Christopher Carl Cavanaugh (born July 1, 1962) is an American former competition swimmer, a former world record holder in the 50 meter freestyle and an Olympic champion. He was a member of the gold medal U.S. team in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and was part of the U.S. Olympic team that led a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Prior to his gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, he was on a World Record 4x100 freestyle relay team at the World Championships in Guayaquil, Equador on August 5, 1983, where he swam the first leg in a time of 50.13. Cavanaugh was an All-American swimmer and captain of the USC Trojans swimming team at the University of Southern California, where he swam for Hall of Fame Coach Peter Daland. He also played water polo for USC, graduating in 1986. Cavanaugh has volunteered as a celebrity swimmer for charitable organizations including Swim Across America, an American-based fund raiser for cancer research. He now coaches and swims Masters having held many Masters National records. He also works with United States Swimming, and club swimmers at all levels. He resides in San Jose, California and formerly served as president of the board of directors of the highly competitive Santa Clara Swim Club.