Michelle Pearson
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Women’s Swimming | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1984 Los Angeles | 200m Individual Medley | |
Michelle Pearson (born April 22, 1964), was an Australian medley and freestyle swimmer of the 1980s, who won a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Her versatility saw her qualify for four finals.
Pearson made her international debut at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada, where she finalled in both the 200m and 400m individual medleys, finishing seventh and fifth respectively. She made her Olympic debut at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where she was eliminated in the heats of the 100m freestyle. She was a part of the 4x100m freestyle relay team along with Lisa Curry, Rosemary Brown and Karen van de Graaf, which placed fifth in the final.
In 1981, Pearson became one of the first athletes in Australia to attend the newly established Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). Pearson attend the AIS until 1986 and was named AIS Athlete of the Year in 1985.
At the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Pearson collected her first international medals, winning silver and bronze in the 400m and 200m individual medley respectively. Curry won both events.
Pearson had a good preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics, after winning two events at the American Championships as a guest competitor. In the 200m individual medley, she trailed home the American duo of Tracy Caulkins and Nancy Hogshead, edging out Curry by 0.83s to claim the bronze medal. Pearson narrowly missed a second silver in the 200m freestyle, finishing in a time of 1m 59.79s, just 0.1s slower than the bronze medallist Annemarie Verstappen of The Netherlands. She also finished fifth in the 100m freestyle, which was won by Hogshead. She combined with Curry, Angela Russell and Anna McVann to finish fourth in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Pearson's form began to dip after the Olympics. Her only medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh was a gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
[edit] References
- Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games.
