Bruce MacFarlane Furniss (born May 27, 1957) is a former American amateur competition swimmer, Olympic double gold medalist, and ten-time world record-holder in four events.

[2] Furniss broke ten world and nineteen American records, and won eleven Amateur Athletic Union and six NCAA titles.

Many coaches and swimming experts lauded his "perfect freestyle stroke" and six-beat flutter kick as his best weapon against his much taller and bigger opponents.

Joining Furniss was older brother Steve, 1977 James E. Sullivan Award Winner, John Naber, Joe Bottom, and Rod Strachan.

As a 7-year-old in 1964, Furniss was inspired by the four gold medal performance of American swimmer Don Schollander, who broke the 200-meter freestyle world record eleven times during his career.

Later that same summer, Furniss would break the world record in the event for the third time at the 1975 AAU Senior National Outdoor Championships in Kansas City, KS.

Furniss also broke the world record in the Men's 200-meter individual medley at the 1975 AAU Senior National Outdoor Championships in Kansas City, KS.

Upon his retirement from collegiate and international swimming, Steve became a leading innovator in competitive aquatic apparel founding TYR Sport in 1985.

As the reigning 200-meter individual medley world record-holder from 1975 through 1977, Furniss was the apparent favorite for the event's 1976 Olympic gold medal.

Furniss was also the United States' fourth fastest swimmer in the 100-meter freestyle in 1975, and was a member of the world champion and world record-holding quartet (Furniss, Andy Coan, Jim Montgomery & John Murphy) in the 4×100-meter Freestyle Relay, an event the Americans were favored to win in 1976 and up unto that time, one the U.S. had never lost in Olympic competition.

The award is presented annually to six former collegiate athletes in recognition of their 25 years of post-graduate career achievements, contributions to professional organizations, as well as charitable and civic activities within their community.

Most of his work involved supporting the marketing efforts of several major corporate sponsors of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA.

Furniss is a part time Assistant Senior Coach at SoCal Aquatics in his original hometown of Tustin, CA.

[4] Throughout much of his prime swimming career, Furniss became noted for achieving athletic success in spite of waging a quiet battle against the crippling arthritic disease, Ankylosing Spondylitis.

He was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Orange, California, where he was treated with therapeutic hypothermia (medically induced cooling) and was eventually released.