Cynthia Woodhead

Cynthia Woodhead

Personal information
Full name	Cynthia Lee Woodhead
Nickname(s)	"Sippy"
Nationality	United States
Born	February 7, 1964 (1964-02-07) (age 47) Riverside, California
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Freestyle
Club	Mission Viejo Nadadores
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Silver 1984 Los Angeles 200 m freestyle World Championships Gold 1978 Berlin 200 m freestyle Gold 1978 Berlin 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1978 Berlin 4x100 m medley Silver 1978 Berlin 400 m freestyle Silver 1978 Berlin 800 m freestyle Pan American Games Gold 1979 San Juan 100 m freestyle Gold 1979 San Juan 200 m freestyle Gold 1979 San Juan 400 m freestyle Gold 1979 San Juan 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1979 San Juan 4x100 m medley Gold 1983 Caracas 200 m freestyle Silver 1983 Caracas 400 m freestyle

Cynthia ("Sippy") Woodhead (born 7 February 1964) is an American swimmer, world champion, olympic medalist and world record holder. She won three gold medals at the 1978 world championships, when she was only fourteen years old.^[1] She set seven world records during her career.^[1]

Career

Woodhead received three gold medals (in the 200 m freestyle, 4x100 m freestyle relay and 4x100 m medley relay) and two silver medals at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships in Berlin, when she was only 14 years old.^[1]

At the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan she received five gold medals. She won the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m freestyle, as well as being part of the winning teams at the 4x100 m freestyle relay and 4x100 m medley relay.

Woodhead had qualified for six events at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and was regarded to be among the favorites in the four individual distances, as she was ranked world number one in 100 m, 200 m, 400 m and 800 m freestyle. Due to the American boycott of Moscow Olympics, she did not get the chance to participate. This was a great disappointment for her, and she has said that the boycott may have triggered her later health problems.^[2]

In late 1981 and 1982 she suffered from several health problems – mononucleosis, a broken leg, and pneumonia.^[1]

Woodhead competed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where she received a silver medal in 200 m freestyle.^[3]

She improved the world record in 50 metres freestyle, long course, 10 April 1980, but the record was further improved by Jill Sterkel the same day. She improved the world record in 200 metres freestyle, long course, three times, in 1978 and 1979, her last result remained a world record until 1984. She was a member of the American team that held the world record in 4x100 metres freestyle relay from 1978 to 1980.

Awards

Woodhead was selected USOC SportsWoman of the Year 1979. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1994.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} CYNTHIA "SIPPY" WOODHEAD (USA) – 1994 Honor Swimmer – International Swimming Hall of Fame (Retrieved on 10 September 2008)
2. ^ Sharon Robb: Cynthia "Sippy" Woodhead – USA Swimming - Heroes of the Past (Retrieved on 11 September 2008)
3. ^ 1984 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles, United States – Swimming" – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on 10 September 2008)

External links

Persondata
Name	Woodhead, Cynthia
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	7 February 1964
Place of birth	Riverside, California
Date of death
Place of death