The 1980 U.S. Men’s hockey team authored the greatest upset in Olympic history when they defeated the U.S.S.R. team on their way to beating Finland’s team for the gold medal. It was a major national event. The game against the Soviets wasn’t broadcast live. Sportscasters would tell their audience to turn off their TV or radio before they gave the score as the replay would be broadcast the night of the event, Friday February 22, 1980. The game is known as the Miracle on Ice and is well documented in books and movies. I’m a fan of Kurt Russell playing Coach Herb Brooks in the 2004 movie Miracle.
But four years before the Miracle on Ice, there was a miracle that took place in the water. The venue was the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The U.S. women’s swimming team had been beaten by the East German women in every event. The East Germans were part of the Soviet bloc. They had won 11 of 12 gold medals before the final event, the 4X100 relay. The East Germans gave their credit to high altitude training and coaches who were experts in training techniques. But their secret was in the science—the science of steroids.
The star of the East German team was Kornelia Ender. Many people spend a lot of time in gyms trying to develop shoulders like Kornelia. The U.S. women’s team got together and mentally swam the race the night before by sharing how they were going to swim their respective legs and what time they wanted to have at the 50-meter mark and the 100-meter mark.
The anchor for the U.S. team was Shirley Babashoff. She publicly announced that she thought the East German women were doping. Since there were no failed drug tests, her complaints were considered poor sportsmanship and she was nicknamed “Surly Shirley”.
Kornelia Ender led off the race for the East Germans. She gave her second, Petra Priemer, a one body length lead. The U.S. led off with Kim Peyton who turned the race over to Wendy Boglioli. At the mid-point, the East German women were in the lead. The third swimmer for the U.S. was Jill Sterkel. She was in second place until she delivered one of the greatest flip turns ever and took over the lead after the turn. Jill gave the lead over to Babashoff who outswam Claudia Hempel for the gold. The U.S. women upset a powerful (thanks to science) East German team. The winning margin was .68 of a second and the winning time (3:44.82) was a new World Record for the event.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that the full story of East Germany’s doping program was made public. Shirley Babashoff was vindicated. As for Shirley, if this upset would have happened in today’s media machinery, she would be a national hero and celebrity. She won four silver medals before winning the relay gold. There possibly would be a movie about her and her teammates. After doing promotion work for Arena, a swim products company for a few years, she became a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. She and her teammates were enshrined in the United States Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame in June of 2022, 46 years after the Miracle in the Water. Shirley, Wendy and Jill are still with us, as of this writing. Kim Peyton passed away in 1986. These four women deserve to be acknowledged.
Spend a few minutes and watch the final race HERE. Pay attention to Jill Sterkel’s classic flip turn.
