Sharon Stouder facts for kids
Sharon Stouder in 1965
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | November 9, 1948 Altadena, California, U.S. |
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| Died | June 23, 2013 (aged 64) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 134 lb (61 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Commerce Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Don Gambril Commerce Swim Club |
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Medal record
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Sharon Marie Stouder (born November 9, 1948 – died June 23, 2013) was an amazing American swimmer. She was also known as Sharon Stouder Clark after she got married. Sharon won three gold medals at the Olympics and held world records in four different swimming events!
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Sharon's Early Swimming Days
Sharon started swimming when she was just three years old. By the time she was eight, she was already competing! In her very first swim meet, she won two races and set new records for her age group. She won 20 national age-group events and earned six Junior Olympic ratings.
Sharon went to Glendora High School. She swam for the City of Commerce Swim Club, which was a very strong team. Her coach there was Don Gambril, who is now in the Hall of Fame. Before that, Sharon swam with Gambril's Rosemead swim club.
Becoming an Olympic Champion
When Sharon was only 15 years old, she went to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She did even better than anyone expected! She won three gold medals and one silver medal.
She won the gold medal in the women's 100-meter butterfly race. This was a big surprise because she beat the favorite, Ada Kok from the Netherlands. Sharon was also part of two winning U.S. relay teams. She helped her team win gold in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay and the women's 4×100-meter medley relay.
In the women's 100-meter freestyle race, Sharon took the silver medal. She finished very close behind the famous Australian swimmer, Dawn Fraser. Sharon was only 0.4 seconds slower than Fraser. By winning silver, Sharon became only the second woman ever to swim the 100-meter freestyle in under one minute! Dawn Fraser was a swimming legend who had won this race in two previous Olympics. Sharon even led Fraser for most of the race, but Fraser finished strong.
Sharon was great at sprint butterfly and sprint freestyle swimming. In 1964, she broke the world record for the women's 200-meter butterfly twice. She also set a new world record in the women's 100-meter butterfly.
Before the Olympics, Sharon also won two gold medals at the 1963 São Paulo Pan American Games. She helped her team win the 4x100 freestyle and medley relays there.
Life After Swimming
After the 1964 Olympics, Sharon's competitive swimming career mostly ended. She went to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and graduated in 1970. At that time, Stanford did not have a women's swim team.
Later, Sharon moved back to the San Francisco Bay area. She married Ken Clark and lived in Los Altos, California. Sharon also studied education at the University of California Santa Barbara. She earned her teaching credentials and worked as a swimming coach and teacher.
In 1984, Sharon had the special honor of lighting the Olympic Torch for the games. She raised a family and owned a women's clothing store for many years, from 1979 to 2004. She lived most of her adult life in the California Bay area.
Sharon was very involved in supporting Stanford University's sports teams. She donated to and participated in the Stanford Cardinal Club. She retired from her career in 2004 and moved to Pismo Beach.
Sharon Stouder passed away on June 23, 2013, when she was 64 years old. She is remembered by her son, daughter, and sister.
Awards and Recognition
Sharon Stouder received many honors for her amazing swimming career.
- In 1972, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
- In 1997, she was inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame.
- She was named the California State Athlete of the Year for 1963-1964.
See also
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
- List of Stanford University people
- World record progression 100 metres butterfly
- World record progression 200 metres butterfly
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
