Shirley Stobs
American Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder in swimming.
Shirley Anne Stobs, later Shirley Anne Davis, is an American former competition swimmer. She was an Olympic champion and former world record-holder. Born May 20, 1942, in Miami, Florida, she achieved international success in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Quick Facts
- Full name
- Shirley Anne Stobs
- Education
- Emory University
- Strokes
- Freestyle; Butterfly
- Club
- Miami Shores Country Club
- Coach
- Tom Buckley (Miami Shores)
- Born
- 20 May 1942
- Birthplace
- Miami, Florida, U.S.
- Height
- 5 ft 4 in / 1.63 m
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Shirley Stobs was born on May 20, 1942, in Miami, Florida, to Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stobs. She trained at the Miami Shores Country Club under Tom Buckley, who later coached at Dade Junior College. In June 1957, at the St. Petersburg Invitational Meet, she set a Florida state record in the 100-yard butterfly for the 15-16 age group with a time of 1:08.5. While attending Miami Edison Senior High School, she won the 100-yard freestyle at the 1958 Florida State High School Championships in 57.9 seconds and set an age-group record in the 100-yard butterfly preliminaries at 1:07.0. At the Florida Age Group Championships in June 1958, she set a national 50-yard freestyle record of 26.4 seconds and won the 200-yard individual medley. She captured an AAU title in the 100-yard freestyle in 1959, and set an unofficial Florida state record in that event in June 1960 with a time of 58.1.
1960 Rome Olympic gold
Stobs placed fourth in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1960 Olympic trials, qualifying for the Olympics. Swimming the second leg, she posted a personal best of 1:02.9 for her 100-meter segment. The American women set a new world record in the 4x100 freestyle with a combined time of 4:08.9 in the final, outpacing the Australian silver medalists. At the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, she won a gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle and a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle. After the Olympics, she attended Emory University in the fall of 1960. In 1996, while a resident of Indian River, Florida, she participated in the Olympic Torch Relay.
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