Mary Wayte: Difference between revisions

| image_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->200px

| alt =

| caption = Wayte in 1984

| birth_place = [[Mercer Island, Washington]], U.S.

| death_place =

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCompetition | [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}|2|1|1

'''Mary WayteAlice Bradburne''' (born March 25, 1965), née '''Mary Alice Wayte'''; March 25, 1965) is an American former competition [[swimming (sport)|swimmer]], two-time [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] gold medalist, and television sports commentator. During her international swimming career, Wayte won eightten medals in major international championships, including four golds.

Wayte was born and raised on [[Mercer Island, Washington]],<ref>John Lohn, (2010) ''Historical Dictionary of Competitive Swimming'', Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, p. 166 (2010). Retrieved March 6, 2015.</ref> where she swam for the Chinook Aquatic Club under Hall of Fame Coach [[Jack Ridley (swim coach)|Jack Ridley]].<ref name=sroprofileASCA>Sports-Reference.com,{{cite Olympic Sports, Athletes, [httpweb|url=https://wwwlegacy.sports-referenceswimmingcoach.comorg/olympics/athletesabout/wahof/maryridley-wayte-1.htmljack/|title=American Swimming MaryCoaches Wayte].Association Hall Retrievedof December 9Fame, 2014.Jack Ridley |work=ASCA Hall of Fame|access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="olympedia">{{cite web|title=Olympedia – Mary Wayte|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51232|website=Olympedia|date=2022-12-31}}</ref> As a 16-year-old high school [[Tenth grade#United States|sophomore]], Wayte won three gold medals in the 200-meter [[freestyle swimming|freestyle]], the 200-meter [[backstroke]] and the 800-meter freestyle relay at the 1981 National Sport Festival.<ref>Associated Press, "[httphttps://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/25/sports/3-gold-medals-to-mary-wayte.html 3 Gold Medals To Mary Wayte]," ''The New York Times'' (July 25, 1981). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref> She won eight Washington state high school swimming titles in five different events while attending [[Mercer Island High School]].<ref name=peterson10142003>Matt Peterson, "[http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20031014&slug=flashback14 Flashback: Mary Wayte Bradburne, Mercer Island, Class of 1983] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930004855/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20031014&slug=flashback14 |date=September 30, 2012 }}," ''The Seattle Times'' (October 14, 2003). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref>

Wayte accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the [[University of Florida]] in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for coach [[Randy Reese]]'s [[Florida Gators swimming and diving]] team in [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA) competition from 1983 to 1987.<ref name=ufmediasupp>''[http://web.gatorzone.com/swimmingdiving/media/2014/supplement.pdf Florida Swimming & Diving 2014&ndash;152014–15 Media Supplement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218165742/http://web.gatorzone.com/swimmingdiving/media/2014/supplement.pdf |date=February 18, 2015 }}'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 82, 83, 87, 91, 92, 100 (2014). Retrieved February 18, 2015.</ref> As a Gator swimmer, she won two individual NCAA national titles in the 100-yard freestyle and the 400-yard [[medley swimming|individual medley]] in 1985.<ref name=ufmediasupp /><ref name=gainsvillesun>"[httphttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19850324&id=36MRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4672,3365958 Wayte leads Florida to 2nd-place finish]," ''The Gainesville Sun'', p. 6F (March 24, 1985). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref> She Withwon Gatorthe teammatesHigh LaureeenPoint Welting,Award [[Listat ofthe University1985 ofNCAA Floridachampionships.<ref Athleticname=gainsvillesun Hall/> ofWith FameGator members#Women'steammates swimmingLaureeen andWelting, diving|[[Kathy Treible]], [[Tracy Caulkins]], [[Dara Torres]] and [[Paige Zemina]], she was a member of the Gators' NCAA championship relay teams in the 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays for three consecutive years (1984, 1985, 1986), anchoring five of the six relays.<ref name=ufmediasupp /> In total, she won eight NCAA championships in those three years.<ref name=ufmediasupp /> She also won eleven individual [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC) championships and was a member of ten SEC championship relay teams.<ref name=ufmediasupp /> Wayte was the SEC Swimmer of the Year in 1985, and received a total of twenty-six [[All-American]] honors in her four years as a collegiate swimmer.<ref name=ufmediasupp />

FourAt the [[1986 World Aquatics Championships]], Wayte won a silver medal as the anchor of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay team with teammates Betsy Mitchell, Mary T. Meagher, and Kim Brown, which set another American record of 8:02.12.<ref name=5thfina>{{cite web | title = 5th Fina World Championships 1986 | url=https://www.worldaquatics.com/competitions/1086/5th-fina-world-championships-1986/results?disciplines=&event=c88a4ff5-d83d-48d3-9248-9f26568c9dd1}}</ref><ref name=1986worlds>{{cite web | title = 1986 World Championship Results | url=https://websitedevsa.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/eventsdocuments/meet-results/international-event-results/world-championships/1986-world-championships.pdf?sfvrsn=cc322a32_4}}</ref> She won a second silver medal for swimming in the preliminary heat of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and finished fifth in the individual 200-meter freestyle.<ref name=5thfina/><ref name=1986worlds/>

Two years later, when [[Seoul|Seoul]], South Korea]] hosted the [[1988 Summer Olympics]], she swam the freestyle leg for the silver medal-winning U.S. team in the [[Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay|women's 4x1004×100-meter medley relay]] with teammates [[Beth Barr]] (backstroke), [[Tracey McFarlane]] (breaststroke), and [[Janel Jorgensen]] (butterfly).<ref name=sroprofileolympedia/> The U.S. women's medley relay team was fraught with last-minute drama, as several previously selected swimmers dropped out to focus on individual events, or were replaced because they had performed below expectations, only hours before the event final.<ref name=stafford5102010>Jeremy Stafford, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100504183517/http://www.nvdaily.com/sports/2010/05/bradburne-relishes-olympic-memories.php Bradburne relishes Olympic memories]," ''Northern Virginia Daily'' (May 1, 2010). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref> In the event final, the U.S. medley relay team included women with no history of competing together, no relay exchange practice, and no coach; the East German favorites taunted the Americans before the race.<ref name=stafford5102010 /> Wayte would later characterize the race as one of her proudest moments.<ref name=stafford5102010 /> She also captured a bronze medal with the third-place U.S. [[Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay|women's 4x1004×100-meter freestyle relay]] team that included [[Mitzi Kremer]], [[Dara Torres]] and [[Laura Walker (swimmer)|Laura Walker]].<ref name=dboprofile /> Individually, she finished fourth in the [[Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre freestyle|women's 200-meter freestyle]]; shewith wasa alsotime of 1:59.04, faster than her gold medal effort four years earlier in Los Angeles,<ref>{{cite web | title = Olympic Games Seoul 1988 | url=https://www.worldaquatics.com/competitions/1083/olympic-games-seoul-1988/results?disciplines=&event=b54523be-be9a-4b34-b7fe-fc8e0edb181e}}</ref> and was a medal contender in the [[Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre individual medley|women's 200-meter individual medley]], but was disqualified when the judges ruled she used an illegal butterfly kick on the breaststroke leg of the medley.<ref name=sroprofileolympedia/><ref>Associated Press, "[httphttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19880924&id=TDwjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CIQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3324,3624305 Backstroke mark falls; Biondi after two more medals]," ''The Deseret News'', p. 2D (September 24, 1988). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref>

Wayte graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1989.<ref>''University of Florida Alumni Directory'', University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2000).</ref> She retired from competition swimming following the 1988 Olympics, and worked as a fund-raiser for the [[International Swimming Hall of Fame]].<ref>Joe Williams, "[httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/1990-/01-20/news20/9001203392_1_maryreflections-wayteof-golda-medalsswimmer-competitiveolympic-swimmingchampion-speaks-for-her-mother-hall-of-fame/ Reflections Of A Swimmer Olympic Champion Speaks For Her Mother, Hall Of Fame]," ''Orlando Sentinel'' (January 20, 1990). Retrieved January 25, 2015.</ref> She became a celebrity promoter and endorsed products and services on behalf of [[Alamo Rent a Car]], the National Spa and Pool Institute, and [[Speedo]].<ref name=saaprofile>Swim Across America, Olympians, [http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Olympians_Mary_Wayte_Bradburne Mary Wayte Bradburne]. Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref>

She later worked as a television broadcaster for the Sports Channel network, covering NCAA and international swimming competitions and interviewing fans at NBA games.<ref name=ishofprofile /> For the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] in Barcelona, Spain, Wayte worked as [[NBC]]'s women's swimming color commentator, and later covered the NCAA women's swimming championships for [[ESPN]].<ref name=saaprofile /> She also served on the U.S. Olympic Committee's athletes advisory council.<ref>Jere Longman, "[httphttps://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/09/sports/olympics-usoc-experts-call-drug-testing-a-failure.html Olympics; U.S.O.C. Experts Call Drug Testing a Failure],", ''The New York Times'' (April 9, 1995). Retrieved January 25, 2015.</ref>

Wayte was inducted into the [[List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members|University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame]] as a "Gator Great" in 1998,<ref>F Club, Hall of Fame, [http://www.gatorfclub.org/hall-of-fame/greats Gator Greats]. Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref><ref>Pat Dooley, "[httphttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5UVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FOsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4623,573655&dq=university-of-florida-athletic-hall-of-fame&hl=en Honored for the Effort],", ''The Gainesville Sun'', p. 1C (April 3, 1998). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref> the [[International Swimming Hall of Fame]] in 2000,<ref name=ishofprofile /> and the Pacific Northwest Swimming Hall of Fame in 2004.<ref>Pacific Northwest Swimming Hall of Fame, [http://www.teamunify.com/pnws2/__doc__/halloffame_04_index.html Class of 2004]. Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref> The community swimming pool where she formerly trained in Mercer Island, Washington was renamed "Mary Wayte Pool.".<ref>Elizabeth Celms, "[http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/mir/news/94847169.html Mary Wayte Pool key to school plans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123195026/http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/mir/news/94847169.html |date=November 23, 2010 }}," ''Mercer Island Reporter'' (May 26, 2010). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref>

Wayte married business executive Jim Bradburne in 1995, and they have two daughters, Grace and Audrey Bradburne.<ref name=peterson10142003 /> She currently lives in [[Seattle, Washington]], and works in corporate communications for [[Cisco Systems]].<ref name=stafford5102010 /><ref>Cisco.com, "[http://newsroom.cisco.com/feature/914067/Cisco-Communications-Manager-Recalls-Olympic-Memories-in-L-A- Cisco Communications Manager Recalls Olympic Memories in L.A.]," The Newsroom (June 25, 2012). Retrieved December 9, 2014.</ref> Wayte participates in [[Swim Across America]], a charitable organization that enlists former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research.<ref name=saaprofile />

{{Portal|Biography|Olympics|Swimming}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming]]

[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]

[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming]]

[[Category:Sportspeople from SeattleKing County, Washington]]

[[Category:SportsSwimmers commentatorsfrom Seattle]]

[[Category:SwimmersAmerican at the 1983 Pan Americansports Gamesannouncers]]

[[Category:InternationalWorld SwimmingAquatics HallChampionships ofmedalists Famein inducteesswimming]]