American swimmer (born 1946)
Sharon Evans Finneran (born February 4, 1946), also known by her married name Sharon Rittenhouse, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in three events.
Early life and swimming
Sharon grew up in the Redington Beach area on Florida's Gulf coast in greater Fort Lauderdale. She was competing in swimming by age 10, and later swam with the Coral Gables Swimming Association.[1][2] After a move to Los Angeles, California, with her mother Carol and five siblings in January 1962, Sharon swam for the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) under Hall of Fame Head Coach Peter Daland. All of her siblings, four boys and a girl, swam or competed in diving for the LAAC as well. Through her Junior year, she attended John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, with fellow Los Angeles Athletic Club swimming standout Carolyn House who was a year ahead of her at John Marshall.[2]
1962 World Records - 400m IM, 200m Fly
At 15, swimming with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, Sharon broke the standing world record for the 400-meter individual medley on July 28, 1962 before a crowd of 10,000 with a time of 5:21.9 at the Japanese National Swimming Championships, winning over rival Donna DeVarona. Sharon's record time would be challenged and surpassed by the 1964 Olympics.[3][1][4] At the August 19, 1962 National AAU Outdoor Championships, Sharon won the 200-meter butterfly, setting a new world record of 2:31.2, and later bettered her own record with a 2:30.9.[2]
After a move to Santa Clara, California in 1963, Sharon swam for nationally known Santa Clara High School and the Santa Clara Swim Club, an exceptional age-group program under Hall of Fame Head Coach George Haines. She excelled in a variety of strokes and events but specialized in IM, distance freestyle, and butterfly.[5][6] In February 1964, likely anticipating Olympic competition that summer, she represented the Santa Clara Swim Club, and broke the American record in the 400-yard individual medley with a 4:47.1. She continued to swim with the Santa Clara Swim Club through at least 1967.[7]
1963 Pan Am Games
Sharon took a gold medal in the 1963 Pan Am Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, swimming the 400-meter individual medley in a Pan Am record time of 4:52.7, which helped the American team pull far ahead in total points.[6][8]
1964 Tokyo Olympics
In the August, 1964 Olympic Trials in Astoria, New York, Sharon swam her signature event, the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 5:22.2 in the finals, but was edged out by Santa Cruz Swim Club Teammate Donna DeVarona and Vesper Boat Club's Martha Randall. Her third-place finish was adequate, however, to ensure an Olympic spot in 1964 and was around six seconds behind second place Randall's time of 5:17.9. DeVarona's winning time in the trials of 5:14.9 was a new World Record, and bettered her former world record. The 1964 Olympic Women's Coach was Sharon's Los Angeles Athletic Club Coach Peter Dalland.[9]
Sharon represented the United States as an 18-year-old at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Finneran received a silver medal for her second-place finish in the women's 400-meter individual medley – completing an all-American sweep of the event with Donna de Varona and Martha Randall.[10] Sharon was somewhat disappointed to take a silver in the 400 IM, as her 1962 record time in the event was a full fifteen seconds faster than the standing world record.[1]
On March 12, 1965, while swimming for the Santa Clara Swim Club, Sharon easily won the 1650-yard freestyle event at the Southern California Invitational Swim Meet at the City of Commerce, California, with a time of 18:30.[11]
Several of Finneran's best events, long distance freestyle and the 200 butterfly were not Women's Olympic events in 1964.[1]
Career swimming achievements
Most of her early recorded amateur club competition prior to the age of 17-18 was with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, under Peter Daland who was coaching at USC when she attended. In her Olympic event, Sharon won the 400 IM AAU titles in indoor and outdoor competition. As expected from a World Record holder, she twice won the AAU 200-meter butterfly in outdoor competition, and in distance freestyle won the AAU indoor title for the 1,650-yard event in 1964. In distance events Sharon set six world and thirteen American Records in the 500-yard and 1650-yard freestyle. She also set records in the 200 butterfly, and 800 freestyle, in both the yard and meter event.[6]
Attending USC
Sharon attended the University of Southern California (USC) in the Los Angeles area on an academic scholarship, and made arrangements to swim with the USC men's team. Because she preferred to continue with the Santa Clara Club team at least in the summers, and not the USC swim coach's club team, the Los Angeles Athletic Club, she was required to practice alone with the recreational lap swimmers at noon, and suffered from a lack of quality training. By age 20 in 1966-7, she had left highly competitive swim training.[1]
In retirement, Finneran took part in masters swimming tournaments. Her four siblings were competitive swimmers, divers and water polo players. Her brother Mike Finneran placed fifth in springboard diving at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and her daughter Ariel Rittenhouse finished fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics, also in springboard diving.[10]
She worked as a Dental Hygienist after college, and by 1980 was a permanent resident of Santa Clara, where she would stay busy taking care of her family of five children with husband Bob Rittenhouse, a commerical insurance broker.[1]
Honors
For her World Records in the 400-meter IM, and the 200-meter butterfly, Sharon was voted Southern California's Athlete of the Month in August 1964.[2]
Recognizing her world records in diverse events, and her 1964 Olympic Silver medal, in 1981 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[6]
