Cheryl Gibson
Swimming Athlete - Inducted 1986
Cheryl Gibson has won many national and international swimming events since she began competing in 1974. She set ten records during the process. In national competition, she has won 34 gold, 15 silver, and 13 bronze medals. Internationally, she has swum in both the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games, United States National Championships, Montreal Olympic Games, and the 1978 and 1982 Commonwealth Games. Cheryl Gibson brought home four gold, seven silver, and five bronze medals from those meets. Her medals include a silver for the 400 Individual Medley race at the Montreal Olympics. In 1975, she became the first female swimmer in the Western World to break the five-minute mark with a time of 4:58:66 which was set in the 400 Individual Medley event at the Canadian Championships. Cheryl Gibson was recognized as the Canadian Female Athlete of the Year in 1977.
After Induction
Cheryl retired from swimming in the 1980s and remained involved with swimming and with other sporting event committees. She served on the board of Swimming Canada throughout the years, from 1983 to 1994, and then again beginning in 2012. She was elected President of Swimming Canada in September 2015. Cheryl has also served as a member of the of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Administration and Finance Committee.
Cheryl was inducted into at least six halls of fame including the: Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (1986), Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame (1991), Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame (1996), Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1991), Swim BC Hall of Fame (2005), and the Alberta Swimming Hall of Fame - with Distinction (2015.)
Cheryl has received numerous awards including the YMCA Women of Distinction Award (1998) and the Swimming Canada Circle of Excellence (2009).
