Combine the endurance of a long distance swimmer, the strength of an elite gymnast, and the grace of a prima ballerina, and you might get close to understanding what it takes to be an Olympic synchronized swimmer.

	Image courtesy of Tammy McGregor
	Tammy McGregor Diablo Valley College

Add an unsurpassed dedication to the sport, a keen eye for innovative choreography, and a competitive spirit, and a pretty good picture of Tammy McGregor will emerge. It’s been 12 years since McGregor’s team earned a gold medal in synchronized swimming at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and despite being a coach on dry land rather than an athlete in the water, her intensity never wavered as she prepared Team USA to compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The daughter of a football coach, it was a given that McGregor would participate in sports growing up, so she tried just about everything. It was swimming and synchronized swimming, or “synchro,” that stuck. When it came time to focus on just one sport, McGregor realized that because the synchro community was much smaller than the world of competitive swimming, she could, with the right training and perseverance, become a standout and rise to the top. And that’s exactly what she did.

At age 10, McGregor began training with legendary synchro coach Gail Emery in Walnut Creek, Calif. By 16, she was competing on the national team and had her sights set on the Olympics. She worked with Emery through high school and recalls, “When it was time to go to college, I didn’t even think of going away. I wanted to stay with my coach. She was a three-time Olympic coach, and I never would have given up the opportunity to train with her for anything.”

So, for two years, she attended Diablo Valley College (DVC) in Pleasant Hill, Calif., and continued to train. “DVC is such a great school and so many people have followed the same path, so it was kind of a no brainer. It worked out perfectly. I did two years at DVC, took 1996 off to train for the Olympics, and then finished college,” McGregor said.

After McGregor’s team clinched the gold in Athens, she took a few years off from competition. In 2000, she came out of retirement to compete with Team USA at the Sydney Games, but did not medal. In 2004, McGregor went to the Olympics again, this time a coach for the Czech duet that did not medal.

	Image courtesy of Tammy McGregor

In August 2008, just as Affinity was going to press, Tammy McGregor attended the Olympics for the fourth time, this time as head coach of Team USA. After a year of intense eight-hour-a-day training, the team debuted a brand new routine packed with choreography never introduced to the competition before and tied for fifth place with Japan, earning a score of 95.334. Russia won the gold with a near perfect score of 99.500; Spain took the silver; and China earned its first Olympic medal in synchro, taking the bronze.

Medal or not, Team USA impressed audiences all over the world with their innovative choreography, and coach McGregor has every reason to be proud.