Deborah Babashoff (born 1970) is an American former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who excelled in freestyle distance events. Debbie won her first national title in the 500 freestyle at the Short Course Nationals, in March, 1985.Povtak, Tim, "Debbie Babashoff Swims in Wake of Older Sister", ''The Orlando Sentinel'', Orlando, Florida, pg. 226, 25 June 1986 Showing consistency at longer distances, she placed third in the 1500 M freestyle with a time of 16:48.37 at the Speedo Swim Meet of Champions at Mission Viejo on June 23, 1985. Her 4x100 Freestyle Relay team composed of the Mission Viejo Nadadores, also took first place.

1986 World Aquatics Championships

On June 24, 1986, she qualified for that years World Aquatics Championships which was to be held in Madrid by winning the 400 meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Trials in Orlando, Florida, with a personal best time of 4:09.97. At the time, she was training with the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Later, in Madrid, she won the bronze medal in the 800-meter freestyle event at the World Championships.

1987 Pan American Games

Next year she won a silver medal at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

in the same event, and in 1989 a national title in the 1500-meter freestyle. In 1988, she took second behind Janet Evans in the 1500 freestyle at the U.S. Indoor Championships at Orlando, Florida with a time of 16:27.40.3.

Family and coaches

Debbie was born to Vera and Jack Babashoff in Whittier, California. Her father had been a swimming instructor in Hawaii and always wanted his own children to become Olympians.Babashoff, Shirley
Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures (January 1, 2002). Both of her parents are second-generation Russian Americans. She attended Fountain Valley High School near Huntington Beach, California. Prior to college, she was coached by Flip Dar with the Irvine Novaquatics which she switched to around June 1987. She had previously swum for the Mission Viejo Nadadores under head coach Mark Schubert, but moved to the Novaquatics to improve her times. While swimming at the meet to qualify for the Olympic Trials in 1986, Deborah qualified in the 400 and 800 freestyle when she was a High School Senior. At the trials in Austin in August 1988, she did not qualify for the final heat to make the U.S. Olympic Team.

Training schedule

In 1988, her demanding workout schedule consisted of weight training three days a week, five hours of training on Saturdays, and two workouts every weekday, with one before and one after school. In that year, she had been voted Most Valuable Swimmer in the Sunset League three years in a row, and won Fountain Valley High School's Athletic Coronet Award, the school's highest recognition for service or achievement.Hardeman, Kristin, "In the Family Swim", ''The Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, pg. 209, 23 April 1988 Her older sister Shirley (b. 1957) and older brothers Jack, Jr., (b. 1955) and Bill (b. 1959) were also swimmers who competed internationally.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babashoff, Debbie 1970 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Whittier, California World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in swimming 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen