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Former U.C. Berkeley star Anthony Ervin became the oldest swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal, racing to victory in the men’s 50-meter freestyle at the age of 35 – a record 16 years after winning his first gold.

Ervin, who on his website describes himself as representing “a broad demographic of Jewish, Native American and African American descent,” was competing in his third Summer Games. He won another gold medal earlier in the Rio competition as a member of the U.S. 4×100 freestyle relay that included Michael Phelps.

Ervin’s win by one-hundredth of a second over France’s Florent Manaudou on Aug. 12 allowed him to surpass Phelps as the oldest individual gold medalist in swimming. Phelps, 31, days earlier had earned that distinction, which until Rio had been held by Duke Kahanamoku, who won the 100 freestyle at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics at the age of 30 and went on to popularize the Hawaiian sport of surfing.

Fellow American Nathan Adrian – another member of the relay team on which Ervin won gold in Rio – took the bronze in the 50-meter freestyle on Aug. 12, nine-hundredths of a second behind Ervin.

Ervin has said he battled substance abuse, depression and homelessness before making a comeback to swimming four years ago. He quit the sport in 2003, at the age of 22, and sold his gold medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics to raise money for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Returning to competition for the 2012 Summer Olympics, he placed fifth in the 50-meter freestyle, the same event where he took gold this week.

Now he will get to celebrate his latest gold-medal achievement with his 6-week-old daughter. Ervin has not yet had a chance to meet his daughter, who was born during the U.S. Olympic trials and lives in California.

Ervin was one of at least three Jews with Bay Area connections who competed for the U.S. in Rio, along with rugby’s Zack Test and rower Seth Weil.

The U.S. rugby sevens team that included Test – a native of Redwood City who attended the Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City – finished ninth out of 12 teams in Rio last week.

In rowing, the U.S. coxless four team that included Weil, 29, of Menlo Park, finished fourth in its semifinal on Aug. 11 and failed to advance to the final.