Monday, March 28, 2022
Women's Olympic Swimming Through the Years
The U.S. Olympic women’s swim team has been the most successful in the history of swimming.
American women swept the medal stand in the individual events at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, the first one they were allowed to participate in. They’ve set numerous world records over the past 100-plus years and hold 10 today, four more than runners-up Australia and Sweden. A successful Games for these women, it goes without saying, is one filled with medals and records.
In honor of Women's History Month this March, here are some of the biggest names and events from the U.S. Olympic women’s swim team over the past 100-plus years.
1922–1941
Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle won a gold medal and two bronze medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics, a performance she was disappointed with. She wanted three gold medals.
Her high standards hinted at the legendary swimming career she’d have in the open water. Before becoming a professional in 1925, she set 29 U.S. national or world records. Ederle then became the first woman to swim the English Channel, doing so in 1926 in 14:39:00, nearly two hours faster than the five men who completed it before her.
Event: The 1920 Olympics
Women began swimming at the Olympics in 1912, but sexism kept American women sidelined until 1920 because James E. Sullivan, who led the American Olympic Committee and the Amateur Athletic Union, refused to allow them to participate earlier.
American women made an astounding debut at the 1920 Olympics, winning gold, silver and bronze in the 100 and 300 freestyle and taking a gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Proving that was no fluke, the team won four more gold medals four years later.
1942–1961
Swimmer: Ann Curtis
Ann Curtis is widely regarded as one of the best female swimmers ever. She broke five world records and 56 American records, and earned two gold medals and a silver medal at the 1948 London Olympics, an impressive haul considering swimmers could only swim in three races. She drew renown for how hard she worked, telling Splash in 1999, “I remember one time two visiting swim coaches from Australia came to watch us work and were appalled at how hard he [Coach Charlie Sava] worked us.”
Curtis retired after her sole Olympics and opened the Ann Curtis School of Swimming in San Rafael, California. She ran the school until 1996, helping more than 40,000 people learn to swim, including Olympians Rick DeMont and Ben Wildman-Tobriner. In 2019, eight-time Olympic medalist Nathan Adrian and former U.S. National Team member Will Copeland took it over.
Event: Butterfly Added to the Olympics
Butterfly traces its origin to the 1930s, when swimmers doing breaststroke events recovered their arms above the water, but didn’t become an official stroke until 1954. The women’s 100 butterfly made its Olympic debut in 1956, with Americans Shelley Mann, Nancy Ramey, and Mary Sears sweeping the medal stand.
The Olympic debut of that event, as well as the women’s 200 butterfly in 1968, opened the door for generations of great female American butterflyers, including Misty Hyman, Mary T. Meagher, and Dana Vollmer.
1962–1981
Swimmer: Debbie Meyer
Debbie Meyer entered the 1968 Mexico City Olympics as an overwhelming favorite to win the 200, 400, and 800 freestyle. Despite this tremendous pressure for a 16-year-old, she won all three events, something no one had accomplished before and only Katie Ledecky has accomplished since. Meyer achieved this amazing display of versatility despite battling asthma, the smog-laden air of the host city, and the breath-taking elevation of 7,000 feet.
Meyer broke 15 world records and 24 American records in her career before retiring in 1972, a few months shy of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming. She went on to start the Debbie Meyer Swim School in Carmichael, California, helping children and adults become water safe.
Event: “The Last Gold” 1976 Relay Upset
The U.S. women’s chances of winning the 4x100 freestyle relay, the last event, at the 1976 Montreal Olympics were bleak. The East German women, some of whom were doping, had won 11 of the 12 gold medals heading into that relay and had the gold and silver medalists in the 100 freestyle. The U.S. didn’t even earn a medal in the 100 freestyle.
Despite an amazing second leg by Wendy Boglioli, the U.S. trailed by about eight-tenths of a second midway through the race. Jill Sterkel then split a 55.78, the fastest of any women in the field, on the third leg, giving U.S. anchor Shirley Babashoff the lead. She held on to pull off one of the greatest upsets in the history of swimming and set a world record by four seconds.
1982–2001
Swimmer: Tracy Stockwell (nee Caulkins)
When she was 9 years old, Tracy Stockwell (nee Caulkins) decided she wanted to become an Olympian and win a gold medal. She qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1980 and 1984 and won three gold medals, in the 200 and 400 IM and on the 4x100 medley relay, in 1984. After her performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Caulkins decided to forgo her senior season at the University of Florida and retired from competition.
She displayed remarkable versatility in her career, setting American records in all four strokes and the IM, and finished having set five world records and 63 American records and having won 48 national championships.
Event: A Dominant Return in 1984
After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the U.S. faced a difficult decision: Should it boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest? President Jimmy Carter decided to do so, joining 64 other countries but hurting the chances of many athletes to experience Olympic glory.
With 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, American women dominated in their return to the Games. They won 12 of the 15 gold medals awarded. Stockwell (nee Caulkins), Nancy Hogshead-Makar, and Mary T. Meagher each won three gold medals.
2002–2022
Swimmer: Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky burst onto the swimming scene at the age of 15 by winning a gold medal in the 800 freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics. She hasn’t stopped yet, adding four golds and a silver four years later and two golds and two silvers last year.
Ledecky, who just turned 25, has proven herself as the top distance swimmer ever. She owns the top 25 times ever recorded in the 800 freestyle, 18 of the top 25 times ever recorded in the 1500, and the world record in the 400 freestyle.
Event: Haley Anderson’s 10K Silver at the 2012 Games
Haley Anderson didn’t enjoy her first impression of open water swimming. Her club team would do weekly workouts each August in the chilly open water of Northern California, leaving her freezing.
But swimming open water created new possibilities for Anderson. She won a silver medal in the 10K at the 2012 London Olympics and finished fifth in the event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and sixth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her medal remains the one an American, male or female, has won in the open water, which began being contested at the Olympics in 2008.
American women swept the medal stand in the individual events at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, the first one they were allowed to participate in. They’ve set numerous world records over the past 100-plus years and hold 10 today, four more than runners-up Australia and Sweden. A successful Games for these women, it goes without saying, is one filled with medals and records.
In honor of Women's History Month this March, here are some of the biggest names and events from the U.S. Olympic women’s swim team over the past 100-plus years.
1922–1941
Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle won a gold medal and two bronze medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics, a performance she was disappointed with. She wanted three gold medals.
Her high standards hinted at the legendary swimming career she’d have in the open water. Before becoming a professional in 1925, she set 29 U.S. national or world records. Ederle then became the first woman to swim the English Channel, doing so in 1926 in 14:39:00, nearly two hours faster than the five men who completed it before her.
Event: The 1920 Olympics
Women began swimming at the Olympics in 1912, but sexism kept American women sidelined until 1920 because James E. Sullivan, who led the American Olympic Committee and the Amateur Athletic Union, refused to allow them to participate earlier.
American women made an astounding debut at the 1920 Olympics, winning gold, silver and bronze in the 100 and 300 freestyle and taking a gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Proving that was no fluke, the team won four more gold medals four years later.
1942–1961
Swimmer: Ann Curtis
Ann Curtis is widely regarded as one of the best female swimmers ever. She broke five world records and 56 American records, and earned two gold medals and a silver medal at the 1948 London Olympics, an impressive haul considering swimmers could only swim in three races. She drew renown for how hard she worked, telling Splash in 1999, “I remember one time two visiting swim coaches from Australia came to watch us work and were appalled at how hard he [Coach Charlie Sava] worked us.”
Curtis retired after her sole Olympics and opened the Ann Curtis School of Swimming in San Rafael, California. She ran the school until 1996, helping more than 40,000 people learn to swim, including Olympians Rick DeMont and Ben Wildman-Tobriner. In 2019, eight-time Olympic medalist Nathan Adrian and former U.S. National Team member Will Copeland took it over.
Event: Butterfly Added to the Olympics
Butterfly traces its origin to the 1930s, when swimmers doing breaststroke events recovered their arms above the water, but didn’t become an official stroke until 1954. The women’s 100 butterfly made its Olympic debut in 1956, with Americans Shelley Mann, Nancy Ramey, and Mary Sears sweeping the medal stand.
The Olympic debut of that event, as well as the women’s 200 butterfly in 1968, opened the door for generations of great female American butterflyers, including Misty Hyman, Mary T. Meagher, and Dana Vollmer.
1962–1981
Swimmer: Debbie Meyer
Debbie Meyer entered the 1968 Mexico City Olympics as an overwhelming favorite to win the 200, 400, and 800 freestyle. Despite this tremendous pressure for a 16-year-old, she won all three events, something no one had accomplished before and only Katie Ledecky has accomplished since. Meyer achieved this amazing display of versatility despite battling asthma, the smog-laden air of the host city, and the breath-taking elevation of 7,000 feet.
Meyer broke 15 world records and 24 American records in her career before retiring in 1972, a few months shy of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming. She went on to start the Debbie Meyer Swim School in Carmichael, California, helping children and adults become water safe.
Event: “The Last Gold” 1976 Relay Upset
The U.S. women’s chances of winning the 4x100 freestyle relay, the last event, at the 1976 Montreal Olympics were bleak. The East German women, some of whom were doping, had won 11 of the 12 gold medals heading into that relay and had the gold and silver medalists in the 100 freestyle. The U.S. didn’t even earn a medal in the 100 freestyle.
Despite an amazing second leg by Wendy Boglioli, the U.S. trailed by about eight-tenths of a second midway through the race. Jill Sterkel then split a 55.78, the fastest of any women in the field, on the third leg, giving U.S. anchor Shirley Babashoff the lead. She held on to pull off one of the greatest upsets in the history of swimming and set a world record by four seconds.
1982–2001
Swimmer: Tracy Stockwell (nee Caulkins)
When she was 9 years old, Tracy Stockwell (nee Caulkins) decided she wanted to become an Olympian and win a gold medal. She qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1980 and 1984 and won three gold medals, in the 200 and 400 IM and on the 4x100 medley relay, in 1984. After her performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Caulkins decided to forgo her senior season at the University of Florida and retired from competition.
She displayed remarkable versatility in her career, setting American records in all four strokes and the IM, and finished having set five world records and 63 American records and having won 48 national championships.
Event: A Dominant Return in 1984
After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the U.S. faced a difficult decision: Should it boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest? President Jimmy Carter decided to do so, joining 64 other countries but hurting the chances of many athletes to experience Olympic glory.
With 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, American women dominated in their return to the Games. They won 12 of the 15 gold medals awarded. Stockwell (nee Caulkins), Nancy Hogshead-Makar, and Mary T. Meagher each won three gold medals.
2002–2022
Swimmer: Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky burst onto the swimming scene at the age of 15 by winning a gold medal in the 800 freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics. She hasn’t stopped yet, adding four golds and a silver four years later and two golds and two silvers last year.
Ledecky, who just turned 25, has proven herself as the top distance swimmer ever. She owns the top 25 times ever recorded in the 800 freestyle, 18 of the top 25 times ever recorded in the 1500, and the world record in the 400 freestyle.
Event: Haley Anderson’s 10K Silver at the 2012 Games
Haley Anderson didn’t enjoy her first impression of open water swimming. Her club team would do weekly workouts each August in the chilly open water of Northern California, leaving her freezing.
But swimming open water created new possibilities for Anderson. She won a silver medal in the 10K at the 2012 London Olympics and finished fifth in the event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and sixth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her medal remains the one an American, male or female, has won in the open water, which began being contested at the Olympics in 2008.