Mary T. Meagher

Mary T. Meagher

Personal information
Full name	Mary Terstegge Meagher
Nickname(s)	"Mary T.", "Madam Butterfly"
National team	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
Strokes	Butterfly, freestyle
College team	University of California, Berkeley
Medal record Women's swimming Representing the United States Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles 100 m butterfly 1984 Los Angeles 200 m butterfly 1984 Los Angeles 4x100 m medley 1988 Seoul 200 m butterfly World Championships (LC) 1982 Guayaquil 100 m butterfly 1986 Madrid 200 m butterfly 1982 Guayaquil 200 m butterfly 1982 Guayaquil 4x100 m medley 1986 Madrid 4x100 m freestyle 1986 Madrid 4x200 m freestyle 1986 Madrid 4x100 m medley 1986 Madrid 100 m butterfly 1986 Madrid 200 m freestyle Pan American Games 1979 San Juan 100 m butterfly 1983 Caracas 200 m butterfly Summer Universiade 1985 Kobe 100 m butterfly 1985 Kobe 200 m butterfly 1985 Kobe 4x200 m freestyle 1985 Kobe 4x100 m medley 1985 Kobe 200 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships 1985 Tokyo 100 m butterfly 1985 Tokyo 200 m butterfly

Mary Terstegge Meagher Plant (born October 27, 1964) is an American former competition 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 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 graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy high school 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 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. However, Meagher, along with the rest of the United States Olympic team, never got her chance due to the American-led boycott of the Moscow 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 records 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.

Meagher attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she swam for the California Golden Bears swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Pacific-10 Conference competition. She received the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving twice, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer of the year in 1984–85 and again in 1986–87.^[2] She graduated from the University of California in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social sciences.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 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 4×100-meter medley relay for the winning U.S. team in the event final. 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. Meagher is also a sister-in-law of Mike's brother which was also a speed skater and Olympian Tom Plant. And Meaghers older sister Anne Meagher Northup served earlier as a US Congresswoman.^[3]

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

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 Dennis Pursley Randy Reese Mark Schubert

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 Michele 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

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