| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michele Richardson Armengol | ||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | ||||||||||||||
| Born | April 28, 1969 Managua, Nicaragua | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 lb (53 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||
| College team | Clemson University | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Michele Richardson Armengol (born April 28, 1969) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic silver medalist. Born in Managua, Nicaragua, she represented the United States as a 15-year-old at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[1] She won a silver medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle, finishing second in 8:30.73, behind American teammate Tiffany Cohen.[1][2]
Both of Richardson's parents are American, and Richardson moved to the United States at the age of ten due to the Nicaraguan Revolution. Richardson initially wanted to represent Nicaragua in international competition, but was denied by the newly established government.[3] Richardson is the sister of Frank Richardson, who swam for Nicaragua in international competition. Richardson swam for Clemson University from 1989 to 1992. She was the ACC champion in the 1650-yard freestyle in 1989.[4] She is also of Cuban descent.[5]
- ^ a b Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Michele Richardson. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games, Women's 800 metres Freestyle Final. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ Tim Rogers (July 24, 2012). "Nicaragua's Olympic hero returns to Summer Games...as a Nicaraguan". The Nicaragua Dispatch. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
- ^ "ACC Announces 50th Anniversary Women's Swimming & Diving Team". TheACC.com. August 21, 2002. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- ^ "The Richardson Armengol Family-Managua,Nicaragua". www.genealogy.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.