Tracy Caulkins (USA)
Honor Swimmer (1990)
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1984 gold (200m, 400m individual medley; relay); 1980: member of U.S. Olympic Team; WORLD RECORDS: 5 (200m, 400m individual medley; 200m butterfly; relay); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1978 gold (200m butterfly; 200m, 400m individual medley; 2 relays), silver (100m breaststroke); 1982 bronze (200m, 400m individual medley); PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1979 gold (200m, 400m individual medley; 2 relays), silver (100m breaststroke; 400m freestyle); 1983 gold (200m, 400m individual medley), silver (200m butterfly); U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 48 (200m butterfly; 200yd, 200m, 400yd, 400m individual medley; 500yd freestyle; 200yd backstroke; 100yd, 100m, 200yd, 200m breaststroke; relays); AMERICAN RECORDS: 63 (100yd, 500yd freestyle; 100yd, 100m, 200yd, 200m breaststroke; 200yd backstroke; 200yd, 200m, 400yd, 400m individual medley; relays) NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 12 (100yd, 200yd butterfly; 100yd, 200yd, 400yd individual medley; 100yd breaststroke); 1978 Sullivan Award; 1982, 1983 Broderick Cup; 1981, 1984 Sportswoman of the Year; 1980, 1981 American Swimmer of the Year.
Tracy Caulkins burst onto the international scene at the 1978 Berlin World Championships with five golds and one silver. In the ensuing years she accumulated more National Championship titles (46) and set more American records (63) than any other swimmer. At 15, Tracy was the youngest recipient of the AAU Sullivan Award given to United State’s finest amateur athlete.
Tracy Caulkins trained with her sister Amy at the Nashville Aquatic Club, a team her parents helped to organize. She was America’s queen of the individual medley for eight years and her versatility was phenomenal. Tracy’s performances from 1971 to 1984 included every stroke and distance at the AAU, USS and NCAA National Championships. She brought further notoriety to her already famous coaches Paul Bergen, Don Talbot, Ron Young and Randy Reese.
Tracy was a standout in the classroom and was the top vote-getter in the College Sports Information Directors Association 1983 and 1984 Academic All-American Teams.