Mary T. Meagher
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Mary T. Meagher |
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| Women's Swimming | |||
Competitor for the  United States |
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| 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 - Long Course | |||
| Gold | 1982 Guayaquil | 100 m Butterfly | |
| Silver | 1982 Guayaquil | 200 m Butterfly | |
| Silver | 1982 Guayaquil | 4x100 m Medley | |
| Gold | 1986 Madrid | 200 m Butterfly | |
| 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 | |
Mary Terstegge Meagher Plant (born October 27, 1964 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a former competitive swimmer from the United States. Meagher, originally from Kentucky, began competing at an early age, setting her first world record in the butterfly at the age of 14 in 1979 at the Pan American Games. She completed her education at the Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Kentucky, alongside her sister Anne Northup, who gained fame as a US House Representative.
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 m. Both times would stand for nearly two decades - American swimmer Jenny Thompson broke the record in the 100 m in 1999 while Susie O'Neill of Australia set the record in the 200 m 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. This led to her being named Female World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine, which she again won in 1985. She swam collegiately for UC Berkeley, graduating in 1987 with a BA in Social Sciences. [1]
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California Meagher won gold medals in both the 100 m and 200 m butterfly races, along with another gold by swimming the butterfly leg of the women's medley relay. Returning to compete at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Meagher won a bronze medal in the 200 m butterfly. By the time she left competitive swimming, Meagher had won 24 US national swimming titles.
Meagher married former speed skater Mike Plant; they now live in Peachtree City, Georgia with their two children Maddie and Drew. Meagher is also the sister of former Kentucky Republican Representative Anne Northup. There is a swimming complex in Louisville named for Meagher, as well as a street in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
[edit] External links
| 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 C. 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 |
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