Tracie Lehuanani Ruiz-Conforto (born February 4, 1963) is a three-time Olympic medalist from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

synchronised swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

Career

Tracie excelled in both the solo and duet routines, winning a total of 41 gold medals during her career at national and international level. In the women's solo event, Ruiz achieved consecutive victories at the 1983 and

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

, and she was the inaugural champion 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 ...

. She narrowly missed out on a further gold at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, settling for silver after having been beaten by her Canadian rival,

Carolyn Waldo Carolyn Jane Waldo, (born December 11, 1964 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian former synchronized swimmer and broadcaster. Competing both as a solo and as part of a duo with Michelle Cameron, Waldo experienced tremendous success in internati ...

. Her domination of the event at the national level resulted in first place at all six US championships between 1981 and 1986. She enjoyed a successful partnership with fellow American,

Candy Costie Candace Costie (born March 12, 1963) is an American competitor and Olympic champion in synchronized swimming. After claiming a silver medal in the women's duet at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships with her swimming partner Tracie Ruiz, the ...

, which included a silver medal in the women's duet at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships in Guayaquil. Over the next few years, they increased their medal haul, winning gold at both the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

and the

. Their partnership also extended to winning four US national championships and one NCAA national championship.

Personal life

In June 1985, she married Michael Anthony Conforto, a former

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

football player who had helped her train for the Olympics. Their son,

Michael Conforto Michael Thomas Conforto (born March 1, 1993), nicknamed "Scooter", is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. After he played college baseball for the ...

, played professional baseball for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

from 2015-2021 and their daughter Jacqueline, played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...

Awards

Tracie Ruiz was inducted into 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 s ...

in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Tracie 1963 births Living people American synchronized swimmers Synchronized swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Synchronized swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in synchronized swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in synchronized swimming Sportspeople from Honolulu Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in synchronised swimming Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in synchronized swimming Synchronized swimmers at the 1983 Pan American Games Synchronized swimmers at the 1987 Pan American Games Swimmers from Honolulu Swimming commentators Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games

Career

Personal life

Awards

See also

References

External links