When Jim McElhaney Jr. started coaching youth swimmers at the Butler YMCA, he frequently sought the counsel of a former teammate at the Y: Olympic medalist Eric Namesnik.

Mr. Namesnik was coaching and living in Michigan, but "he was always accessible," said Mr. McElhaney, assistant coach of the Butler Barracudas.

"Eric loved our program and he loved coaching. When our season began a few months ago, he put a good-luck wish in our guest book."

Mr. Namesnik, 35, of Saline, Mich., died yesterday of brain injuries suffered in an auto accident in Michigan Saturday morning. He was in a 12-car pileup on icy Interstate 94 outside Ann Arbor.

A former Butler resident, Mr. Namesnik won silver medals in the 400-meter individual medley in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

The individual medley is made up of four strokes, and Mr. Namesnik was the first United States swimmer to complete that event in less than 4 minutes, 15 seconds. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in that event in 1991 and 1993.

As a junior at Butler Area High School in 1987, Mr. Namesnik won WPIAL and PIAA championships in the 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle events. He also was the WPIAL 200-yard individual medley champion in 1986.

He swam at the University of Michigan from 1988-93, then was a volunteer assistant coach there for three years.

His head coach, Jon Urbanchek, hired him as his No. 1 assistant in 1997. Mr. Namesnik would maintain that position until Mr. Urbanchek retired in 2004.

A new head coach came in and Mr. Namesnik was not retained. From 2004 until his death, he was the head coach of Wolverine Aquatics, an age-group club in the Ann Arbor area. He also served as a volunteer assistant at Eastern Michigan University.

"No matter how you look at it, Eric was a success," Mr. Urbanchek said.

He is survived by his wife, Kirsten, a statistics lecturer at the University of Michigan; a son, Austin, and a daughter, Madison; his parents, John and Katherine Namesnik of Butler; and a sister, Leesa Allen.

A service and burial will be scheduled at a later date in Butler.