Keena Rothhammer
Personal information
Full nameKeena Ruth Rothhammer
National teamUnited States
Born (1957-02-26) February 26, 1957 (age 66)
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight146 lb (66 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubSanta Clara Swim Club
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich 800 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Munich 200 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 1973 Belgrade 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1973 Belgrade 400 m freestyle
Rothhammer (right) at 1972 Olympics

Keena Ruth Rothhammer (born February 26, 1957) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.

Rothhammer was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and is Jewish.[1]

Swimming career

As a teenager, she grew up in Santa Clara, California,[2] and trained with the Santa Clara Swim Club in Santa Clara under the coach George Haines, who was noted for leading U.S. Olympic swimmers during the 1960s and 1970s.

As a 15-year-old, Rothhammer represented the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. She won the gold medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle and set a new world record in the event twice, on successive days.[1] She also won the bronze medal in the women's 200-meter freestyle at the 1972 Olympics. At the 1973 World Aquatics Championships, she won the 200-meter freestyle and finished second in the 400-meter freestyle.[3] The same year, she was named North American Athlete of the Year.[1]

She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1991.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Taylor, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics : with a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 9781903900871.
  2. ^ "Shane Gould Sets Medley Mark". The New York Times. 6 April 1973.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Keena Rothhammer". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  4. ^ "Keena Rothhammer (USA)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Keena Rothhammer.
Records Preceded byShane Gould Women's 400-meter freestyleworld record-holder (long course) August 22, 1973 – June 28, 1974 Succeeded byHeather Greenwood Preceded byJo Harshbarger Women's 800-meter freestyleworld record-holder (long course) September 3, 1972 – September 9, 1973 Succeeded byNovella Calligaris
1972 USA Olympic swimming team
Olympic champions in women's 800 m freestyle
World long-course champions in women's 200 m freestyle
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