| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Monfore Nitzkowski |
| Nickname | "Monte" |
| National team |  United States |
| Born | September 7, 1929 Pasadena, California |
| Died | July 28, 2016 (aged 86) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Breaststroke, Butterfly, Water Polo |
| College team | University of California, Los Angeles |
Kenneth Monfore "Monte" Nitzkowski (September 7, 1929 – July 28, 2016) was an American former competition swimmer and water polo coach. He represented the United States in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where he finished with the eleventh-best time overall.[1] Nitzkowski acted as the U.S. water polo assistant coach at the 1968 Olympics and was appointed head coach for the 1972, 1980 and 1984 games.[2]
After transferring from Fullerton Junior College, he swam and played water polo for the UCLA Bruins in 1950 and 1951. He became one of the world's foremost authorities in water polo by coaching Long Beach City College to 32 conference water polo championships and 12 conference swim titles during 1954 to 1989.
Nitzkowski was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1991, the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1993,[3][4] the Fullerton College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005, and the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.[5] In 2016, he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
