Shirley Babashoff

Infobox Swimmer
swimmername = Shirley Babashoff


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fullname = Shirley Frances Babashoff
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nationality = USA
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club = Mission Viejo Nadadores
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birthdate =birth date and age|1957|01|31
birthplace = Whittier, California
deathdate =
deathplace =
height =5'10" (178 cm)
weight =148 lbs (67 kg)
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Shirley Babashoff (born January 31, 1957 in Whittier, California) is a former champion swimmer from the United States, who set six world records and earned a total of eight individual Olympic medals in her career. She also won a gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle relay in both the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, and she won the 1975 World Championship in both the 200 and 400 meter freestyle. Her photo also appeared once on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.

At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, she won a silver medal in three events and one relay, despite the competition being dominated by the East German swimmers. Although Babashoff never won an individual gold medal in Olympic competition, she is still regarded as one of the top swimmers in history, and is most vividly remembered for having swum the anchor leg on the gold-medal winning Women's 4x100 m Freestyle Relay team, in its victory over the mighty 1976 East German women, in what is widely acknowledged as having been the single greatest race in the entire history of women's swimming. Her time in winning the silver medal in the 400 meter freestyle at the 1976 Olympics would have defeated men's gold medalist Don Schollander twelve years earlier at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.In 1982 she was inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Babashoff was occasionally referred to as "Surly Shirley" and described as a "sore loser" by the media because of her public accusations of drug cheating by the East German swimmers. It was later proven that many East German athletes were using performance-enhancing drugs.

After her Olympic career ended, Babashoff coached swimming, had a son in 1986, whom she raised alone, and became a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service in Orange County, California.

On April 30, 2005, Shirley Babashoff received the Olympic Order, the highest award of the Olympic Movement, during the Inaugural Olympic Assembly luncheon. International Olympic Committee members Bob Ctvrtlik, Anita DeFrantz, and Jim Easton presented the award. The IOC established the Olympic Order in 1974 to honor individuals who have illustrated the Olympic Ideals through their actions, have achieved remarkable merit in the sporting world, or have rendered outstanding services to the Olympic cause, either through their own personal achievements or their contributions to the development of sport.

Her brother, Jack Babashoff, was the silver medal winner in the 100 meter freestyle swim at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Her sister, Debbie Babashoff, is also a swimmer.

References

* [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/shirley-babashoff-1.html sports-reference]
* [http://www.ishof.org/82sbabashoff.html Shirley Babashoff on the ISHOF-website]
* [http://www.usoc.org/26_37758.htm Shirley Babashoff on the USOC-website]
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/olmypianJA05.pdf The Olympian: Never Former Never Past July/August 2005 Vol. 1 No. 1]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2004-07-15-brennan_x.htm Babashoff had mettle to speak out about steroids by Christine Brennan]
* [http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/13191.asp Shirley Babashoff Breaks 30-Year Silence on East Germany's Systematic Doping of Olympians]
* http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ July 13, 1992 "Babashoff And Ender."