Debbie Meyer

Despite being born in 1952 in Annapolis Md and living in Haddonfield New Jersey during childhood she moved with her family to warm and sunny Sacramento, California, when her father was transferred with Campbell Soup.

She attended Sacramento's Rio Americano High School, and was trained during her High School years and beyond by Hall of Fame Coach Sherm Chavoor at the Arden Hills Swim Club in Carmichael, as were fellow 1968 U.S. team swimming Olympians Mark Spitz, Michael J. Burton, John Ferris, Sue Peterson, and John Nelson.

Chavoor was one of the early coaches to challenge young elite women swimmers with "overdistance training", which focused on workouts that gave more total yardage and often featured mid-range and distance intervals to build greater endurance and speed.

[7] Meyer had obstacles to overcome in the 68 Olympics, as she had developed a stomach ailment in Mexico City and had just recovered from a painful bout of bursitis in her left shoulder.

[5] 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.

These honors may have been bestowed partly as a result of her being the first woman to win three Olympic gold medals, and her continued dedication to the sport of swimming through her years as a coach.

Chavoor, with 68 Olympians S. Pedersen (l) and Meyer (r)
Mike Burton, Sherm Chavoor, Meyer, 1969