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You Must Remember…Melissa Belote Ripley

The Springfield native won three gold medals in Munich when she was 15.
Written by | Published on
Photograph by Steve Craft

“To Have Dinner With President and Mrs. Nixon Was Interesting”

—Melissa Belote Ripley

Ripley, a Springfield native, was a backstroke phenom who, at age 15, won three gold medals at the 1972 Olympics. Now 58 and living in Arizona, she has spent 35 years as a club and high-school swim coach.

“My parents bought the 100th house in Springfield. They had barely moved in when some-one came by and asked if they wanted to buy a share in a pool that hadn’t been built yet. So we belonged to the Springfield Swimming & Racquet Club. I was eight when I started swimming. . . . [After I won my gold medals,] I got a personal invitation from President and Mrs. Nixon to go to the White House for dinner. We talked about 15-year-old-kid stuff. About movies. Remember, Nixon was in the thick of Watergate. To have dinner with President and Mrs. Nixon then was interesting.”

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Executive Editor

Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986. She is the editor in charge of such consumer topics as travel, fitness, health, finance, and beauty, as well as the editor who handles such cover stories as Great Places to Work, Best of Washington, Day Trips, Hidden Gems, Bikes and Hikes, Fairs and Festivals, Great Small Towns, and the Washington Bucket List. She lives in Arlington.