Donna de Varona
Olympic Gold Medalist · Emmy Award-Winning Sportscaster · Title IX Pioneer
Donna de Varona
Olympic Gold Medalist · Emmy Award-Winning Sportscaster · Title IX Pioneer
Olympic Career
From Rome to Tokyo
Donna's first Olympic experience came in Rome in 1960, when she made the U.S. swimming team at just 13 years old. Four years later, she returned to the Olympic Games in Tokyo as one of the world's leading swimmers.
At the 1964 Games, Donna won gold in the 400-meter individual medley and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Those victories came during a competitive career in which she set 18 world records and became one of the most accomplished American swimmers of her generation.
Title IX and Equal Opportunity
As Title IX began reshaping educational and athletic opportunities for women, Donna became an active voice in the national conversation surrounding its implementation. She testified before policymakers and worked alongside other athletes and advocates seeking to ensure that women and girls received meaningful access to educational and athletic opportunities.
Decades of Advocacy
Donna's involvement in women's sports did not end with the early years of Title IX or the founding of the Women's Sports Foundation. Over the decades, she has continued to participate in conversations about athletic opportunity, public policy and the role of women in sports.
Her work has included public speaking, organizational leadership and engagement with national sports issues, carrying forward many of the same questions about access and opportunity that first became part of her advocacy as a young athlete.
Donna Today
Donna remains engaged with the world of sports through advocacy, public appearances and work surrounding issues that have shaped much of her career. Her perspective draws on more than six decades of experience as an Olympic athlete, broadcaster and advocate.
As a sought out sports expert she served as Chairman of the ground breaking 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup; the staging of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2028 Olympic bid committee. She has served on many International Olympic committee commissions and currently is on the USOPC executive board.