Babashoff, Shirley
Swimming
b. Jan. 31, 1957, Whittier, CA
Because she never won an individual gold medal, Babashoff was considered a failure by some. But she won a total of eight medals at two Olympics and two world championships, captured twenty-seven national championships, set six world records and was a member of five world record relay teams.
Babashoff entered the 1972 Olympics holding the world record of 2:05.21 in the 200-meter freestyle. She lowered that by nearly a second, swimming 2:04.33 in the final, but Australia's Shane Gould won in 2:03.56. However, Babashoff won a gold on the U. S. 4 by 100-meter relay team and also won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle. She beat Gould in that race, which was won by teammate Sandra Neilson.
Her 1976 Olympic experience was similar. She held the world record of 8:39.63 in the 800-meter freestyle, lowered it by more than two seconds to 8:37.59, but lost to Petra Thumer of East Germany, who swam 8:37.14. Babashoff again won a gold for the relay and added silver medals in the 200- and 400-meter freestyles and the 400-meter individual medley.
Many suspected that the East German swimmers were using steroids, but Babashoff was the only one who spoke out publicly. As a result, a large segment of the press called her "Surly Shirley." However, she has been vindicated by the recent reveleations in Germany that thousands of athletes, including Olympic swimmers, were given daily "steroid cocktails."
Babashoff's world championships came in 1975, in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle.