Born in San Francisco, Margery Meyer (1922–2009) grew up in Sonoma County and attended Mills College in Oakland. After graduation, she moved to New York City. While there, she met her future husband; upon his graduation from medical school, they moved back to California, eventually settling in Carmel, where she was active in many organizations.
Meyer did not start competitive swimming until 1987 at the age of 64 at the encouragement of her daughter, Marguerite, but that did not inhibit her accomplishments. She later remarked, “I found something lurking deep that gave birth to something in me…a potential I didn’t know I had. I got a taste of it, and away I went!”
She joined The Olympic Club in 1994, one of the early female members of the Club and its swim team. During her illustrious career, Meyer held 47 FINA Masters world records in freestyle events from the 100m to the 1500m. She swam in four FINA World Championships (1988, 1994, 1998 and 2006), winning 11 gold, five silver and two bronze medals. In her final competitive swim in July 2009 at the Pacific Master Championships, she set 800m and 1500m world records.
Meyer’s personal highlights include the Escape from Alcatraz swim at age 71. She also was a member of a relay team across the Maui Channel in Hawaii, the oldest participant ever at the time. She was inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame in 2009. Meyer certainly embodies the spirit of The Olympic Club, swimming competitively until she passed away in November 2009.
