Tracy Caulkins

When Caulkins was 13 years old, she competed in the Olympic Trials for the 1976 Summer Olympics. She did not qualify, but within a year, she would have several titles under her belt and an international reputation. In 1977, she won her first national titles in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championships in the 100- and 200-meter short course breaststroke, and the 200- and 400-meter long course individual medleys. She also won the 100-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Indoor National Championships that year. Caulkins's international status was cemented at a swim meet between the United States and Germany, when she defeated Andrea Pollock, who had won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1976 Olympics.

Caulkins did not make a big deal of these accomplishments, but remained focused and determined. She trained hard, swimming eight to ten miles a day and lifting weights three days a week. She even swam with a cast when she broke her leg in 1977. Her father told J.D. Reed of Sports Illustrated, "Tracy really doesn't believe that she's done anything yet that's worth getting excited about. She never says much about swimming."