Christopher Carl Cavanaugh (born July 1, 1962) is an American former competition swimmer former world record holder in the 50 meter freestyle and Olympic champion. He was a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and was also a member of the U.S. Olympic team when the United States led a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Cavanaugh was an All-American swimmer and elected team captain for the USC Trojans swimming team at the University of Southern California, where he also played water polo and graduated in 1986.