The greatest Olympic athlete from every U.S. state

New Mexico: Cathy Carr

Sport: Swimming

Olympics: Munich 1972

The Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 remain an event that is largely overshadowed by members of the Isreali team being killed by terrorists. It’s one of if not the most unfortunate events to ever occur at the Olympics. Cathy Carr competed, and achieved great things, before the hostage event unfolded and changed the tenor of the games.

Carr entered the Games without much fanfare. Her own coaches did not take her very seriously as a threat to medal in any event, especially since the Europeans were heavily favored before the competition started. Carr showed that in the Olympics, it doesn’t matter who the favorite is as any athlete can rise up and snatch away a gold medal. As an individual, Carr won the gold medal and set a new world record for the women’s 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:13.58. She then was a member of the gold medal-winning medley relay team, where she swam the breaststroke portion of that event. Even though the world record for both events were broken over the next couple of years, one accomplishment that will never be broken is that Carr was the first person from New Mexico to ever win a gold medal.

Carr’s career wasn’t exceptionally long, but she competed in the following year’s Summer Universiade, which is an international competition. She took home two golds and two silvers and that was really the end of her competitive career as a swimmer. In 1988, she was inducted as an “Honor Swimmer” into the International Swimming Hall Fame.

Honorable Mention: Trent Dimas, gymnastics in Barcelona 1992