Michele (Shelly) Robyn Pearson (born 22 April 1962) is an Australian former

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

and

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

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 ...

of the 1980s, who won a bronze medal in the 200-metre individual medley at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles. Her versatility saw her qualify for four finals. Pearson made her international debut at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

in Edmonton, Canada, where she finalled in both the 200-metre and 400-metre individual medleys, finishing seventh and fifth respectively. She made her Olympic debut at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

in Moscow, where she was eliminated in the heats of the 100-metre freestyle. She was a part of the 4×100-metre freestyle relay team along with

Lisa Curry Lisa Gaye Curry AO MBE (born 15 May 1962), also known by her married name Lisa Curry-Kenny, is an Australian former competition swimmer. Curry won seven gold, two silver and one bronze Commonwealth Games medals, and is the only Australian sw ...

, Rosemary Brown and Karen van de Graaf, which placed fifth in the final. In 1981, Pearson became one of the first athletes in Australia to attend the newly established

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(AIS). Pearson attend the AIS until 1986 and was named AIS Athlete of the Year in 1985. At the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...

in Brisbane, Pearson collected her first international medals, winning silver and bronze in the 400-metre and 200-metre individual medley respectively. Curry won both events. Pearson had a good preparation for the

, after winning two events at the United States Championships as a guest competitor. In the 200-metre individual medley, she trailed home the American duo of Tracy Caulkins and

Nancy Hogshead Nancy Hogshead-Makar (born April 17, 1962), née Nancy Lynn Hogshead, is an American swimmer who represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics, where she won three gold medals and one silver medal. She is currently the CEO of Champio ...

, edging out Curry by 0.83 of a second to claim the bronze medal. Pearson narrowly missed a second silver in the 200-metre freestyle, finishing in a time of 1m 59.79 seconds, just 0.1 of a second slower than the bronze medallist Annemarie Verstappen of the Netherlands. She also finished fifth in the 100-metre freestyle, which was won by Hogshead. She combined with Curry, Angela Russell and

Anna McVann Anna Therese McVann (born 30 December 1968) is a former competition swimmer who represented Australia at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. At the age of 14, Anna McVann swam in her first national championships broke a national age recor ...

to finish fourth in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay. Pearson also won five medals for Australia at the

1985 Summer Universiade The 1985 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIII Summer Universiade, took place in Kobe, Japan. Mascot The mascot of the Kobe Universiade, "Unitan", designed by Osamu Tezuka, is a red-crested white crane, symbolic of Japan and a good omen. ...

in Kobe, Japan. Pearson won silvers in the 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley and as a part of the 4 × 200 m Freestyle relay. Pearson also won bronze in the 200m Freestyle and as a part of Australia's 4 × 100 m Freestyle relay team. Pearson's form began to dip after the Olympics. Her only medal at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

in Edinburgh was a gold in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Michelle 1962 births Living people Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Australia Australian female freestyle swimmers Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Australian female medley swimmers Australian Institute of Sport swimmers Sportspeople from Bundaberg Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Swimmers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade silver medalists for Australia Universiade bronze medalists for Australia Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade 20th-century Australian women Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Sportswomen from Queensland

See also

References

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