Theresa Andrews
Encyclopedia
Theresa Andrews is a former American college and international swimmer
who was a two-time Olympic
gold medal
ist.
in 1962, and trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club
as an age group swimmer.
Andrews received an athletic scholarship
to attend the Indiana University
in Bloomington, Indiana
, and swam for the Indiana Hoosiers swimming & diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) and Big Ten Conference
competition during the 1980–1981 school year, winning six Big Ten titles. After her freshman
season, Andrews transferred to the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where she swam for coach Randy Reese
's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in NCAA and Southeastern Conference
(SEC) competition in 1982 and 1983. As a Gator, she won back-to-back SEC titles in the 50-yard and 100-yard backstroke
events, and was a member of four SEC championship relay teams. She was a three-time NCAA champion (twice in the 400-yard medley relay, and once in the 200-yard medley relay), and received thirteen All-American honors. The Gators won the 1982 NCAA women's team championship, and the Gators' winning 400-yard medley relay team of Andrews, Tracy Caulkins
, Michelle Kurtzman and Kathy Treible set a new American national record in the event of 3:40.99. Andrews and her three Gators teammates won the NCAA 400-yard medley relay event again in 1983, and the team placed second overall at the NCAA championship tournament.
Andrews won two Olympic gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles, California
. She won her first gold in the 100-meter backstroke
, narrowly edging fellow American Betsy Mitchell
by eight one-hundredths (.08) of a second. She earned her second gold as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4x100-meter medley relay
event, sharing the honor with American teammates Tracy Caulkins, Mary Meagher and Nancy Hogshead. Andrews gave her first Olympic gold medal to her brother in a private gathering, honoring him for his courage after he was paralyzed at the age of 19.
in therapeutic recreation in 1986, and thereafter, from Ohio State University
with a master's degree
in clinical social work. From 1992 to 1999, she worked as a clinical social worker in children's hematology
and cancer
treatment at the University of Virginia
Health Science Center. Andrews has worked for MBNA America and Bank of America since 1999; as a Bank of America vice president and market manager for consumer banking, she currently oversees fifteen banking centers in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Andrews also gives motivational speeches for corporations, conferences, community groups and schools, usually on the topics of individual potential and the importance of teamwork in achieving goals, and drawing on the values of the Olympic movement.
Andrews is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and has served as a volunteer for the U.S. Olympic Alumni Association since 2004. She is also a veteran celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America (SAA), a charitable organization that uses former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research, and has participated in SAA events for nine years.
In 2008, Andrews received the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Award, which recognizes successful former student-athletes who have excelled in their careers after graduation.
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
who was a two-time Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
ist.
Swimming career
Andrews was born in New London, ConnecticutNew London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
in 1962, and trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
The North Baltimore Aquatic Club is an amateur swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing seven Olympic gold medal swimmers.-Facilities:...
as an age group swimmer.
Andrews received an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, and swam for the Indiana Hoosiers swimming & diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) and Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
competition during the 1980–1981 school year, winning six Big Ten titles. After her freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
season, Andrews transferred to the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where she swam for coach Randy Reese
Randy Reese
Randy Reese is an American college and Olympic swimming coach. Reese is best known for coaching the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams to four national championships, and coaching the winners of eighteen Olympic gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals...
's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in NCAA and Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) competition in 1982 and 1983. As a Gator, she won back-to-back SEC titles in the 50-yard and 100-yard backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
events, and was a member of four SEC championship relay teams. She was a three-time NCAA champion (twice in the 400-yard medley relay, and once in the 200-yard medley relay), and received thirteen All-American honors. The Gators won the 1982 NCAA women's team championship, and the Gators' winning 400-yard medley relay team of Andrews, Tracy Caulkins
Tracy Caulkins
Tracy Anne Caulkins Stockwell, OAM, is a former American college and international swimmer, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and a former world record-holder....
, Michelle Kurtzman and Kathy Treible set a new American national record in the event of 3:40.99. Andrews and her three Gators teammates won the NCAA 400-yard medley relay event again in 1983, and the team placed second overall at the NCAA championship tournament.
Andrews won two Olympic gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. She won her first gold in the 100-meter backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
, narrowly edging fellow American Betsy Mitchell
Betsy Mitchell
Faith Elizabeth "Betsy" Mitchell is former backstroke swimmer from the United States. She also was a member of the USA's 1994 Rowing World Championship team. In she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998.She began competitive swimming at age 5 and became notable at 13...
by eight one-hundredths (.08) of a second. She earned her second gold as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4x100-meter medley relay
Medley swimming
Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay...
event, sharing the honor with American teammates Tracy Caulkins, Mary Meagher and Nancy Hogshead. Andrews gave her first Olympic gold medal to her brother in a private gathering, honoring him for his courage after he was paralyzed at the age of 19.
Life after swimming
Andrews graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in therapeutic recreation in 1986, and thereafter, from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
with a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in clinical social work. From 1992 to 1999, she worked as a clinical social worker in children's hematology
Hematology
Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...
and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
treatment at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
Health Science Center. Andrews has worked for MBNA America and Bank of America since 1999; as a Bank of America vice president and market manager for consumer banking, she currently oversees fifteen banking centers in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Andrews also gives motivational speeches for corporations, conferences, community groups and schools, usually on the topics of individual potential and the importance of teamwork in achieving goals, and drawing on the values of the Olympic movement.
Andrews is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and has served as a volunteer for the U.S. Olympic Alumni Association since 2004. She is also a veteran celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America (SAA), a charitable organization that uses former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research, and has participated in SAA events for nine years.
In 2008, Andrews received the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Award, which recognizes successful former student-athletes who have excelled in their careers after graduation.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
- List of Ohio State University people
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Olympians