| Intro | American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, former world record-holder |
| A.K.A. | Sharon Marie Stouder, Sharon Clark |
| Was |
Athlete Swimmer |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 9 November 1948, Altadena |
| Death |
23 June 2013 (aged 64 years) |
Sharon Marie Stouder (November 9, 1948 – June 23, 2013), also known by her married name Sharon Stouder Clark, was an American competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events.
As a 15-year-old, she won three gold medals and one silver at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She won the women’s 100-meter butterfly, and was a member of the winning U.S. teams in the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay and the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay. She also took second place in the women’s 100-meter freestyle, finishing behind Australian Dawn Fraser, for a total of four medals.
Stouder swam sprint butterfly and sprint freestyle. She was the second woman in history to go under the one-minute barrier in the 100-meter freestyle, the event she got her silver medal in at the 1964 Olympics. In 1964 she twice broke the world record in the women’s 200-meter butterfly.
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1972. Stouder died June 23, 2013; she was 64 years old. She was survived by her son and daughter.