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 also held world records in five different freestyle swimming events.
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Debbie Meyer's Early Life
Debbie Meyer was born in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1952. She lived in New Jersey as a child. Later, her family moved to Sacramento, California. This happened when her father's job with Campbell Soup changed locations.
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. Other future Olympians, 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 amazing endurance and speed. He also coached the U.S. Women's Olympic swim team in 1968.
Winning Gold at the 1968 Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City were special for women's swimming. For the first time, the 200-meter and 800-meter freestyle races were added. Before 1968, the longest race for women was only 400 meters. Men had been swimming the 1,500-meter race for many years.
Debbie Meyer was a freestyle expert. These new events gave her more chances to show her skills. She set world records in the 200-meter and 800-meter freestyle events before the Olympics. By competing in the 800-meter race, Debbie showed that women could swim long distances. This helped open doors for other female swimmers.
Debbie faced some challenges at the 1968 Olympics. She had a stomach illness and a painful shoulder injury. But she still swam incredibly well. She won gold medals in the 200-meter, 400-meter, and 800-meter freestyle races. This made her the first swimmer ever to win three individual gold medals in one Olympics! Only Katie Ledecky has done this since, at the 2016 Olympics.
Debbie's winning times were Olympic records. She swam the 200-meter in 2:10.5, the 400-meter in 4:31.8, and the 800-meter in 9:24.0. The U.S. women's team, led by Coach Sherm Chavoor, did very well. They won 26 medals in total, including 10 gold medals.
After the Olympics
Debbie Meyer overcame asthma during her career. She broke 15 world records and 24 American records. She also won 19 national championships. Debbie decided to retire from competitive swimming in 1970. She later attended UCLA.
Debbie's Life and Coaching
Debbie Meyer is married to Bill Weber. She has a daughter, a son, and a step-daughter. Debbie owns the Debbie Meyer Swim School in Carmichael, California. She has been teaching swimming since the 1970s. Her own school opened in 1993.
Besides teaching kids and adults to be safe in the water, Debbie also coaches. She helps the Truckee Tahoe Swim Team in Truckee, California. As a fun tribute to her Olympic wins, her California license plate says "3GOLD68."
Awards and Honors
Debbie Meyer has received many awards for her amazing swimming career. 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.
She was also named Swimming World's World Swimmer of the Year three times: in 1967, 1968, and 1969. Debbie was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1977. She also joined the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 1986. These honors recognize her as a pioneer in women's swimming.
In 2004, Debbie Meyer was inducted into the American National High School Hall of Fame.
See also
- 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
