Cynthia Woodhead

Cynthia Lee Woodhead (born February 7, 1964), commonly known by her family nickname "Sippy", is an American former competition swimmer, world champion, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. She won three gold medals at the 1978 World Championships, when she was only 14 years old, and set seven world records during her career. She would have been the first woman to win six gold medals at the Olympics.

In late 1981 and 1982, she suffered from several health problems—mononucleosis, a broken leg, and pneumonia.

She broke the long course 50-meter freestyle world record, April 10, 1980, but the record was further improved by Jill Sterkel the same day. She also broke the long course 200-meter freestyle world record, three times, in 1978 and 1979, her last result remained a world record until 1984. She was also a member of the U.S. team that held the 4×100-meter freestyle relay world record from 1978 to 1980.

Awards

In 1979, Woodhead was named Swimming Worlds World Swimmer of the Year and was named USOC Sports Woman of the Year. In 1994, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2003, she was an inaugural inductee to the City of Riverside Sports Hall of Fame.