Michelle MAC PHERSON

Michelle MacPherson was selected to represent Canada at the 1980 Summer Olympics but, due to the country’s boycott of those Games, she would have to wait four years for her chance to earn an Olympic medal. Along the way she got a taste of international success at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, taking gold in the 4x100 m medley relay (alongside Cheryl Gibson, Maureen New, and Anne Ottenbrite) and bronze in the 100 metre butterfly and 400 metre individual relay. She also placed eighth in the 400 m individual medley at that year’s World Championships. Her next stop was the 1983 Pan American Games, where she earned silver in the 100 m butterfly and the 200 m individual medley and bronze in the 400 m individual medley. She then competed in four events at the 1984 Summer Olympics, winning bronze in the 4x100 m relay (with Ottenbrite, Reema Abdo, and Pam Rai), and finishing fifth, tenth, and nineteenth in the 100 m butterfly, 200 m individual medley, and 100 m backstroke respectively. She also set a Canadian record in the 200 m individual medley that year. The following year MacPherson entered the University of Cincinnati and spent four years on their swim team while earning a degree from their school of education. As of 2013 she works as a swimming coach at the Arizona Aquatic Club and competes in masters-level swimming events. She was made a member of the Ontario Aquatic and James P. Kelly (University of Cincinnati) Athletic Halls of Fame in 1997 and 2000 respectively.