Becky Dyroen-Lancer

Becky Dyroen-Lancer overcame a tough-and-go beginning to become an incredible athlete. She has joked that she was born to be a swimmer and hold her breath underwater because she was born a blue baby who was not breathing after birth. She was diagnosed with a heart defect and at age five had open heart surgery. Once she recovered, her parents were eager to see her do the same activities as other children. At age ten, Lancer delved into the same sport as her mother, Paula, who had been a synchronized swimmer. So did Lancer's sister, Suzannah Dyroen Bianco.

Lancer grew up in Campbell, California, attended West Valley College, and studied secondary education at De Anza College. In 1984, synchronized swimming entered the Olympic Games as a Summer event, just in time for Lancer, who in 1989 had won the first in a long string of titles—Junior World Solo, Duet and Team champion. The next year she received the silver medal at the Moscow Invitational Duet and began a five-year streak as USSS All-American.

The year 1991 held not only a gold medal solo performance at the Pan American Games and recognition as Coca-Cola Athlete of the Day, but four more championships in solo, duet, and team competitions, including the FINA World Cup, French Open, and World Aquatics Team. In both 1991 and 1992, Lancer received a silver medal at the US National. She also placed second at the 1992 US Olympic Trials solo event.

On January 9, 1993, Lancer married Kevin Lancer, a retired ballet dancer, who helps with her choreography. That same year, she was part of the US team that swept all the events at the Synchronized Swimming World Cup.

Lancer, who represented the synchronized swimming category, was one of fifty nominees for the 1993 Amateur Athletics Union's Sullivan Award for top amateur athlete in the country. Although she didn't receive the award, there were plenty of others that graced her mantle. Some of her numerous accomplishments that year were USOC Top Ten Sports Woman of the Year, German Open, World Cup, and Swimming World's World Synchronized Swimmer of the Year. For three consecutive years from 1993 to 1995, Lancer received the Edna Hines Award and the Kay Vilen High Point Individual Award, and was named USSS Athlete of the Year.

Synchronized swimming incorporates elements of gymnastics, figure skating, and aerobics all performed in water. Lancer practices six to eight hours a day, six days a week to perfect her grace and strength in the sport, as well as her concentration. Her coach Chris Carver noted in The Olympic Fact Book, "I always knew that Becky was good, but you never know about the mind. She has that, too. She's amazing, because she continues to grow. That's a coach's dream."