PALO ALTO, Calif., April 14 (UPI) -- Former Olympic swimmer and 200-meter breaststroke record holder Brian Job is homeless and "totally delusional" in Palo Alto, Calif., his family said.
Job, pronounced like the long-suffering Biblical character, competed in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, earning a bronze medal in his signature race. Four years later in Munich he was the world record holder in the event and favored to win gold -- but inexplicably failed to get out of the qualifying round.
Job, 61, told the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury-News in a recent interview he can't recall why he failed.
"I don't remember, to tell you the truth," he said. "I'm rolling the tape back and I'm getting a blank stare."
Job is a former standout at Stanford and the Palo Alto Swim Club, where he swam with Olympic phenom Mark Spitz and tutored him in school.
Now, suffering from mental illness, his family says Job lives on the street.
"He's mentally ill and totally delusional," said Lisa Uzzell, Job's sister. "We had to get a restraining order to keep him away from my parents' house after he almost burned it down when he caught the rug on fire. He's manic-depressive, but he thinks nothing is wrong with him, so he doesn't take his medication."
