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| Full name | Donna Elizabeth DeVarona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Liz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 26, 1947 San Diego, California, U.S. |
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| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stroke(s) | Freestyle and Medley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Santa Clara Swim Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | UCLA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Donna Elizabeth de Varona (born April 26, 1947, San Diego, California) is a former American swimmer of Mexican and Irish descent.
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De Varona was the youngest swimmer to compete at the 1960 Summer Olympics. In 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 swimming records after retiring shortly after the 1964 Olympics. Despite her Olympic medals, she was unable to obtain a swimming scholarship to attend college as they did not exist for women at that time. She trained under George Haines at the Santa Clara Swim Club.
In 1965, aged 18, she signed a contract with ABC, which made her one of the first female sportscasters in television history. She served as Late night host of both the 1984 Winter Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics. She anchored the Los Angeles Olympics with Jim Lampley and served as both a play-by-play announcer for Synchronized Swimming and as a color analyst for Swimming in the women's category.
She also served as a correspondent for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. 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 1976-84.
De Varona graduated in 1986 graduate from UCLA.
Her younger sister is actress/director 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 |
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