Wendy Boglioli

American swimmer

Wendy Boglioli, formerly Wendy Lansbach, (born March 6, 1955) is an American former swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record holder. After retiring from competitive swimming, she became a coach, and later, a motivational speaker.

Lansbach was born on March 6, 1955 in Merrill, Wisconsin to Mary Ellen and Eber Lansbach and after moving 80 miles North, started swimming at the local YMCA in Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin, where she grew up competing regularly in swim competitions. Some of her earliest swimming took place at the Gateway Hotel Pool in Land O' Lakes, where Mary swam morning and night, and though it was only 18 yards, the next closest full size pool was 80 miles away. She attended Wisconsin's Eagle River High School, but as the school had no swim team, her swim training continued with the YMCA, where she was a National Champion by her High School Senior Year. In 1972, Mary qualified for the U. S. Olympic Trials in Chicago, where she placed 14th in the 100 yard butterfly.

In 1973, she was offered one of America's earliest swimming scholarships to Monmouth College by the college's swim coach Dick Steadmen. She attended Monmouth from 1973 1976, majoring in speech and drama. As a Monmouth Senior in 1976, she won the AIAW 100 butterfly with a U. S. National Record time of 55.6, becoming the first National Record time set by an AIAW athlete.

Her singularly most publicized accomplishment in swimming was winning the gold medal in the women's 4×100 meter freestyle relay in world record time at the 1976 Montréal Olympics with teammates Shirley Babashoff, Kim Peyton and Jill Sterkel. The gold was particularly crucial to the U. S. women's team as it was the only gold medal awarded to them during the games. In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Boglioli's name and picture. Boglioli began competitive track cycling at the age of 40. She competed in the 1995 and 1996 U. S. Masters Track Cycling National Championship where she earned a total of 8 Gold Medals. (USA Masters Track Cycling, USCF). She also competed in the Senior National Track Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1996. (USCF)

In 1997, she entered the long term care insurance field, and served as national spokeswoman for Genworth Financial's Long Term Care Division. Her trademarked In the Arms of Women initiative was the first of its kind in the industry to recognize the distinctive needs of women clients. In 2008, she appeared in a BBC produced documentary (airing on PBS) titled Doping for Gold, which later was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Documentary category. She is featured in a 2016 documentary titled The Last Gold which shows her and her teammates in 1976 at the Montreal Olympics. Together with her husband of 40 years, she mainly resides in Hood River, Oregon, and has three children and three grandchildren. She continues her travels throughout the country giving motivational speeches to both corporations and social groups entitled "Finding the Champion Within". Her trademarked presentations "Physically Strong and Financially Sound" are also presented throughout the country to consumers and financial professionals. She also works with triathletes in the pool on a one on one basis.