Nancy Hogshead-Makar (born April 17, 1962) is an American retired swimmer who competed for the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics. She won three gold and one silver medals in medley and freestyle swimming. After retiring from competitive swimming she became a lawyer, writer.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California she swam the finals in the women's 100m freestyle. In the first dead heat in Olympic swimming history, Hogshead and US-teammate Carrie Steinseifer had identical times and both were awarded the gold medal (no silver medal was awarded). Hogshead won two other golds, in the 4x100m freestyle and the 4x100m medley teams. She also won a silver in the 200m individual medley.
During one race, wherein she missed a bronze medal by 7/100th of a second, she suffered a bronchial spasm that led to a diagnosis of ASTHMA. After the initial disbelief, she accepted her condition and learned to monitor and control it.
She retired from competitive swimming, and with her Olympic fame, began to lecture around the world about asthma management. Pharmaceutical companies sponsored her and for a while, she spoke to over 100 groups each year across the US. In addition, Hogshead earned the title of National Spokesperson for the American Lung Association. Between speaking engagements, she managed to graduate from Duke with honors in 1986. Hogshead authored the 1990 book, Asthma and Exercise, the first comprehensive book on the topic of asthma and sports. The book tells inspirational stories of athletes who learned to manage their condition.
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