| Olympic medal record | |||
| Women's Swimming | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1980 Moscow | 800 m freestyle | |
| Bronze | 1980 Moscow | 200 m butterfly | |
Michelle Jan Ford MBE (born July 15, 1962 in Sydney) was an Australian long distance freestyle and butterfly swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold medal in the 800 m freestyle at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through Water, usually without artificial assistance The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Freestyle is an unregulated Swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The butterfly, ( fly for short is a swimming stroke swum on the breast with both arms moving simultaneously The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of She was the only non Soviet bloc female swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the boycott-marred games. During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were She also set two world records in her career, and was the first Australian woman to win individual Olympic medals in two distinct specialized strokes.
Ford, the third of four children grew up in the seaside Sydney suburb of Sans Souci, familiar with water, as her father Ian, a dentist, had narrowly missed Olympic selection as a yachtsman. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Sans Souci is a southern Sydney Suburb in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Yachting is an activity involving boats It may be racing Sailing boats cruising to distant shores or day-sailing along a coast After learning to swim at the age of 6, she made national headlines when she swam the 100yd freestyle in 61. 5s, at the age of 12, the fastest time ever set by a swimmer at such an age.
In January 1976, at the New South Wales Age Championships, at the North Sydney pool, she broke six state and three national records at the age of 13, two of which had previously been held by triple Olympic gold medallist Shane Gould. North Sydney may refer to North Sydney New South Wales North Sydney Nova Scotia Shane Elizabeth Gould, MBE (born 23 November 1956 is an Australian former swimmer who won three gold medals, a silver and bronze She proceeded to compete at the Australian Championships, where she won the 200 m butterfly, despite standing only 140cm, setting another national record in the process. Another strong performance in the 200 m freestyle lead to selection for both events for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec After a seven week national training camp, she competed in her first Olympic race in the 200 m freestyle, where her competition included the eventual champion, Kornelia Ender of East Germany. Kornelia Ender (born 25 October 1958 in Plauen) is an East German Swimmer who at the 1976 Summer Olympics became the The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state She was eliminated in the semifinals of the 200 m freestyle. Her time of 2 m 18. 24 in the 200 m butterfly, 2s outside here Australian record, saw her eliminated in the semifinals also.
After the Olympics, Ford scaled her training back in order to catch up on her studies at St George Girls High School. St George Girls' High School is an academically selective, Public High school for girls located in Kogarah, a Southern Suburb On the advice of her coach, she began to concentrate on distance freestyle swimming, and in 1977 set an Australian record in the 400 m freestyle at the NSW Age Championships, before setting another national record at the Australian Championships in the 800 m freestyle, as well as winning the 200 m freestyle. Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1977 in athletics (track and field Marathon August The following year in 1978, at the KB international meet in Brisbane, she broke the 800 m freestyle record of East Germany's Petra Thumer by 0. Artistic Gymnastics World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: Men's all-around champion Nikolai Andrianov, USSR Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state 18s, setting a new time of 8 m 35. 04s, lowering her own national record by 10s. She also set another Australian record in the 200 m butterfly. A fortnight later, Ford lowered her record to 8 m 31. 30s, but it did not last long. At the 1978 Australian Championships, Tracey Wickham lowered the world record to 8 m 30. Tracey Lee Wickham MBE OAM (born 24 November 1962 in Rosebud, Victoria) is a former Australian middle distance 53s, and defeated Ford in the 200 m and 400 m events also.
At the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Ford swam the 800 m freestyle in 8 m 25. The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton Alberta, Canada from 3 August-12 1978 Edmonton (ˈɛdmɨntɨn is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. 62s, only to find that Wickham had broken the world record in a time of 8 m 24. 62s, to relegated her to silver. Wickham again restricted Ford to silver in the 400 m freestyle, while in the 200 m event, they had to be content with silver and bronze respectively. She won gold in the 200 m butterfly and a bronze in the 4x100 m freestyle relay.
In 1979, Ford missed the Australian Championships in order to concentrate on her final year of high school, leaving Wickham to easily win the 200 m, 400 m and 800 m freestyle. Artistic Gymnastics World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: Men's all-around champion Alexander Dityatin, USSR However, at the Soviet Spartakiad Games later in the year, she won three golds in the 200 m butterfly and 400 m and 800 m freestyle. She then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, United States to train and compete under Don Talbot on the American domestic circuit. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Don Talbot OBE is a former Canadian and Australian Swimming coach. Ford won the 800 m and the 1500 m freestyle , and was second in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle behind Wickham at the 1980 Australian Championships to gain selection for the Moscow Olympics. Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1980 in athletics (track and field World Records June 12 &mdash Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Wickham later withdrew under public pressure from the Government of Australia, particularly Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who as the patron of the Australian Olympic Committee to boycott the Games in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. John Malcolm Fraser, AC, CH (born 21 May 1930 is an Australian Liberal politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت,
Ford chose to attend the games, competing in the 200 m butterfly and the 400 m and 800 m freestyle. She qualified third fastest in the 400 m freestyle, but the strategy undertaken by the East German trio coaxed her into deviating from her pre-race plan. She finished fourth. Later in the 200 m butterfly, she qualified fastest, ahead of East Germany's Andrea Pollack and Ines Geissler. Andrea Pollack (born May 8, 1961) is a former butterfly Swimmer from East Germany, who won two gold medals at the 1976 Ines Geißler (born February 16, 1963 in Marienberg Saxony) is a former butterfly Swimmer from East Germany, who In the final the East Germans turned the tables, with Geissler and Sybille Schonrock leading Ford home into the bronze medal position. In her final event, the 800 m freestyle, Ford had qualified behind another East German, Ines Diers. Ines Diers (born November 2, 1963 in Rochlitz) is a former freestyle Swimmer from East Germany. Ford made a slow start, lying in seventh at the 100 m mark before snatching the lead from Diers at the 200 m mark and extending it to a 3. 65s victory.
After returning to Australia, Ford attempted to break the 16 m barrier in the 1500 m freestyle, but was thwarted, firstly by a timing failure, then by New South Wales who did not want her to make her second attempt in Queensland and finally disqualification on her third attempt for incorrectly withdrawing from a previous race. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent Frustrated, she retired from swimming in 1981. Artistic Gymnastics World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: Men's all-around champion Yuri Korolev, USSR
She returned 9 months later in 1982, but selectors overlooked her for the 1982 World Aquatics Championships in Ecuador. Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1982 in athletics (track and field Marathon The 1982 World Aquatics Championships took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador between July 29 and August 8, 1982 with For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. She moved to train in the United States, before returning for the 1982 Commonwealth Games selection trials. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September&mdash9 October 1982 Despite coming fifth and sixth in the 800 m freestyle and 200 m butterfly, selectors picked her on the basis of previous performance. At the Games in Brisbane, she collected gold and silver in the 200 m butterfly and 800 m freestyle respectively. Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland
In 1983, Ford accepted a scholarship at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and commenced a degree in communication, while training for the 1984 Summer Olympics to be held there the following year. The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, The Australian Swimming Union had changed the selection policy so that the top two placegetters in each event would be selected in for the Olympic team, and when Ford returned overweight and swam well outside her best, she missed selection. She later returned to USC and swum much faster times than were recorded at the Australian Championships, but officials refused her official dispensation, forcing her into international retirement.
References
- Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games.
- Howell, Max (1986). Aussie Gold.
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