Debbie Meyer facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | "Debbie" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 14, 1952 Naval Academy Hospital Annapolis Maryland |
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| Height | 5 ft 9in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 125 lb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Arden Hills Swim Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Sherm Chavoor (Arden Hills) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Deborah Elizabeth Meyer (born August 14, 1952) is an American former swimmer. She is famous for winning three gold medals at the 1968 Olympic Games. Debbie Meyer also held world records in five different freestyle swimming events. These included the 200, 400, 800, and 1500 meters, plus the 880-yard freestyle.
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Early Life and Training
Debbie Meyer was born in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1952. She lived in Haddonfield, New Jersey, when she was a child. Later, her family moved to Sacramento, California. This happened because her father's job with Campbell Soup moved him there.
Debbie went to Rio Americano High School in Sacramento. During her high school years, she trained with a famous coach named Sherm Chavoor. She swam at the Arden Hills Swim Club in Carmichael, California. Other Olympic swimmers like Mark Spitz also trained there.
Coach Chavoor was known for his "overdistance training." This meant swimmers did very long workouts. These workouts helped them build great endurance and speed. He also coached the U.S. Women's Olympic swim team in 1968. Having her own coach at the Olympics helped Debbie feel more confident.
1968 Mexico City Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City added new swimming races for women. For the first time, women could compete in the 200-meter and 800-meter freestyle events. Before 1968, the longest race for women was the 400-meter freestyle. Men had been swimming the 1,500-meter freestyle for many years.
Debbie Meyer was a freestyle expert. She set world records in the 200-meter and 800-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials in 1968. She was the first woman to swim in the 800-meter Olympic event. This helped open doors for women to compete in longer races. It showed that women could swim the same distances as men with the right training.
Debbie faced some challenges at the 1968 Olympics. She had a stomach illness and was recovering from a painful shoulder problem. Even with these issues, she was a favorite to win. She did not disappoint! Debbie won gold medals in the 200-meter, 400-meter, and 800-meter freestyle races. She was the first swimmer ever to win three individual gold medals in one Olympics. Only Katie Ledecky has done this since, at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Debbie's winning times were 2:10.5 for the 200-meter, 4:31.8 for the 400-meter, and 9:24.0 for the 800-meter races. These were all new Olympic records. The U.S. women's Olympic team, led by Coach Sherm Chavoor, did very well. They won many medals, with Debbie's wins being a big part of their success.
Debbie Meyer broke 15 world records and 24 American records during her career. She also won 19 national championships. She had to overcome asthma while training and competing. Debbie decided to retire from competitive swimming in 1970. She later attended UCLA, but not as a swimmer.
Life After Competition
Debbie Meyer is married to Bill Weber. They have a daughter, a son, and a step-daughter. Debbie owns the Debbie Meyer Swim School in Carmichael, California. She has been teaching swimming in the Sacramento area since the 1970s. Her own swim school opened in 1993. She teaches both children and adults how to be safe in the water. Debbie also coaches the Truckee Tahoe Swim Team in Truckee, California. She has a special California license plate that says "3GOLD68" to remember her three Olympic gold medals from 1968.
Awards and Recognition
Debbie Meyer has received many honors for her amazing achievements in swimming. In 1968, she won the James E. Sullivan Award. This award goes to the best amateur athlete in the United States. In 1969, she was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year.
Swimming World magazine named her the World Swimmer of the Year three times: in 1967, 1968, and 1969. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1977. Later, in 1986, she joined the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. These honors recognize her as the first woman to win three Olympic gold medals in swimming. They also celebrate her continued dedication to the sport as a coach.
On July 5, 2004, Debbie Meyer was inducted into the American National High School Hall of Fame.
See also
In Spanish: Debbie Meyer para niños
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
- List of University of California, Los Angeles people
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
- World record progression 800 metres freestyle
- World record progression 1500 metres freestyle
