John Edward Ferris (July 24, 1949 – September 13, 2020) was an American competition swimmer, for Stanford University, a winner of two bronze medals in the 1968 Olympics in butterfly and medley events, and a one-time world record-holder.

A standout at only around 15 while swimming for Arden Hills in June, 1964, Ferris swam a 55.2 for the 100-yard butterfly breaking an age group record in the Junior Olympics, while also placing first in the 100 freestyle with a 1:56.5.

[6] At 18, in what was likely his most noteworthy performance prior to the Olympics, he received a gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1967 World University Games, where he set a new world-record time of on 2:06.0 August 30, 1967 in Tokyo.

"[8] Following his August, 1967 world record breaking time in the 200-meter butterfly, Ferris attended Stanford University, beginning in September 1967, and graduating in 1973 with a major in creative writing.

[4] He swam and trained competitively with United States Masters Swimming from 1981 to 1983, where he had several firsts recorded as top ten national age group finishes in butterfly events in 1982.

He established a Tahitian tourist resort on a vacant rubber plantation, before coming back to California and finding work in a cut flower business in collaboration with a Dutch botanist.

[7][2][4] Travelling frequently, Ferris lived in Albania, California, Croatia, England, Ethiopia, French Polynesia, Idaho, Ireland, Istanbul, Montréal, Moskva, Newfoundland, Paris, Portugal, and Praha.