Lauri Siering

Early AAU competition Distinguishing herself at 17 as a future Olympic contender at the April 1974, AAU Short Course Nationals in Dallas, Texas, she placed sixth in a field of the nation's top 100 swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke with an AAU Pacific Association record time of 2:24.04, and placed seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.61. Siering suffered from asthma and hay fever during her competitive swimming years, and sometimes after long workouts had trouble catching her breath. In Olympic competition, she had the challenge of adapting to a different medication for her asthma, as her usual medication had been banned by the U.S. Olympic committee.

After graduating Beyer High School in June, 1975, Siering planned to train for a year with her Coach Bob Casci at the Modesto Swim and Raquet Club. Training for the 1976 Olympics for a few months prior to the trip to Montreal with the U.S. team at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, Lauri swam a 1:04.7 for the 100-meter breaststroke, only two-tenths of a second slower than the standing U.S. record of 1:04.56 in the event. In preparation for the Olympics, Siering was trained by U.S. Olympic Women's Head Coach Jack Nelson.

1976 Olympic trials At the June, 1976 U.S. Olympic trials in Long Beach, California, Siering swam a 1:14.46 for the 100-meter breaststroke finals, winning the event and qualifying for a place on the U.S. Women's Olympic team. She also won the finals of the 200-meter breaststroke event trial finals finishing with a time of 2:38.75. In both events, Marcia Morey of Mission Viejo placed second.

1976 Montreal Olympic silver medal On July 18, 1976, Siering won a silver medal swimming the breaststroke leg as a member of the second-place U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay, together with Linda Jezek (backstroke), Camille Wright (butterfly), and Shirley Babashoff (freestyle). According to the Modesto Bee, Siering swam a 1:13.7 for her 100-meter breaststroke leg, a personal best.

Siering also competed in the women's 100-meter breaststroke and 200-meter breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics, but did not advance to the finals in either event. She advanced to the semi-finals of the 100-meter breaststroke, but did not advance to the finals. In the 100-meter breaststroke semi-finals she swam a 1:14.84, and though she finished in the highest place of any American swimmer, she placed 11th overall, and would have needed a time in the top eight to advance to the finals. German swimmer Hannelore Anke later placed first in the finals, having set a World and Olympic record of 1:10.86 in the preliminary heats. Anke was followed by Russian swimmers taking both the second and third place in the finals.

Continuing to swim in late July–August 1977, while briefly representing the Santa Clara Swim Club, Siering won the 200 meter breaststroke event in a time of 2:43.16 at the Mission Viejo Invitational Swim Meet.

Education and careers University of Southern California After the Olympics, Siering attended the University of Southern California on an athletic scholarship by 1976, where she was coached by Lilian "Pokey" Watson-Richardson. At an exhibition at Tokyo, Japan in April, 1976, as part of the University of Southern California Team, Lauri swam a 2:49.60 in the 200-meter breaststroke, placing second to Japan's Kazuyo Inabe who swam a 2:36.30. Laurie and the U.S. Team travelled to Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, as part of their tour. Siering left elite competitive swimming by 1979, after she left the University of Southern California.

Stanislaus State Siering left the University of Southern California, and completed an Associate of Science at Modesto Junior College in Modesto in 1984. She later completed a four year degree at nearby Stanislaus State in 1984, now known as California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock, California. Around the 1980's, Siering had a short marriage and a daughter. Siering began a Masters at Stanislaus State in Sustainable Agriculture, where she studied environmentally friendly agriculture, sometimes known as bio-intensive gardening and was involved in a field study with John Jeavons of Ecology Action of Palo Alto. Jeavons has remained active in the non-profit Ecology Action and has served as the Executive Director. In September, 1998, Siering served as an Assistant Principal at the newly opened Dennis G. Earl Elementary School in nearby Turlock, California, about 14 miles Southeast of Modesto.

In December, 1998, the U.S. Olympic committee under Dick Schultz sought to gain some form of additional recognition for the silver medal 4x100-meter medley relay team of Linda Jezek, Lauri Siering, Camille Wright, and Shirley Babashoff, after revelations that members of the East German medley team had definitely used anabolic steroids. On December 12, 1998, Francois Gerard, International Olympic Committee Director, rejected the idea of recognition that may have included marking the East German's records with asterisks, giving out compensatory certificates, or withdrawing or reassigning the East German women's medals. In November 1998, Former East German team coach Rolf Glazer admitted to providing performance enhancing drugs to 1976 4x100 medley relay swimmer Andrea Pollock. According to Olympedia, subsequent to the reunification of East and West Germany in the 1990's, officials from East Germany admitted they provided performance enhancing drugs to the vast majority of their swimmers, including 1976 Olympic 4x100-meter medley relay breaststroker Hannelore Anke.

Honors In November, 1973, Siering was named a co-winner of the Outstanding Swimming Award by the Modesto Swim and Raquet Club. In 1976, she was named a Sportsman of the Year in the Open Division at the Sportsmen of Stanislaus Annual Awards Banquet.