Melissa Louise Belote (born October 16, 1956), also known by her current married name Melissa Belote Ripley, is an American former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. She represented the United States at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.

Career

Belote was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She grew up in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs includ ...

, was a member of the Springfield Swim and Racquet Club, and attended Robert E. Lee High School in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

. At 15 years old, she won three gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In the women's 100-meter backstroke, Belote defeated her American teammate and world-record holder

Susie Atwood Susanne Jean Atwood (born June 5, 1953) is an American former competition swimming (sport), swimmer, two-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in two events. Atwood represented the United States as a 15-year-old at the 1968 Summe ...

. In the women's 200-meter backstroke, Belote set a new world record of 2:19.19. She won a third gold medal by swimming the lead-off backstroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay. She and her teammates Cathy Carr (breaststroke),

Deena Deardurff Deena Diane Deardurff (born May 8, 1957), also known by her married name Deena Schmidt, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, former world record-holder, and former college swim coach. Swimming Deardurff swam for the Cinc ...

(butterfly), and

Sandy Neilson Sandra Lynn Neilson (born March 20, 1956), also known by her married name Sandy Bell, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Amateur career Neilson won her only Amateur Athle ...

(freestyle) set a new world record of 4:20.75 in the relay final. She attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, where she swam for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...

swimming and diving team in

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

(AIAW) competition. She received the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer of the year in 1976–77. She retired from the sport in 1979, and was inducted in the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

in 1983. She was also inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

in 1989.Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Inductees
Melissa Ripley
Retrieved November 16, 2014. She currently coaches swimming and diving at

McClintock High School McClintock High School is a high school located in Tempe, Arizona, approximately two miles southeast of the campus of Arizona State University. McClintock High School was established in 1964. The school was named after James H. McClintock. McCl ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

, and also coaches the Rio Salado Swim Team.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Belote, Melissa 1956 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers Arizona State Sun Devils women's swimmers World record setters in swimming Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Washington, D.C. Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming 20th-century American women 21st-century American women

Career

See also

References

External links