Mary T. Meagher Named to U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, July 2. THREE-time Olympic gold medalist Mary T. Meagher, widely know in the swimming community as "Madame Butterfly," will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Meagher claimed three gold medals in her Olympic debut in 1984, when she swept the butterfly events and competed on the gold medal-winning 4x100m medley relay. At the 1988 Olympic Games, she added two more medals to her collection, winning silver as a member of the 4x100m medley relay and claiming bronze in the 200m fly. Additionally, Meagher was considered a medal-threat in 1980, but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic boycott.

Her success was not limited to the Olympic stage. Meagher is a USA Swimming 24-time National Champion, and captured several medals at the World Championships in 1982 and 1986, including a pair of individual titles. Additionally, she medaled at both the Pan American Games and the Pan Pacific Championships.

Meagher is joined in the Class of 2009 by: Michael Johnson (athletics), Picabo Street (alpine skiing), Teresa Edwards (basketball), Willye White (athletics), (Paralympic alpine skiing), the 1992 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team, longtime men's gymnastics coach Abie Grossfeld, skiing veteran Andrea Mead-Lawrence, and special contributor Peter Ueberroth . Members of this group of athletes, teams and coaches have been a part of a combined 21 Olympic and Paralympic Games and brought home a total of 46 medals.

The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2009 will be formally introduced and honored Aug. 12 at an induction ceremony at McCormick Place in Chicago. Through a partnership with Chicago 2016, the ceremony will also serve as a final fundraiser for the organizing committee's bid to bring the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games to the city. The International Olympic Committee will announce the host city on October 2. The induction ceremony, hosted by Dan Hicks and Summer Sanders, will air in a nationally-televised broadcast on NBC on September 5 at 2 p.m. ET.

Nominees for the Class of 2009 were selected by a seven-person nominating committee consisting of Olympians, members of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, an NGB executive director, and a USOC representative. Fan votes submitted at www.teamusa.org also played an important role in the selection process, with more than 112,000 votes cast during the voting period.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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