1. Mary Wayte was born and raised on Mercer Island, Washington, where she swam for the Chinook Aquatic Club under Hall of Fame Coach Jack Ridley.
17 Facts About Mary Wayte
1. 2.
Mary Wayte won eight Washington state high school swimming titles in five different events while attending Mercer Island High School.
3.
Mary Wayte accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for coach Randy Reese's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association competition from 1983 to 1987.
4.
Mary Wayte won the High Point Award at the 1985 NCAA championships.
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Mary Wayte won eleven individual Southeastern Conference championships and was a member of ten SEC championship relay teams.
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Mary Wayte was the SEC Swimmer of the Year in 1985, and received a total of twenty-six All-American honors in her four years as a collegiate swimmer.
7.
From 1981 to 1988, Mary Wayte was a member of the US national swim team, competing in major international championships in Japan, France, the Netherlands, Venezuela, Monaco, Spain and South Korea.
8.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Mary Wayte won her first Olympic gold medal in the women's 200-meter freestyle event by defeating her American rival and former world record-holder Cynthia Woodhead.
9.
Mary Wayte's winning 200-meter time of 1:59.23 was her career best to date, overcoming Woodhead's early lead in the final 50 meters.
10.
Mary Wayte graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1989.
11.
Mary Wayte retired from competition swimming following the 1988 Olympics, and worked as a fund-raiser for the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
12.
Mary Wayte became a celebrity promoter and endorsed products and services on behalf of Alamo Rent a Car, the National Spa and Pool Institute, and Speedo.
13.
Mary Wayte later worked as a television broadcaster for the Sports Channel network, covering NCAA and international swimming competitions and interviewing fans at NBA games.
14.
Mary Wayte served on the US Olympic Committee's athletes advisory council.
15.
Mary Wayte was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1998, the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Pacific Northwest Swimming Hall of Fame in 2004.
16.
Mary Wayte married business executive Jim Bradburne in 1995, and they have two daughters, Grace and Audrey Bradburne.
17.
Mary Wayte participates in Swim Across America, a charitable organization that enlists former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research.