Oregon Hall of Fame Inductees
Kim Peyton
Oregon Swimming† helps preserve Oregon’s rich sports heritage through its recognition of outstanding Oregon athletes and special contributors to sport.
November 17, 2019, was the first Induction Ceremony into the Oregon Swimming Hall of Fame; ten people were inducted – some swimmers, some coaches. Only 1 of the 10 was actually present. Kim Peyton# (best friend of Karen Andrus-Hughes) was among the first Oregon Hall of Fame Swimming Inductees. Barb and Debbie, Kim’s mother and sister, were in attendance (Kim died in 1986).
The big part of the event was recognizing kids who made an Oregon Top-5 time in their age group. There were several hundred people in the auditorium.
At the ceremony, Karen Andrus-Hughes spoke about Kim Peyton, her best friend, and then she showed the U.S. 1976 Olympics Women’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay* on a big screen – where the U.S. women won gold, against all odds. Karen said, “It was fun watching (and hearing!!) the big audience of young swimmers and their parents get so excited as the relay race went on. It was like watching it live for them”.
Dennis Baker received the Jon Arlin Adaptive Swimming Award for his work with Abbas‡.
Dennis Baker and Kim Payton’s mother Barb with Karen Andrus-Hughes at the Oregon Hall of Fame Swimming induction of Kim 2019. 11.17
† Oregon Swimming web site: https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?team=wzorlsc
#For a Spotlight on Kim Peyton, see: https://swimoregon.org/AquaMaster/2016/07August2016AM.pdf (go to page 11). Kim died of an inoperable brain tumor in 1986 at the age of 29.
* The relay included Kim Peyton, Wendy Boglioli, Jill Sterkel and Shirley Babashoff. At the 1976 Olympics, East German doping was in full swing, and the German girls looked more like men than women. The Americans had lost every gold medal to the East German team, and the last swimming event of the Olympics was the Women’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay. To watch the entire documentary, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J6EJNSNKjw#t=4323.916823. The exciting relay starts at the time of 1:01.51 in the documentary.
In 1989, Dr. Werner Franke and Brigitte Berendonk obtained secret doping documents. Berendonk published a book exposing the full scope of East Germany’s systematic use of anabolic steroids. After publication, Berendonk was sued 16 times. . . She won all those cases. In 2001, Dr. Lothar Kipke stood trial in Berlin. He was convicted on 58 counts of doping underage athletes.
‡For a Swimmer Spotlight of Abbas, see: https://swimoregon.org/AquaMaster/2018/01January2018AM.pdf (go to page 11)