 From 1981 to 1988, Wayte was a member of the U.S. national swim team, competing in major international championships in Japan (1981, 1985), France (1982), the Netherlands (1982), Venezuela (1983), Monaco (1985), Spain (1986) and South Korea (1988).At the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, she won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. 4×100-meter freestyle relay team, and the silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle event.At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Wayte won her first Olympic gold medal in the women's 200-meter freestyle event by defeating her American rival and former world record-holder Cynthia Woodhead.