When it comes to women’ highschool swimming in Tennessee, there is not any one moderately as respected as Tracy Caulkins Stockwell.
Stockwell was once born in Minnesota however moved to Nashville together with her circle of relatives as a kid.
At 13, Stockwell certified for the AAU nationwide championship and as a freshman at Harpeth Hall in 1977, Stockwell gained her first nationwide championship. Harpeth Hall didn’t have a college swimming crew on the time however an established bodily schooling trainer named Patty Chadwell put in combination a squad and started striking the women in meets.
While Harpeth Hall was once profitable Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (TISCA) state championships in 1979, 1980, and 1981, Stockwell was once appearing out at the worldstage.
Stockwell was once handiest 15 when she gained 5 gold medals (200-meter butterfly, 200-meter IM, 400-meter IM, 4×100-meter freestyle relay, 4×100-meter medley relay) and one silver medal (100-meter breaststroke) at the 1978 World Championships in West Berlin.
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She was once awarded the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, which every year acknowledges probably the most exceptional novice athlete within the United States, later that yr changing into the youngest recipient to win the award and the 5th girl to win it.
Stockwell additionally was once the second one Tennessean to win the award, becoming a member of Wilma Rudolph who gained it in 1961.
After qualifying for seven occasions within the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, Stockwell’s Olympic desires must wait because the United States boycotted the video games in Moscow.
Stockwell graduated from Harpeth Hall in 1981 and permitted a swimming scholarship to the University of Florida.
After 4 lengthy years of ready, Stockwell certified for 4 occasions within the 1984 Summer Olympics and was once named the crew captain.
She would move directly to win 3 gold medals within the 400 IM, the 200 IM (with an Olympic file) and as a member of the 400 medley relay crew.
Stockwell retired from swimming after the Olympics and didn’t swim her senior yr at Florida. She ended her profession with 5 international data, 63 U.S. data, 48 particular person nationwide swimming titles and 12 particular person NCAA titles.
She was once additionally the one swimmer in historical past to set American data and earn nationwide titles in all 4 aggressive strokes and the first and handiest swimmer to set 5 American data in one nationwide championship.
A inductee into a number of halls of reputation, Stockwell stays energetic within the swimming international. In February of this yr, she was once named the President of Australia Swimming, changing into simply the second one girl to carry the location.
Reach Joe Spears at [email protected] or 731-343-4923. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joe_spears7.