach in Northern California, mentoring Olympic and world championship finalists, world record holders and NCAA All-Americans. Most of his time was spent with San Ramon Valley Aquatics, which he helped found in 1985.

In doing so, he followed the path of his father, Nort, who led Cal’s swim team to two NCAA team titles over the course of a vaunted 33-year career.

Staff writer Austin Turner contributed to this report.