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Tracy Caulkins

Best Year As A Swimmer

Although she was only in her late teens, Caulkins was a dominant force in swimming in the late 1970s. The year 1978 was arguably her best as a swimmer. She won the Sullivan Award for best amateur athlete because of the number of championships she had won and records she had set. Caulkins won world championships in the 200-meter butterfly, 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, and won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. She also won national championships in the 200-meter long course butterfly, the short course individual medleys, and both the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke. At the AAU National Short Course Championships, she set five U.S. records, winning the 200-meter medley, the 200-meter backstroke, the 100-meter breaststroke, and the 400-meter individual medley. At the AAU Long Course Championships she set two world records and five American records, and also won the 200-meter butterfly. In total, in 1978 she broke or tied 27 records, both world and American records.

Chronology

1963	Born January 11, in Winona, Minnesota
1971	Begins swimming with the Seven Hills Club
1973	Joins the West Side VC
1975	Qualifies for and competes in the senior nationals for the first time
1976	Competes at the Summer Olympic Trials
1978	Sets three world records
1980	Makes U.S. Olympic team, but does not compete because the U.S. boycotts the Olympic Games
1981	Enters University of Florida; becomes the only swimmer in U.S. history of the sport to win the greatest number of national titles
1982	Wins 36th title, surpassing record set by Johnny Weismuller
1982-84	Becomes member of Swimming All-American Team
1984	Competes in the Summer Olympic Games; becomes captain of the U.S. swim team; retires from swimming
1985	Graduates from the University of Florida
1991	Marries Australian swimmer Mark Stockwell

In 1979, Caulkins continued to dominate on both the American and international stage. She won two gold medals and two silver medals at the Pan American Games, set five U.S. records at the AAU National Short Course Championships, and won numerous events including the 100-meter breaststroke, 500-meter freestyle, 400-meter individual medley, 400-meter medley relay, 400-meter freestyle relay, and the 200-meter individual medley. Caulkins also took second in the 800-meter freestyle relay. Although she had been sick with a virus a short time before the event, Caulkins did well there; her great concentration and will to win overcame her bodily weakness.

By this time, Caulkins's dominance was recognized, though her only "weakness" was the backstroke. The University of Southern California's swim coach, Peter Daland, told Sports Illustrated, "She's probably the greatest swimmer in the world today, male or female, and her event possibilities are almost unlimited. I'm sure that if she were to train for a month for backstroke that she would be giving the champion here … all she could handle. We've had some great versatile people, but she probably is as good as anybody we've had. And the thing that's most amazing about her is that she has the speed to go sprints and the stamina to go distance."

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Famous Sports StarsSwimmingTracy Caulkins Biography - Began Swimming, Won First National Titles, Best Year As A Swimmer, Chronology, Olympic Boycott Affected Caulkins - CONTACT INFORMATION