Theresa Andrews (born August 25, 1962) is an American former competitive swimmer and Olympic champion. Raised in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Andrews gained prominence as a national collegiate champion when competing for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. In international competition, she was a

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

specialist who won two gold medals 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 sec ...

Early years

Andrews was born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

in 1962. She grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, where she initially attended St. Mary's High School.John Staedman,
What Theresa Andrews has now is far more precious than gold
" ''The Baltimore Sun'' (July 21, 1996). Retrieved July 11, 2015. She was one of twelve children of Frank and Maxine Andrews; her father was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former U.S. Navy officer. Andrews first trained in the Navy Junior Program as an age-group swimmer, and then moved to the

North Baltimore Aquatic Club The North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) is a swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing a dozen Olympic swimmers, six of whom earned gold m ...

(NBAC), attending

Archbishop Keough High School Seton Keough High School was an all-girls college preparatory Private school, private, Roman Catholic high school in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, at 1201 Caton Avenue. It was founded in 1988 aft ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and staying with a succession of five sponsoring local families during her final two years of high school.Maryland Swimming Hall of Fame
Theresa Andrews
. Retrieved July 11, 2015. She later described her training regime as "six hours a day, six days a week ... training in a pool." Andrews was among the first generation of elite swimmers to train under coach Murray Stephens at NBAC, a club that has produced a succession of Olympic swimmers after her, including

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...

and

Katie Hoff Kathryn Elise Hoff (born June 3, 1989) is a former American competitive swimmer, she is an Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoff was known for her success in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley. She represented the Un ...

. She was the first Olympic medalist produced by the club.

Career

College swimming career

Andrews accepted an athletic scholarship to attend

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

in Bloomington, Indiana, and swam for the

Indiana Hoosiers swimming and diving The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Ath ...

team in Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

competition during the 1980–81 school year.
2013–14 Indiana Hoosiers Women's Swimming and Diving
', Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, pp. 6, 10, 20, 28 (2013). Retrieved July 11, 2015. As a Hoosier swimmer, she won six Big Ten titles, and earned five All-American honors. Former Gator Swimmer Theresa Andrews Receives NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
" GatorZone.com (January 13, 2008). Retrieved July 11, 2015. After her freshman season, Andrews transferred to the

in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for coach Randy Reese's

Florida Gators swimming and diving The Florida Gators swimming and diving program represents the University of Florida in the aquatics sports of swimming and diving. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Coll ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) competition in 1982 and 1983.
Florida Swimming & Diving 2014–15 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 78, 79, 83, 84, 97, 91, 98 (2014). Retrieved July 11, 2015. As a Gator, she was an eleven-time SEC champion, including the 50-yard backstroke (twice), 100-yard backstroke (twice), 200-yard backstroke, and six relays. She was a three-time NCAA champion (twice in the 400-yard medley relay, and once in the 200-yard medley relay), and received a total of eighteen All-American honors. The Gators won the 1982 NCAA women's team championship, and the Gators' winning 400-yard medley relay team of Andrews, Amy Caulkins, Michele Kurtzman and

Kathy Treible Kathleen Treible Slaton (born September 9, 1961), née Kathleen Treible, is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States in international events during the 1970s and early 1980s. Treible studied at the Wisconsin Hills ...

set a new American national record in the event of 3:40.99. Andrews, together with teammates Kurtzman, Treible and

Tracy Caulkins Tracy Anne Stockwell, OAM, (born January 11, 1963), née Tracy Anne Caulkins, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time world champion, and former world record-holder in three events. Caulkins was ...

, won the NCAA 400-yard medley relay event again in 1983, and the Gators placed second overall at the NCAA championship tournament.

1984 Olympic swimming

Andrews qualified to represent the United States at the

in Los Angeles, where she won two gold medals.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Theresa Andrews
Retrieved July 11, 2015. She gained her first gold in the women's 100-meter backstroke, narrowly edging fellow American Betsy Mitchell by eight one-hundredths (.08) of a second – about five inches – for a final time of 1:02.55. It was the first time she had ever beaten Mitchell.Denne H. Freeman,
U.S. Continuing Swim Domination
" ''The Daily Sentinel'', p. 11 (August 1, 1984). Retrieved July 11, 2015 She earned her second gold by swimming the lead-off backstroke leg for the first-place U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay event, sharing the honors with her American teammates Tracy Caulkins ( breaststroke), Mary T. Meagher (

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

), and Nancy Hogshead ( freestyle), and clocking a winning time of 4:08.34. Her split time of 1:04.00 was slower than her gold-medal time in the individual 100-meter backstroke, but her teammates made up the difference to win and set a new American record in the event. Andrews later gave her first Olympic gold medal to her brother Danny in a private gathering, honoring him for his courage when he was paralyzed at the age of 19 after being struck by a car two years earlier. After the Olympics, she retired from competitive swimming at the age of 21.

Life after competition swimming

Andrews graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation in 1986, and thereafter, from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

with a master's degree in clinical social work.Swim Across America, Olympians
Theresa Andrews
Retrieved July 11, 2015. From 1992 to 1999, she worked as a clinical social worker in children's hematology and cancer treatment at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

Health Science Center. Andrews has worked for MBNA America and

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

since 1999; as a Bank of America vice president and market manager for consumer banking, she oversees fifteen banking centers in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Andrews delivers motivational speeches for corporations, conferences, community groups and schools, usually on the topics of individual potential and the importance of teamwork in achieving goals, and drawing on the values of the Olympic movement. She is a member of the

U.S. Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

, and has served as a volunteer for the U.S. Olympic Alumni Association since 2004. She is also a veteran celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America (SAA), a charitable organization that uses former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research, and has participated in SAA events for nine years. Andrews was inducted into the Maryland Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Athlete" in 1987. Sports Line: Swimmers Honored
" ''The Capital'', p. D2 (December 12, 1997). Retrieved July 11, 2015. In 2008, she received the NCAA's Silver Anniversary Award, which recognizes successful former student-athletes who have excelled in their careers after graduation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Theresa 1962 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers Florida Gators women's swimmers Indiana Hoosiers women's swimmers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from New London, Connecticut Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Maryland Seton Keough High School alumni