Athletes

Donna de Varona served as the first president (1979-1984) and an honorary trustee for the Women's Sports Foundation and is currently the Chair of Government Relations at the Foundation. Under de Varona's leadership the Foundation launched the Hall of Fame Dinner (now the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner), Travel & Training grants, research projects and annual visits to Washington, D.C., to educate Congress about Title IX and the importance of providing sport and physical activity opportunities on an equitable basis. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, de Varona qualified for her first Olympic swimming team in 1960 at the age of 13. At that time she held the world record in the grueling 400m individual medley (IM), which was not yet an Olympic event. Instead de Verona gained a spot on the 4x100m freestyle relay team that year and contributed to an effort that produced an Olympic gold medal for the United States. Four years later de Varona captured the first 400m IM gold medal at the 1964 Olympic Games, besting her competition by a margin of six seconds and setting an Olympic record. De Varona was well on her way to setting a career total of 18 world records. She went on to capture another gold medal in the 1964 Olympic Games as a member of the world-record-setting 4x100m freestyle relay team. In 1964, the Associated Press and United Press International voted de Varona the most outstanding woman athlete in the world. Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, de Varona was also a recipient of the Olympic Order, the highest honor presented by the International Olympic Committee. In 2003, the NCAA Honors Committee awarded her the Theodore Roosevelt Award. In 1999, Sports Illustrated for Women ranked her 82nd on its list of the "Top 100 Greatest Athletes". She is the former chair of the United States Olympic Committee's Public Relations and Information Committee. In 1996, de Varona received the Women's Sports Foundation's prestigious Flo Hyman Memorial Award. That same year de Varona chaired the Women's World Cup, which turned out to be the most successful sporting event in the history of women's sports. Her success with the Women’s World Cup led to serving on the board of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. On Oct. 4, 2004, de Varona was inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y. An Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, de Varona is a two-time Gracie Award recipient for excellence in broadcasting. Her amazing broadcasting career includes coverage of 17 summer and winter Olympic Games for both television and radio. In 2006, de Varona received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Paralysis Project of America. Also that year de Varona was appointed to serve on the distinguished Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC), which recommends the subjects to appear on U.S. postage stamps.(8/08)