Mary T. Meagher

Meagher entered the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982. She won a number of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) swimming championships. When the time came for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles—under a Communist boycott that included tough East German teams—Meagher had trained hard. She made the U.S. team in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly and the 4 × 100 medley relay. At the Olympics, she won a gold medal in each event. Afterward, she won gold in the Indoor Championships and in the Short- and Long-Course Championships. In 1986, she won a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal in the World Championships. In 1987 she was named Outstanding Female College Athlete of the Year and won the Honda Sports Award for the second time during her college career.