Deborah Elizabeth Meyer (born August 14, 1952), also known by her married name Deborah Weber, is an American former competition swimmer, a three-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in four events. Meyer won the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter

freestyle swimming Freestyle is a category of Swimming (sport), swimming competition, defined by the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), in which competitors are subject to a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races ar ...

races in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City. While she was still a 16-year-old student at

Rio Americano High School Rio Americano High School, colloquially known as Rio, is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, just outside Sacramento, serving students in grades 9 through 12 as part of the San Juan Unified School District. Rio Americano students co ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, she became the first swimmer to win three individual gold medals in one Olympics, winning the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter

races.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Debbie Meyer
. Retrieved September 8, 2015. Katie Ledecky is the only other female swimmer to have done the same, in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Meyer set world records in 200-meter, 400-meter, and 800-meter freestyle swimming events at the U.S. Olympics trials. Her winning times at the Olympic Games were 2:10.5 for the 200-meter, 4:31.8 for the 400-meter, and 9:24.0 for the 800-meter distances, all of them new or first-time Olympic records. In 1968, the women's freestyle races at 200-meter and 800-meter distances were added to the Summer Olympics for the first time. Before this, the longest race for women was the 400-meter freestyle, despite the fact that the male competitors had had the 1,500-meter freestyle race (the metric mile) for decades, dating back to 1896. While overcoming her problems with

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

, Meyer broke 15 world records in swimming during her career. Meyer broke 24 American records and won 19

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) national championships. In 1968, she won the

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

. In 1969, she was named

Associated Press Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award t ...

. She was named ''

Swimming World ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...

s World Swimmer of the Year in 1967, 1968 and 1969. In 1972, Meyer retired from competitive swimming. She 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 1977, and the

United States Olympic Hall of Fame United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

in 1986.U.S. Olympic Team
U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 1986
Archived November 2, 2007; retrieved March 20, 2015. On July 5, 2004, Meyer was inducted into the American

National High School Hall of Fame The National High School Hall of Fame is a program of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) that honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to high school sports or performing arts. As of 2019, a total of ...

. Meyer uses the custom California automobile license plate "3GOLD68". Meyer is married to Bill Weber. She owns the Debbie Meyer Swim School in

Carmichael, California Carmichael is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County, California, United States. It is a suburb in the Sacramento metropolitan area, Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 79,793 at th ...

. According to the business website, Meyer has taught swimming in the area around Sacramento, since the 1970s, and she opened her own school in 1993. Along with teaching both children and adults to be safe in the water Meyer is coaching the Truckee Tahoe Swim Team in

Truckee, California Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highe ...

. Meyer has a daughter, son, and step-daughter.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Debbie 1952 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming James E. Sullivan Award recipients Sportspeople from Annapolis, Maryland Sportspeople from Sacramento, California People from Truckee, California Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics University of California, Los Angeles alumni Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 21st-century American women

See also

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