Mary T. Meagher
Butterfly, freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of California, Berkeley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Mary Terstegge Meagher Plant (born October 27, 1964) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder. In 1981 she bettered her own existing world records in the 100-meter butterfly (57.93) and 200-meter butterfly (2:05.96). These times would stand as the respective world records for 18 and 19 years, and are considered to be among the greatest sports performances ever.[3]
Early life
Meagher is the daughter of two-time Notre Dame basketball letterman James L. Meagher. She was a competitive athlete from an early age. At the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she set her first world record—at the age of 14—in the 200-meter butterfly. "When she was a teenager, Mary showed no weaknesses," reflected Dennis Pursley, one of her early coaches. "Every athlete I've ever known had some form of weakness, be it in terms of motivation, technique or physical attributes, but Mary was the exception."[4] She graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy high school in Louisville, Kentucky, alongside her sister, future U.S. Representative Anne Northup.
1980 Boycott and on
Meagher was expected to compete for medals at the
However, in 1981 Meagher gave one of the most memorable performances in competitive swimming at the U.S. Swimming National Championships held in Brown Deer, Wisconsin in 1981. At the meet, Meagher set world records in both the 200-meter and 100-meter butterfly, the two primary distances at which the butterfly is contested in competitive swimming. The times for both records were considered astonishing, especially the record of 57.93 seconds that Meagher set in the 100-meters—a drop of over a second. Both times would stand as the world records for nearly two decades: American swimmer
Meagher attended the
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Meagher won gold medals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly races, along with another gold by swimming the butterfly leg of the women's 4×100-meter medley relay for the winning U.S. team in the event final. Returning to compete at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Meagher won a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly. By the time she left competitive swimming, Meagher had won 24 U.S. national swimming titles.
Personal life
Meagher was the 10th of 11 siblings.
In Louisville a swimming complex is named for Meagher, and a street is named in her honor in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
See also
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
- List of University of California, Berkeley alumni
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
- World record progression 100 metres butterfly
- World record progression 200 metres butterfly
References
- ^ "Mary T. Meagher (USA) – 1993 Honor Swimmer". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mary T. Meagher". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016.
- ^ "CNNSI.com's 100 Greatest Women Athletes". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2005.
- ^ a b "Mary T. MEAGHER - Olympic Swimming | United States of America". International Olympic Committee. January 18, 2017. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- ^ "Past Honda Sports Award Winners for Swimming & Diving". CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "BACK IN THE SWIM : Mary T. Meagher Resumes Her Pursuit of Olympic Medals". Los Angeles Times. January 19, 1988. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- ^ "Mary T. Meagher (1992) - California Athletics Hall of Fame". University of California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- ^ "Past Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Winners (Honda Cup)". CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
External links
- Mary T. Meagher at World Aquatics
- Mary T. Meagher at the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- Mary T. Meagher at the Team USA Hall of Fame (archive July 20, 2023)
- Mary T. Meagher at Olympics.com
- Mary T. Meagher at Olympedia