Patricia Kempner (born August 24, 1942) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.[1]
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Patricia Kempner | ||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Patty" | ||||||||||||||
National team | United States | ||||||||||||||
Born | Augusta, Georgia | August 24, 1942||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight | 123 lb (56 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||
Strokes | Breaststroke, individual medley | ||||||||||||||
Club | Kristensen Swim School | ||||||||||||||
College team | University of Arizona | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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As a youth, swimming for Kristensen Swim School, she set a new Southern Pacific AAU record in the 11-12 age group category for the 50-yard breast stroke of 37.9.[2]
While swimming for the Kris Kristensen Swimming School on February 23, 1957, she broke the Senior Women's American National record for the 200-yard individual medley, with a 2:29.2, breaking the old record by two seconds. Her swim also set a SPA AAU record. The event took place at the Aqua Carnival at El Camino Junior College, and was sponsored by the Southern California Youth Swimming Association. She also had a first place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke in the meet.[3]
On April 27, 1957, she became the first woman to set an official world record in the 200-meter individual medley, clocking 2:48.2 at a swim meet in Chicago, Illinois. The record would survive for over a year.[1]
Prior to the Olympics, Kempner captured the AAU indoor 100-yard breaststroke title in 1957 and 1958. At the 1959 Pan American Games, she won a silver medal in the 200-meter breststroke.[1]
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, she won a gold medal by swimming the breaststroke leg for the first-place U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay, together with teammates Lynn Burke (backstroke), Carolyn Schuler (butterfly), and Chris von Saltza (freestyle). The U.S. medley relay team set a new world record in the event final of 4:41.1. Individually, she also competed in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, finishing seventh in the event final.[4]
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