Ashley Tappin-Doussan was announced as part of the 2020 class of inductees to the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame on Monday.
Tappin-Doussan, who swam under her maiden name, is a two-time Olympian and three-time Olympic gold medalist, all in relays. She swam at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, winning the women’s 400 freestyle relay, and in Sydney in 2000, where she won gold in the 400 free and 400 medley relays. A shoulder injury prevented her from qualifying for the 1996 Games.
She earned gold and silver medals at the World Championships in 1991 and landed three golds, including in the 100 free, from the 1991 Pan American Games.
The Hall is attached the Sugar Bowl. Inaugurated in 1971, Tappin-Doussan is just the second swimming inductee among the 240 total honorees, joining Tulane grad and 1948 Olympian Bill Dudley. Tappin-Doussan is among five inductees in the Class of 2020.
Tappin-Doussan is a native of Marietta, Georgia. She followed coach Alan Smith to New Orleans, relocating with her mother at age 13 in 1988. She qualified for Olympic Trials that summer at age 13.
Tappin-Doussan made her first of three Swimming World Magazine covers in August 1992 ahead of the Barcelona Games at age 17. She won 20 Louisiana state championships and set six high school records. Tappin-Doussan won seven NCAA championships: Two at the University of Florida in 1993 and five in her three seasons at the University of Arizona, where she was inducted to the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Tappin-Doussan and her husband, Russell Doussan, live in Louisiana. They set up a charitable foundation, Hartley’s Hearts Foundation, that has raised funds for more than 100 heart surgeries for children in Paraguay and Russia. The foundation is named after one of the couple’s twin sons, born in 2010, who was born with a heart defect that was repaired by surgery.
Ashley Tappin-Doussan’s Hall of Fame bio is available here.
One of the best. Honored to have been on relays with her! An amazing anchor.