Jill Ann Sterkel (born May 27, 1961) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, former world record-holder, and water polo player.

In March, 1979, in her High School Senior year, Sterkel set an American age group record of 49.55 seconds in 100-yard freestyle at the Southern California Invitational Swim Meet.

She later set an American age group record in the 100-yard butterfly of 53.76 at the National AAU Short Course Championships at East Los Angeles College in April, 1979.

[6] She won back-to-back Honda Sports Awards for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer of 1979–80 and 1980–81.

As a 15-year-old at the 1976 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, together with her teammates Kim Peyton, Wendy Boglioli and Shirley Babashoff.