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Tracy StockwellAmerican swimmer, three-time Olympic champion and holder of several national and world records.
Date of Birth: 11.01.1963
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Tracy Caulkins: A Swimming Legend
- A Prolific Career
- Early Years and Olympic Dreams
- National and International Success
- Olympic Gold
- Post-Olympic Career
Tracy Caulkins: A Swimming Legend
Tracy Caulkins, an American swimmer, has cemented her legacy as a three-time Olympic champion and holder of numerous national and world records.
A Prolific Career
Caulkins' versatility shone through her ability to excel in all four major swimming strokes: butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke. She triumphed in 48 national championships and broke American records in all four strokes at various distances. Her exceptional range earned her countless accolades, establishing her as one of the greatest swimmers of all time. By the time she retired from competitive swimming in 1984, Tracy had set 5 world records and an astonishing 63 American records – an unsurpassed achievement by any other American swimmer.
Early Years and Olympic Dreams
Tracy Caulkins was born on January 11, 1963, in Winona, Minnesota. She swam for the Westside Victory Swim Club and later for the Nashville Aquatic Club (NAC) in Nashville, Tennessee, where she trained under Paul Bergen, who would later become the coach of the US Olympic swimming team. Caulkins attended Harpeth Hall School in Nashville.
At the age of nine, after watching the swimmers compete at the 1972 Munich Olympics on TV, Tracy set her sights on participating in the games and winning a gold medal. This aspiration fueled her drive and determination.
National and International Success
By 13, Caulkins claimed her first national swimming championship. In 1977, she broke national records in the 200- and 400-yard events. At 15, Tracy soared to victory at the World Championships in West Berlin, winning 5 gold medals in the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, 200-meter butterfly, and as part of the 4x100m and 4x100m freestyle relay teams. She smashed 4 world records and one American record in the process.
Olympic Gold
Following another year filled with medals at competitions in 1978 and 1979, Tracy was poised to triumph at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. However, the American team boycotted those games due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Caulkins' Olympic dream had to wait.
Three years of intense training and competition paid off at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Caulkins, now captain of the US women's swimming team, came tantalizingly close to fulfilling her childhood goal. On July 29, she won her first Olympic gold in the 400-meter event, beating Australian Suzie Landells by over 9 seconds. Another gold followed on August 3 in the 200-meter race. Tracy's third gold came as part of the team relay.
Post-Olympic Career
After the 1984 Olympics, Caulkins, then 21, decided to finish her studies at the University of Florida and focus on her academic pursuits, taking a hiatus from competitive swimming. She graduated with a degree in telecommunications in 1985 and was subsequently inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.
Tracy has been inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame (1983), the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1990), and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (1996). She married Australian Mark Stockwell, also a University of Florida alumnus and an Olympic silver and bronze medalist in Los Angeles, and moved to Australia shortly after graduating. The couple resides in Queensland with their four children.
Tracy remains involved in the Tracy Caulkins Physical Therapy clinics in Tennessee. In the summer of 2008, Stockwell was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to sport.
