Belote, Melissa (1956—)

American swimmer. Born in Springfield, Virginia, on October 16 (some sources cite the 10th), 1956; daughter of Florence and Ernest Belote.

Won Olympic gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, the 400-meter medley relay, and the 200-meter backstroke in the Munich Olympics (1972).

"When Melissa came to me, she came with an airline ticket to Munich," remarked Belote's coach Ed Solotar. Though no one could be certain the young girl was of Olympic caliber, many like Solotar could not overlook her determination. Melissa Belote was the second-born of Florence and Ernest Belote's three daughters. Like many other American suburban families, the Belotes belonged to a community pool where their daughters learned to swim. When Melissa's friends on the swim team began waving flashy blue, first-place ribbons under her nose, she wanted to join in. Thus, in 1964, at age eight, she joined the Tigersharks at the Springfield Swim Club where Dick Donahue was her first coach. Belote swam freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and relay and was soon amassing her own blue ribbons.

In 1966, ten-year-old Belote joined the Starlit Aquatic Club under the coaching of Ed Solotar. Since his team trained year round, her schedule revolved around swimming: up at five, she practiced from six to seven and again after school. By age 11, she had learned to put forth a burst of speed in the last 15 meters to overcome the competition, and her sights were set on becoming an Olympic athlete. At 12, Belote entered her first national swim meet, competing in the backstroke to avoid the red-rimmed, teary eyes from hours in chlorinated water. But winning was not as easy at the national level as it had been at local meets. In swimming, as in most competitive sports, athletes often struggle against one particular competitor. Susie Atwood of California was Belote's backstroking nemesis. Try as she would, a frustrated Belote could never wrench first place from Atwood. Said Ernest Belote to his petulant daughter: "When you finally beat Susie Atwood, she will never beat you again." His words proved prophetic.

During her first year of national competition, Belote won the 200-meter individual medley, the 100-meter backstroke, and the relay. At the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic meet in Washington, D.C., she set national records in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 19.8 and in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:05.3. Winning the 100-yard freestyle as well, she qualified for the National Junior Olympics. In San Diego, California, Belote set a record for her age group in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:13.8. But at the 1969 Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, Belote did not do well, nor did she have a good showing at the National AAU short course championship in Cincinnati or at the Los Angeles National AAU Long Course championship. She then placed eighth in the 100-yard backstroke at the 1971 National Short Course in Pullman, Washington. Politics intervened when friction developed between the management of the Swim Club and Belote's Solotar. Refusing to take sides, Belote swam unattached for awhile, eventually signing with the Solotar Swim Team.

In June 1972, Belote entered the Santa Clara Invitational determined to jettison the pressure of earlier losses. Something worked. She won the 200-meter backstroke and finally beat Susie Atwood. A month later at the Eastern Championships, Belote won the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. Taking charge of her sport, she set six records in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke, the 400-meter individual medley, the 400-meter freestyle, the 200-meter individual medley, and the 800-meter freestyle. By early August, she was off to Chicago for the Olympic trials, where she finished first in the 100- and 200-meter.

Soon Belote was training with Sherm Chavoor, the Olympic team coach, at the University of Tennessee. On September 2, 1972, at Munich, Belote won a gold in the 100-meter backstroke with a new Olympic record of 1:05:78. During the 400-meter medley relay, Belote led off with the backstroke, giving team-mates Catherine Carr (breaststroke), Deena Deardurff (butterfly), and Sandy Neilson (freestyle) a lead the Americans never lost; the team set another Olympic record of 4:20.75 and a world time as well. Belote took the 200-meter backstroke with new world and Olympic records of 2:19.19 for her third gold. Though the 1972 Munich Olympics were an unqualified success for the American swim team, they were a horror for the other athletes. Arab terrorists held the Israeli wrestling team hostage, killing several athletes, in one of the most abhorrent terrorist offenses in history.

Carr, Catherine (1954—)

American swimmer. Born on May 27, 1954.

In the Munich Olympics, 1972, Catherine Carr won gold medals in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 4x100-meter relay.

Neilson, Sandy (1956—)

American swimmer. Born Sandra Neilson on March 20, 1956.

In Munich, Germany, in 1972, Sandy Neilson won Olympic gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle, the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, and the 4x100-meter medley relay.

After 1972, the East Germans increasingly dominated women's swimming. In the fall of 1973, no other team came close to their showing in the World Swimming Championship in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. East Germany's success was not attributable to drugs but rather to their new swimsuits. For years, women had been required to wear a swimsuit with a quarter-panel skirt in front, a holdover from the days when women wore swimming dresses. AAU rules specified that all American swimmers must wear this quarter-panel skirt. It was just enough material to drag on American swimmers while their East German opponents utilized the skin-tight "Belgrade" suit to gain the precious fractions of a second needed to win races. After Belote and several other swimmers campaigned for the newer suit, the quarter-panel swim skirt went the way of bustles and corsets as women ushered in a new era of swimming fashion designed for performance not someone else's idea of propriety.

Karin Loewen Haag , Athens, Georgia