Sherm Chavoor

The top U.S. swimmers were in Houston last week for the national championships and, as has so often happened in the past, the topmost turned out to be Mark Spitz, who won four titles and set two world records

Shane Gould, a determined Australian of 14 whose braces belie her gunfighter's name, came out blazing in Santa Clara to prove herself the swiftest woman swimmer there—or indeed anywhere

It's little Debbie Meyer who won three golds in Mexico in 1968 (below). At 18 (right), she is simply ancient by female swimming standards, but not too creaky to set another world record at LA.