de Varona, Donna E.
Swimming
b. April 26, 1947, San Diego, CA
A remarkably versatile swimmer, de Varona won national championships in the backstroke, butterfly, and individual medley event. She was the 1964 Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter individual medley, and she also swam on the 4 by 100-meter freestyle relay team that won a gold medal. For her accomplishment, she was named female athlete of the year by Associated Press.
De Varona was a member of the 1960 Olympic team, when she was only thirteen, but failed to medal. She won AAU outdoor championships in the 100-meter backstroke in 1962, the 200-meter individual medley in 1963 and 1964, and in the 400-meter individual medley in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964. Indoors, she won titles in the 100-yard backstroke in 1962, the 200-yard butterfly in 1964, the 200-yd individual medley in 1963 and 1964, and the 400-yard individual medley in 1963 and 1964.
She retired from competition after the 1964 Olympics and in 1965 she became the first woman sportscaster on network television. De Varona was also the first woman to do television commentary on the Olympics, in 1968. A founder of the Women's Sports Foundation, De Varona was a member of the President's Commission on Olympic Sports.