>>> STATE LAWMAKER AND DISTRICT JUDGE WAS A OPUMPIAN. IN THE WHERE ARE THEY NOW PROFILE WRAL BRYAN MIMS SHOWS THE GREATEST TEST OF ENDURANCE KALE AFTER THE RACE TO LIKE A FISH TO WATER, AND I STARTED SWIMMING AT 6 YEARS OLD. >> Reporter: WE TALKED BY WATER. A BACKYARD POOL IN DURHAM. AND IN DURHAM AS IN DECATUR, SUMMERS ARE HOT, THAT'S WHY MARCIA STARTED TO SWIM BACK IN HER ILLINOIS HOMETOWN. >> IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW SPORTS THAT GIRLS COULD COMPETE IN. >> Reporter: SHE DIDN'T HAVE HER SIGHTS SET ON OLYMPICS UNTIL THE MASSACRE AT THE '72 GAMES. >> I VOWED I WOULD DO EVERYTHING I COULD TO REPRESENT THE COUNTRY AND OLYMPIC IDEAL. >> Reporter: SHE TRAINED AND IN 1976, JUST BEFORE HER 21ST BIRTHDAY, SHE BECAME COCAPTAIN OF THE U.S. OLYMPIC WOMEN'S SWIM TEAM. BUT THE EUPHORIA OF BEING IN MONTREAL WOULD SINK. >> I DID NOT WITHIN ANY MEDALS, WHICH STILL IS A LUMP IN MY THROAT WHEN I TALK ABOUT IT. >> Reporter: THE EAST GERMANY WOMEN'S SWIM TEAM RACKED UP THE MEDALS. >> THEY WERE SMASHING US. >> Reporter: THEY HAD BEEN FORCED TO TAKE STEROIDS BY THEIR COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT. PRODUCER OF A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE EAST GERMANY DOPING SCANDAL ASKED WHAT SHE MOST REMEMBERED ABOUT THE '76 GAMES. >> I BURST INTO TEARS. AND I SAID I THINK YOU KNOW, LET PEOPLE DOWN. WHEN I DID NOT DO MY BEST. WHEN I DID NOT WIN. >> Reporter: THAT PLUNGED HER INTO A DEEP DEPRESSION. >> I HAD ANOREXIA FOR SEVERAL YEARS. I WENT FROM 1 # 5 POUNDS SWIMMER TO ABOUT 110 POUNDS. SO, THERE WAS A LOT TO IT. >> Reporter: MARCIA MOREY GAVE UP COMPETITION SWIMMING AND EMERSED IN THE LAW. >> WHY LAW? >> Reporter: YES. >> YOU KNOW, I THINK IT GOES VERY CLOSELY WITH ATHLETICS ABOUT FAIR PLAY, YOU DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, AND YOU JUST LIKE THE LAWS. >> Reporter: SHE WORK AS AN INVESTIGATOR FOR THE NCAA TO MAKE SURE ATHLETES AND COACHES WERE FOLLOWING THE RULES. SHE MOVED TO NORTH CAROLINA BECAUSE, WELL, SHE LOVED IT HERE AND BECAME AN ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN DURHAM. AND SHE ROSE TO DISTRICT COURT JUDGE AND PLAYED THE ROLE OF LIFE COACH FOR TROUBLED KIDS. >> TRYING TO GET THEM TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES AND NOT TAKE A PATH OF DELINK WITNESSY. >> Reporter: SINCE 2017 SHE HAS GIVEN UP THE BENCH TO SERVE A AS DEMOCRATIC STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND HELPED PASS A LAW TO RAISE THE AGE OF JUVENILE COURT TO INCLUDE 16 AND 17-YEAR-OLDS. AND HER OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE, SHE SAYS, HAS INFORMED HER LIFE'S WORK. >> YOU WIN WITH HARD WORK, AND YOU WIN WITH FAIRNESS AND FOLLOW THE RULES, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT LED ME ONTO MY CAREER AFTERWARDS. >> Reporter: HER BACKYARD POOL IS NOT FOR RACING, IT'S A REFUGE, A REFRESHING SPACE TO REFLECT, BRYAN MIMS, WRAL NEWS, DURHAM. >> WHAT A STORY. BEFORE THE OLYMPICS SHE DID WIN MEDAL IN BIG COMPETITION IN 1975 SHE COCAPTAINED THE U.S. PAN AMERICAN SWIM TEEN WINNING