Education
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.
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.
Nitzkowski acted as the United States. water polo assistant coach at the 1968 Olympics and was appointed head coach for the 1972, 1980 and 1984 games. After transferring from Fullerton Junior College, he swam and played water polo for the University of California, Los Angeles 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, and the University of California, Los Angeles Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.