View source for Debbie Meyer

{{short description|American swimmer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox swimmer
| name           = Debbie Meyer
| image          = Debbie Meyer 1968.jpg
| image_size     = 200px
| caption        = 
| fullname       = Deborah Elizabeth Meyer
| nicknames      = "Debbie"
| national_team  = United States
| strokes        = [[Freestyle swimming|Freestyle]]
| club           = Arden Hills Swim Club 
| coach          = [[Sherm Chavoor]] (Arden Hills)
| collegeteam    = <!-- Meyer attended UCLA, but did not swim for UCLA, which did not have women's team until later. -->
| birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1952|8|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = Naval Academy Hospital, Annapolis, Maryland
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = 5 ft 9in
| weight         = 125 lb
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Women's swimming}}
{{MedalCountry | the United States}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1968 Summer Olympics|1968 Mexico City]] | [[Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre freestyle|200 m freestyle]]}} 
{{MedalGold | 1968 Mexico City | [[Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle|400 m freestyle]]}} 
{{MedalGold | 1968 Mexico City | [[Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metre freestyle|800 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1967 Pan American Games|1967 Winnipeg]] | [[Swimming at the 1967 Pan American Games|400 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalGold | 1967 Winnipeg | 800 m freestyle}}
}}

'''Deborah Elizabeth Meyer''' (born August 14, 1952), also known by her married name '''Deborah Meyer Weber''', is an American former competition swimmer, a 1968 three-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in five freestyle events: 200, 400, 800, and 1500 meters, and 880yd freestyle.

== Early life ==
[[File:Sue Pedersen, Sherm Chavoor, Debbie Meyer 1967.jpg|upright=.93|left|thumb|Chavoor, with 68 Olympians [[Susan Pedersen (swimmer)|S. Pedersen]] (l) and Meyer (r)]]
Meyer was born in 1952 in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], and lived in [[Haddonfield, New Jersey]] during childhood. She moved with her family to warm and sunny [[Sacramento, California]] when her father was transferred with Campbell Soup. She attended Sacramento's [[Rio Americano High School]], and was trained during her high school years and beyond by Hall of Fame Coach [[Sherm Chavoor]] at the Arden Hills Swim Club in Carmichael, as were fellow 1968 U.S. team swimming Olympians [[Mark Spitz]], Michael J. Burton, [[John Ferris (swimmer)|John Ferris]], [[Sue Peterson]], and [[John Nelson (swimmer)|John Nelson]]. Chavoor was one of the early coaches to challenge young elite women swimmers with "overdistance training", which focused on workouts that gave more total yardage and often featured mid-range and distance intervals to build greater endurance and speed.<ref name=ishofprofile/><ref name=victory/><ref name=Britannica>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Debbie-Meyer|title=Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Debbie Meyer|website=britannica.com}}</ref>

Chavoor would also serve as Head Coach of the U.S. Women's Olympic swim team in 1968, where he would again coach Meyer, who may have had greater confidence and focus having Chavoor manage her at the Olympics.<ref name=victory>{{Cite book |last=George |first=Bill |title=Victory in the Pool |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2023 |isbn=9781538173718 |location=London |pages=113–123 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref>"[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB0D7DEAF6B5061&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM  Ahead of Her Time Debbie Meyer Didn't Cash in on Olympic Success, But She's a Hall of Famer]," ''The Sacramento Bee'' (September 20, 1987). Retrieved November 29, 2007.</ref><ref name=sroprofile>Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, [https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/me/debbie-meyer-1.html Debbie Meyer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113165558/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/me/debbie-meyer-1.html |date=November 13, 2012 }}. Retrieved September 8, 2015.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Crouse |first=Karen |date=2016-08-13 |title=Katie Ledecky Smashes World Record in the 800-Meter Freestyle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/13/sports/olympics/katie-ledecky-800-freestyle-gold.html |access-date=2023-12-27 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==1968 Mexico City Olympics==
In 1968, the women's freestyle races at 200-meter and 800-meter distances were added to the Summer Olympics for the first time, giving Meyer, a freestyle specialist, two new events where she could dominate the competition. Prior to 1968, the longest race for women was the [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|400-meter freestyle]]. In contrast, the male competitors had raced the [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|1,500-meter freestyle]] (the metric mile) for decades, dating back to 1896.<ref name=sroprofile/>

Demonstrating unusual dominance in freestyle distance, Meyer set world records in the 200-meter and 800-meter freestyle swimming events at the 1968 U.S. Olympics trials. As the first woman swimmer to participate in the 800-meter Olympic event, Meyer opened the doors for women to compete in events that had been closed to them and demonstrated that with proper training, women could compete at the same distances as the men's teams. <ref name=Ledecky>{{Cite news |last=Crouse |first=Karen |date=2016-06-26 |title=In Chasing a Legend, Katie Ledecky Discovers a Buoyant Ally |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/27/sports/in-chasing-a-legend-at-us-swim-trials-katie-ledecky-finds-an-unsinkable-ally.html |access-date=2023-12-27 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 

[[File:Mike Burton, Sherm Chavoor, Debbie Meyer 1969.jpg|upright=.8|left|thumb|Mike Burton, Sherm Chavoor, Meyer, 1969]]
Meyer had obstacles to overcome in the 1968 Olympics, as she had developed a stomach ailment in Mexico City and had just recovered from a painful bout of bursitis in her left shoulder.<ref name=encyclopedia>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/meyer-debbie-1952|title=Encyclopedia.com, Debbie Meyer|website=encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Competing as a favorite in all three events, Meyer met and exceeded expectations despite her ailments and took gold in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter [[freestyle swimming|freestyle]] races, becoming the first swimmer to win three individual gold medals in one Olympics. [[Katie Ledecky]] is the only other female swimmer to have won all three events, in the [[2016 Summer Olympics]] in Rio. Despite competing at the high altitude of Mexico City, her winning times at the Olympic Games were 2:10.5 for the 200-meter, 4:31.8 for the 400-meter, and 9:24.0 for the 800-meter distances, all of them new or first-time Olympic records.<ref name=sroprofile/><ref name=Ledecky/> 

With strong contributions by Meyer, Coach Sherm Chavoor's 1968 U.S. women's Olympic team won ten of a possible fifteen gold medals, eight silver of a possible twelve, and eight bronze of a possible twelve. In total, the U.S. women captured twenty-six medals out of a possible thirty-nine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=George |first=Bill |title=Victory in the Pool |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2023 |isbn=9781538173718 |location=London |pages=113–123 |language=en}}</ref>

While overcoming her problems with [[asthma]], Meyer broke 15 world records in swimming during her career. She broke 24 American records and won 19 [[Amateur Athletic Union]] (AAU) national championships. Reluctant to continue training for the 1972 Olympics, Meyer retired from competitive swimming in 1970. She would attend UCLA, but not as a swimmer.<ref name=encyclopedia/><ref name=sroprofile/><ref name=ishofprofile/>

===Coaching and personal===
Meyer is married to Bill Weber, and has a daughter, son, and step-daughter. She owns the Debbie Meyer Swim School in [[Carmichael, California]].<ref name=sroprofile/> According to the business website, Meyer has taught swimming in the area around Sacramento since the 1970s, and she opened her own school in 1993. Along with teaching both children and adults to be safe in the water, Meyer is coaching the Truckee Tahoe Swim Team in [[Truckee, California]]. As a tribute to her athletic successes, she uses the custom California automobile license plate "3GOLD68".<ref name=ishofprofile/>

===Honors===
Befitting her many records and achievements in both national and international competition, particularly in the late 1960's, Meyer was the recipient of many honors. In 1968, she won the [[James E. Sullivan Award]], given to the greatest athlete of the year. In 1969, she was named [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year]]. As an ongoing honor, she was recognized as ''[[Swimming World Magazine|Swimming World]]'''s World Swimmer of the Year in 1967, 1968 and 1969. Among her more selective honors, Meyer was inducted into the [[International Swimming Hall of Fame]] in 1977, and the [[United States Olympic Hall of Fame]] in 1986. 
These honors may have been bestowed partly as a result of her being the first woman to win three Olympic gold medals, and her continued dedication to the sport of swimming through her years as a coach.<ref>U.S. Olympic Team, [https://web.archive.org/web/20071102102708/http://usolympicteam.com/62_12132.htm  U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 1986]. Archived November 2, 2007; retrieved March 20, 2015.</ref><ref name=ishofprofile>{{cite web |url=http://www.ishof.org/debbie-meyer--(usa).html |title=Debbie Meyer (USA) |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=[[International Swimming Hall of Fame]] |access-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905184109/http://ishof.org/debbie-meyer--(usa).html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On July 5, 2004, Meyer was inducted into the American [[National High School Hall of Fame]].<ref name=ishofprofile/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Olympics}}
* [[List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)]]
* [[List of University of California, Los Angeles people]]
* [[World record progression 200 metres freestyle]]
* [[World record progression 400 metres freestyle]]
* [[World record progression 800 metres freestyle]]
* [[World record progression 1500 metres freestyle]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520160737/http://www.debbiemeyerswimschool.net/ |date=May 20, 2007 |title=DebbieMeyerSwimSchool.net – Official website of Debbie Meyer Swim School }}
* {{webarchive |title=Debbie Meyer (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130701/http://www.ishof.org/debbie-meyer--(usa).html |date=April 2, 2015 }}
* {{World Aquatics}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=debbie-meyer|old_id=Debbie-Meyer|archive=20230720073211}}
* {{Olympics.com profile|debbie-meyer|org_archive=20201122045047}}
* {{Olympedia}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box
| before = <br>[[Sharon Finneran]]
| title = [[World record progression 800 metres freestyle|Women's 800-meter freestyle<br>world record-holder (long course)]]
| years = July 9, 1967 – March 1, 1970
| after = <br>[[Karen Moras]]
}}
{{succession box
| before = <br>[[Patty Caretto]]
| title = [[World record progression 1500 metres freestyle|Women's 1,500-meter freestyle<br>world record-holder (long course)]]
| years = July 9, 1967 – December 12, 1971
| after = <br>[[Shane Gould]]
}}
{{succession box
| before = <br>[[Pam Kruse]]
| title = [[World record progression 400 metres freestyle|Women's 400-meter freestyle<br>world record-holder (long course)]]
| years = July 27, 1967 – April 30, 1971
| after = <br>Karen Moras
}}
{{succession box
| before = <br>[[Linda Gustavson]]
| title = [[World record progression 200 metres freestyle|Women's 200-meter freestyle<br>world record-holder (long course)]]
| years = August 24, 1968 – May 1, 1971
| after = <br>Shane Gould
}}
{{s-ach|aw}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Swimming World Swimmers of the Year|''Swimming World''<br>World Swimmer of the Year]]
| before = [[Claudia Kolb]]
| after = [[Alice Jones (swimmer)|Alice Jones]]
| years = 1967, 1968, 1969
|}}
{{s-end}}

{{Footer USA Swimming 1968 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 200 m Freestyle Women}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 400 m Freestyle Women}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 800 m Freestyle Women}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions 400 m Freestyle Women}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions 800 m Freestyle Women}}
{{Sullivan Award winners}}
{{Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Debbie}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American female freestyle swimmers]]
[[Category:American swimming coaches]]
[[Category:World record setters in swimming]]
[[Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Annapolis, Maryland]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:People from Truckee, California]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Nevada County, California]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportswomen]]