Mary T. Meagher

Mary T. Meagher

Personal information
Full name	Mary Terstegge Meagher
Nickname(s)	"Mary T.", "Madam Butterfly"
Nationality	United States
Born	(1964-10-27) October 27, 1964 Louisville, Kentucky
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	141 lb (64 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Butterfly, freestyle
College team	University of California, Berkeley
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 1984 Los Angeles 100 m butterfly Gold 1984 Los Angeles 200 m butterfly Gold 1984 Los Angeles 4x100 m medley Bronze 1988 Seoul 200 m butterfly World Championships (LC) Gold 1982 Guayaquil 100 m butterfly Gold 1986 Madrid 200 m butterfly Silver 1982 Guayaquil 200 m butterfly Silver 1982 Guayaquil 4x100 m medley Silver 1986 Madrid 4x100 m freestyle Silver 1986 Madrid 4x200 m freestyle Silver 1986 Madrid 4x100 m medley Bronze 1986 Madrid 100 m butterfly Bronze 1986 Madrid 200 m freestyle Pan American Games Gold 1979 San Juan 100 m butterfly Gold 1983 Caracas 200 m butterfly Summer Universiade Gold 1985 Kobe 100 m butterfly Gold 1985 Kobe 200 m butterfly Gold 1985 Kobe 4x200 m freestyle Gold 1985 Kobe 4x100 m medley Silver 1985 Kobe 200 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 1985 Tokyo 100 m butterfly Gold 1985 Tokyo 200 m butterfly

Mary Terstegge Meagher Plant (born October 27, 1964) is an American former swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder. In 1981 she bettered her own existing world records in the 100-meter butterfly (57.93) and 200-meter butterfly (2:05.96). These times that would stand as the respective world records for 18 and 19 years, and are considered to be among the greatest sports performances ever.^[1]

Early life

Meagher is the daughter of two-time Notre Dame basketball letterman James L. Meagher. She was a competitive athlete from an early age. At the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she set her first world record—at the age of 14—in the 200-meter butterfly. She completed her education at the Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Kentucky, alongside her sister, future U.S. Representative Anne Northup.

1980 Boycott and on

Meagher was expected to compete for medals at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Russia. However, Meagher, along with the rest of the United States Olympic team, never got her chance due to American-led boycott of the Olympics.

However, in 1981 Meagher gave one of the most memorable performances in competitive swimming at the U.S. Swimming National Championships held in Brown Deer, Wisconsin in 1981. At the meet, Meagher set world records in both the 200-meter and 100-meter butterfly, the two primary distances at which the butterfly is contested in competitive swimming. The times for both records were considered astonishing, especially the record of 57.93 seconds that Meagher set in the 100-meters—a drop of over a second. Both times would stand as the World Record for nearly two decades: American swimmer Jenny Thompson lowered the 100-meter record in 1999, while Susie O'Neill of Australia set the record in the 200-meter a year later. Some have argued that Meagher's records in the butterfly were among the most impressive records ever set in sport, let alone swimming, ranking among such noteworthy records as Bob Beamon's long jump world record in 1968. These two swims led Meagher to being named Female World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine, which she again won in 1985. She swam collegiately for the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1987 with a bachelor of arts degree in social sciences.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California Meagher won gold medals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly races, along with another gold by swimming the butterfly leg of the women's 4x100-meter medley relay for the winning U.S. team. Returning to compete at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Meagher won a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly. By the time she left competitive swimming, Meagher had won 24 U.S. national swimming titles.

Personal life

Meagher married former speed skater Mike Plant. They now live in Peachtree City, Georgia with their two children, Maddie and Drew.

In Louisville, a swimming complex is named for Meagher, and a street is named in her honor in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
• List of University of California, Berkeley alumni
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
• World record progression 100 metres butterfly
• World record progression 200 metres butterfly

References

External links

• Mary T. Meagher – Olympic athlete profile at Sports-Reference.com
• Meagher T. Meagher (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame

Records
Preceded by Andrea Pollack	Women's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) April 11, 1980 – August 23, 1999	Succeeded by Jenny Thompson
Preceded by Andrea Pollack	Women's 200 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) July 7, 1979 – May 17, 2000	Succeeded by Susie O'Neill
Awards
Preceded by Petra Schneider	World Swimmer of the Year 1981	Succeeded by Petra Schneider
Preceded by Kristin Otto	World Swimmer of the Year 1985	Succeeded by Kristin Otto
Preceded by Tracy Caulkins	World American Swimmer of the Year 1985	Succeeded by Betsy Mitchell
Preceded by Lisa L. Ice Jon L. Louis Cheryl Miller John Moffet Dub W. Myers Megan L. Neyer	Todays Top VI Award Class of 1988 Regina K. Cavanaugh Charles D. Cecil Keith J. Jackson Gordon C. Lockbaum Mary T. Meagher David Robinson	Succeeded by Dylann Duncan Suzanne T. McConnell Betsy Mitchell Anthony P. Phillips Thomas K. Schlesinger Mark M. Stepnoski

v t e 1980 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Steve Barnicoat Bill Barrett Craig Beardsley Mike Bottom Mike Bruner Rick Carey Chris Cavanaugh Jeff Float Bill Forrester Rowdy Gaines Brian Goodell Matt Gribble John Hencken Bob Jackson Kris Kirchner David Larson Steve Lundquist Glenn Mills John Moffet Ron Neugent William Paulus Peter Rocca Brian Roney John Simons Dave Sims Dave Thornton Jesse Vassallo Women's Team Terri Baxter Lisa Buese Linda Burton Kim Carlisle Tracy Caulkins Stephanie Elkins Nancy Hogshead Linda Jezek Libby Kinkead Karin LaBerge Kim Linehan Marybeth Linzmeier Mary T. Meagher Joan Pennington Susan Rapp Jill Sterkel Susie Thayer Susan Walsh Sippy Woodhead Coaches Paul Bergen Don Gambril George Haines Denny Pursley Randy Reese Mark Schubert

v t e 1984 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Matt Biondi Rick Carey Chris Cavanaugh George DiCarlo Jeff Float Geoff Gaberino Rowdy Gaines Matt Gribble Bruce Hayes Mike Heath Tom Jager Patrick Kennedy Jeff Kostoff David Larson Robin Leamy Steve Lundquist John Moffet Pablo Morales John Mykkanen Mike O'Brien Richard Saeger Rich Schroeder Jesse Vassallo Dave Wilson Women's Team Theresa Andrews Tracy Caulkins Tiffany Cohen Sue Heon Nancy Hogshead Jenna Johnson Kim Linehan Mary T. Meagher Betsy Mitchell Susan Rapp Kim Rhodenbaugh Michelle Richardson Carrie Steinseifer Jill Sterkel Dara Torres Tori Trees Mary Wayte Amy White Sippy Woodhead Coaches Ron Ballatore Ray Bussard Don Gambril George Haines Charlie Hodgson Doug Ingram Frank Keefe Skip Kenney Richard Quick Randy Reese Mark Schubert

v t e 1988 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Mike Barrowman David Berkoff Steve Bigelow Matt Biondi Matt Cetlinski Troy Dalbey Mark Dean Doug Gjertsen Chris Jacobs Tom Jager Shaun Jordan Dan Jorgensen Lars Jorgensen Jeff Kostoff Brent Lang Jay Mortenson Craig Oppel Rich Schroeder Kirk Stackle Bill Stapleton Melvin Stewart Dan Veatch Daniel Watters Dave Wharton Women's Team Beth Barr Tami Bruce Janet Evans Leigh Ann Fetter Erika Hansen Andrea Hayes Whitney Hedgepeth Janel Jorgensen Mitzi Kremer Susan Johnson Tracey McFarlane Mary T. Meagher Betsy Mitchell Trina Radke Susan Rapp Jill Sterkel Dara Torres Laura Walker Mary Wayte Paige Zemina Coaches Steve Bultman Dick Hannula (manager) Mitch Ivey Frank Keefe Skip Kenney Richard Quick Eddie Reese Randy Reese Mark Schubert