Saturday, 23 November 2024

    Tracie Ruiz

    • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2024
    • Embed from Getty Images
    • Sport(s): Synchronized Swimming
    • Statistics: 1 Women’s Solo Olympic Gold Medal (1984)
      1 Women’s Duet Olympic Gold Medal (1984)
      1 Women’s Solo Silver Medal (1988)
      1 Women’s Solo World Championship Gold Medal (1982)
      1 Women’s Duet World Championship Silver Medal (1982)
      2 Women’s Solo Pan American Games Gold Medals (1983 & 1987)
      1 Women’s Duet Pan American Games Gold Medal (1983)
      Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
    • In 1984, Synchronized Swimming made its Olympic debut, and American Tracey Ruiz was crowned its first champion.

      Ruiz’s success at Los Angeles was not a surprise, as she went in as a favorite. Already a multi-time U.S. Champion, Ruiz was the 1982 World Champion, the1983 Pan-American Gold Medalist, and she captured two Golds in L.A. as a solo and in a duet with Candy Costie.

      Ruiz won Gold again at the Pan American Games in 1987 and looked to defend her Olympic Gold in Seoul, but she had to settle for Silver, as Canadian Carolyn Waldo narrowly edged her out.

      Her overall success would help popularize the sport, not just the United States and around the globe. Athletics stayed in the family, as her son, Michael Conforto, plays professional baseball.

      We are proud to nominate Tracey Ruiz for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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