Teresa Andersen (USA)

Honor Synchronized / Artistic Swimmer (1986)

FOR THE RECORD: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 gold (solo, duet, figures, team); JUNIOR NATIONALS: 1970 (duet, ); 1971 (solo); SENIOR NATIONALS: 12 (Indoor Team: 1969, 1972, 1973; Indoor solo: 1973; Indoor duet: 1973; Outdoor Team: 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973; Outdoor duet: 1972, 1973); CANADIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1972 told (solo, duet, figures, team); INTERNATIONAL MEETS: 1972 gold (duet, team).

Terry Andersen of Kay Vilen’s Santa Clara AquaMaids was the first world champion of synchronized swimming. She says it was just a matter of being at the right place at the right time, but all the others who were in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1973 say she was the right person winning all four Gold Medals (all you can win) in Figures, Solo, Duet and Team.  In fact, 1973 belonged to Terry Andersen.  She also was only the fourth girl in  history to win her U.S. Nationals in every event while setting the highest figures point total ever awarded in synchronized swimming; the others being Hall of Famers Pam Morris, Heidi O’Roarke, and Gail Johnson.  It was the culmination of nine years of hard work (four hours a day, six days a week) at the sport she synchronized with her life and her early dancing and music lessons from the delicious moment she dove in the water at age 10.  During the nine years that followed, Terry built up gradually through Junior Nationals, Senior Nationals, four Canadian Opens and two International meets.  She retired after winning it all at Belgrade and went on to coach the West German National Team in 1974 and later became the state coach in South Africa (1976, 1979).  Terry helped to put synchronized swimming on the world map when she traveled abroad to demonstrate with exhibitions at Expo 70 in Japan and the Munich Olympics in 1972.