Sharon Stouder
American swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, former world record-holder.
Sharon Marie Stouder (November 9, 1948 – June 23, 2013), also known by her married name Sharon Stouder Clark, was an American competition swimmer. She was a three-time Olympic champion and former world record-holder in four events.
Quick Facts
- Full name
- Sharon Marie Stouder
- National team
- United States
- Strokes
- Freestyle, butterfly
- Club
- Commerce Swim Club
- Coach
- Don Gambril; Commerce Swim Club
- Born
- 9 November 1948
- Birthplace
- Altadena, California, U.S.
- Died
- 23 June 2013
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Stouder began swimming at age three and entered competition at eight, taking two firsts and setting age-group records in her first meet. She accumulated 20 firsts in national age-group events and earned six National Junior Olympic age group ratings. She attended Glendora High School and trained under Hall of Fame coach Don Gambril, first with his Rosemead swim club and later with the City of Commerce Swim Club near Southeast Los Angeles.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the 15-year-old Stouder won three gold medals and one silver. She unexpectedly beat favored Dutch champion Ada Kok in the women's 100-meter butterfly and swam on the winning U.S. 4×100-meter freestyle relay and 4×100-meter medley relay teams. She took silver in the women's 100-meter freestyle, finishing 0.4 seconds behind Australian Dawn Fraser, and became the second woman to break one minute in that event with a 59.9. In 1964 she twice broke the world record in the women's 200-meter butterfly and set a record in the 100-meter butterfly. She also earned gold at the 1963 São Paulo Pan Am Games in both the 4x100 freestyle and medley relays.
Later life, and education
Stouder graduated from Stanford University in 1970, though Stanford had no women's swim team at the time, and her competitive swimming career largely ended after the 1964 Olympics. She later did graduate work at the University of California Santa Barbara, earning teaching credentials, and worked coaching swimming and teaching. She married Ken Clark, lived in Los Altos, California, lit the Olympic Torch at the 1984 games, raised a family, and owned a women's clothing store from 1979 to 2004. She was active in Stanford athletics support organizations, retired in 2004, and relocated to Pismo Beach, California. Stouder died June 23, 2013, at age 64. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Stanford Hall of Fame in 1997, and was California State Athlete of the year in 1963–64.
More in Swimming & Water Sports
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced