Mary T. Meagher
Chronology
| 1964 | Born October 27 in Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1969 | Begins swimming, at age 5 |
| 1976 | Is practicing like a world-class swimmer, with the butterfly her best stroke |
| 1979 | Sets first world record, at Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, winning gold medal in 200-meter butterfly as an eighth grader; breaks her own world record at Long-Course Senior National Swimming Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earning her the nickname "Madame Butterfly" |
| 1980 | Sets 100-meter butterfly world record at Indoor National Swimming Championships, breaking East German Andrea Pollack's record; at U.S. mock Olympic Trials, makes team for 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly, one freestyle swim, and two relays; U.S. President Jimmy Carter imposes boycott on 1980 Olympics in Moscow, dashing Meagher's Olympic hopes—she nearly gives up swimming |
| 1981 | Wins gold medal in 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly at national long-course championships in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, setting new records, at age 16 |
| 1982 | Enters University of California; wins one gold and one silver medal at World Championships |
| 1983 | Wins gold medal at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships |
| 1984 | Wins three gold medals at 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, boycotted in turn by Eastern-bloc countries; wins three gold medals at national indoor championships |
| 1985 | Wins six gold medals in U.S. national competitions |
| 1986 | Wins gold medal in NCAA championships; wins one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal at World Championships |
| 1987 | Wins gold medal at NCAA championships; takes five months off from swimming to work as teacher's aide; graduates from University of California with a degree in early childhood development; Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center in Louisville, Kentucky, is opened in Meagher's honor |
| 1988 | Wins 200-meter butterfly at Olympic Trials; wins one silver and one bronze medal at Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea; retires from swimming, with a total of twenty-two U.S. championships and two world championships |
| 1991 | Serves on U.S. Olympic Committee as an athletes' representative |
| 1993 | Inducted into two swimming halls of fame |
| 1996 | Is chosen to be an Olympic flag bearer at the Games in Atlanta, Georgia |
| 1999 | Jenny Thompson breaks Meagher's 100-meter butterfly record at Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney, Australia |
| 2000 | Meagher's 200-meter butterfly world record is finally broken, by Australian swimmer Susan O'Neill, at the Australian Swimming Championships in Sydney |
Additional topics
- Mary T. Meagher - Madame Butterfly
- Mary T. Meagher - "the Butterfly Picked Me"
- Other Free Encyclopedias
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