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Donna de Varona
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United States |
|||
| Women's Swimming | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | Tokyo 1964 | 400m Individual Medley | |
| Gold | Tokyo 1964 | 4x100m Freestyle Relay | |
Donna Elizabeth de Varona (born April 26, 1947 in San Diego, California) is a former American swimmer of Mexican and Irish ancestry.
De Varona was the youngest swimmer to compete at the 1960 Summer Olympics, while at the following Olympics, she won gold medals in the 400 meter individual medley and as a member of the 400 meter freestyle relay. In her career, she set 18 different swimming records, as she retired shortly after the 1964 Olympics.
In 1965, de Varona signed a contract with ABC, which made her the first female sportscaster in television history. In addition, she was a political activist in favor of the Title IX entitlement program. She helped to establish the Women's Sports Foundation, where she served as their first president from 1976 to 1984.
De Varona, a 1986 graduate of UCLA, is the older sister of actress Joanna Kerns, who played Maggie Seaver on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sylvia Ruuska |
Women's 200 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) May 13, 1961 – July 22, 1966 |
Succeeded by Lynn Vidali |
| Preceded by Sylvia Ruuska |
Women's 400 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) July 15, 1960 – July 26, 1962 |
Succeeded by Sharon Finneran |
| Preceded by Sharon Finneran |
Women's 400 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) July 26, 1962 |
Succeeded by Sharon Finneran |
| Preceded by Sharon Finneran |
Women's 400 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) March 10, 1964 – July 9, 1967 |
Succeeded by Claudia Kolb |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver |
Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA) 2003 |
Succeeded by Alan Page |
| Preceded by Mary Lou Retton |
Flo Hyman Memorial Award 1996 |
Succeeded by Billie Jean King |
|
|
|---|
| 1964: Donna de Varona | 1968: Claudia Kolb | 1972: Gail Neall | 1976: Ulrike Tauber | 1980: Petra Schneider | 1984: Tracy Caulkins | 1988: Janet Evans | 1992: Krisztina Egerszegi | 1996: Michelle Smith | 2000: Yana Klochkova | 2004: Yana Klochkova |
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This biographical article related to a United States swimmer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Categories: 1947 births | Living people | Olympic swimmers of the United States | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | People from San Diego | American sports announcers | American medley swimmers | Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics | Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics | Irish-American sportspeople | Mexican American sportspeople | United States swimming biography stubs