Kim Peyton McDonald - Swimming

In the 1960s and early ‘70s, Kim Peyton set a standard for women’s swimmers in Oregon, first as a record-setting junior swimmer and then an Olympic Gold Medalist. Born in 1957, Peyton grew up in a family swim environment that included two sisters; Barbara and Kelly, who would eventually win state titles in high school. Kelly continued to the University of Oregon team.

Kim set three national records as a 9- and 10-year-old before moving to David Douglas High, which was in the midst of winning 14 consecutive state titles. At David Douglas, she won 14 state titles in freestyle events or as part of a freestyle or medley relay team. Kim Peyton established several state record times starting with the 200 freestyle in 1972, when the swim championships were held in fall. Peyton’s winning time, 1:53.16, lowered the state record by nearly three seconds. In 1975, after the championships were moved to winter, she lowered the record to 1:50.25, which stood until 1994.

Peyton, who honed her skill while competing in open competitions for the Multnomah Athletic Club, advanced to the international level in 1971 at the Pan American Games in Cali, Columbia. She won a gold medal in the 200-meter freestyle at age 14. She won four more gold medals – the 100- and 200-freestyle and 4x100 freestyle and medley relays, at the 1975 Pan Am Games in Mexico City.

Peyton, who was on the 1972 U.S. Olympic team, but did not participate in an event, won a gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Summer Games. She met her future husband, Drew McDonald, while swimming for Stanford University. Peyton McDonald died at age 29 of an inoperable brain tumor. She was inducted to the Oregon Sports Fall of Fame in 1989, three years after her death.