[5] She was chosen as United States' flag bearer for the closing ceremonies of the 1975 games held at Aztec Stadium.

[1] In the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, she won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with teammates Jill Sterkel, Shirley Babashoff, and Wendy Boglioli, setting a new world record with a time of 3:44.82.

This record would stand until August 26, 1978, when another United States swim team of Cynthia Woodhead, Jill Sterkel, Stephanie Elkins and Tracy Caulkins broke it with a time of 3:43.43 in West Berlin.

With strategic recruiting, Stanford included a second Olympian Jo Harshbarger, who was one of the earliest women to receive an athletic scholarship for swimming.

[9] At Stanford, Peyton met her husband Drew McDonald, who won a silver medal as a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic water polo team.