Candy Costie

Early life and competition Candace Costie was born on March 12, 1963, in Seattle, Washington where she spent her early life. Her mother was a diver and frequent swimmer, and Costie began swimming at nearby Green Lake, then around eight or nine started training with the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle, which had offered synchronized swimming. Though initially trained as a competitive swimmer, she soon switched to synchronized swimming as she enjoyed the music, creativity, and rhythmic movements. Showing early promise, Costie won a gold medal at the Junior Olympic Championship in 1977 and both an individual and duet title at the U.S. Junior Championships in 1979 around the age of sixteen. An important player in the growth of synchronized swimming, Davis was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Inc. program beginning when the corporation was formed in 1979, and would serve as the Head Coach for the US Synchronized Swimming team at the 1984 Olympics.

Costie's training consisted of a regular swim workout with intervals and distance but included routine choreography and rehearsal, figures practice, weight training, running, and dance. In the four years of intensive training before the Games, she trained with Ruiz an average of 8–10 hours a day. A powerful program, the Arizona team competed in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Championships in 1981 and 1984. The Arizona team was coached by Kathy Kretschmer, who had formerly competed for the U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams and won a gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games.

International competition Costie claimed a silver medal in the women's duet at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships with Ruiz on August 1, 1982, in Guayaquil, Equador. She also won a silver medal with the American team at the 1982 World's in Guayaquil on August 5, 1982, finishing a close second to the Canadian team.

1984 Los Angeles Olympics In a career highlight, Candy and her partner Tracy Ruiz won a gold medal at the women's duet event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Ruiz and Costie won a close competition against the Canadian duet team of Sharon Hambrook and Kelly Krycka, who placed second and took the silver medal.

Costie and Ruiz's partnership extended to winning four US national championships. They won an NCAA national championship while competing for the University of Arizona. Burke was part of the 1980 Moscow U.S. Olympic Water Polo team which was not attended by the U.S., and later earned a silver medal in water polo in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. After her eight-year marriage to Doug Burke ended, Candy moved to Arizona around 1992 and married real estate developer Fred Merrill Jr. in February 1995. At the time, she had two children and two step children. Costie also worked for Fortune 500 Companies including American Express and Coca-Cola providing public speaking engagements during this period. As an athlete and celebrity, she did some product endorsements, and gained experience in marketing products.

In an effort to expand and nurture the culture of the education-focused community in the greater Kansas City metro area, Fred and Candy Merrill formed the Museum of Prairiefire Foundation in 2008 through a partnership with the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

In 2023 Fred and Candy Merrill, formed Kikabou: a music and nature-focused educational production company. In 1985, she was a recipient of the Olympia Award, presented by the Southland Corporation to recognize exceptional achievement in the sports of the Summer and Winter Olympic games.

Costie was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1995.