Swimming

2016

Sep 21

Maureen Murphy – Swimming

(March 23, 1939 – January 22, 2019) Although her elite-level career was brief, Maureen Murphy helped propel women’s athletics throughout the state by reaching the 1956 Summer Olympic Games. Maureen grew up in Portland and found her way to the Multnomah Athletic Club swim program, where she began to specialize in the backstroke and eventually..Read More

1992

Aug 01

Carolyn Wood – Swimming

(born Dec. 18, 1945) Carolyn Wood won a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympic Games in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay at age 14. Wood swam under legendary coach Rod Harman at Beaverton High School and won three state titles as a freshman in 1959. She developed her skills, though, largely through the..Read More

1991

Aug 10

Della Sehorn – Swimming

(May 28, 1927 – Mar. 14, 2001) Della Sehorn was among the nation’s best in the breaststroke from 1950-53 and a member of the U.S. team at the 1952 Helsinki, Finland, Summer Olympic Games. Born in Beaverton in 1927, Sehorn developed her skills through the Columbia Athletic Club and set 18 American records before and..Read More

1990

Aug 18

Jack Cody – Swimming

During an era of worldwide instability, Jack Cody (Apr. 1, 1885 – Apr. 11, 1963) turned the Multnomah Athletic Club swim program into a national champion and developed a group of girls into a media favorite. Born in 1885, Cody developed as a diver at the MAC, but made his greatest impact there as a..Read More

1989

Aug 12

Kim Marie Peyton McDonald – Swimming

(Jan. 26, 1957 – Dec. 13, 1986) In the 1960s and early ’70s, Kim Peyton set a standard for women’s swimmers in Oregon, first as a record-setting junior swimmer and then an Olympic Gold Medalist. Born in 1957, Peyton grew up in a family swim environment that included two sisters, Debra and Kelly, who would..Read More

1988

Aug 28

Suzanne Zimmerman – Swimming

Suzanne Zimmerman Edwards (July 13, 1925 – March 14, 2021) Suzanne attended Lake Grove Grade School, West Linn High School, and Willamette University. She lived a dynamic life. At 14, with only a couple of months of formal training, she earned a spot at the Nationals that occurred that year at Janzen Beach swimming pool..Read More

1983

Sep 12

Thelma Payne – Swimming

(Jul. 18, 1896 – Sep. 7, 1988) Thelma Payne swam her way to greatness as an Olympic medalist in springboard diving and as an advertising model, one that continues to be famous across the nation. Payne, later Payne-Sanborn, was born in 1896 and matured in her sport at the Multnomah Athletic Club under coach Jack..Read More

1981

Aug 30

Brenda Helser – Swimming

(May 26, 1924 – Mar. 26, 2001) Brenda Helser was part of an outstanding group of young swimmers who represented the Multnomah Athletic Club, and won a gold medal at the 1948 London Summer Olympic Games as part of the 4×100 meter relay team. Helser competed at Stanford University where she graduated in 1946. She..Read More

1980

Aug 31

Don Schollander- Swimming

(born Apr. 30, 1946) Don Schollander dominated the world of swimming for only a short time, but he did it in such a fashion that he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame before he turned 20. Born in 1946, Schollander grew up in Charlotte, N.C., and then Lake Oswego, where he won..Read More

Aug 31

Norman Ross – Swimming

(May 2, 1895 – Jun 19, 1953) Norman Ross grew up in Portland at the turn of the 20th Century and won three gold medals at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Summer Games. Born in Portland in 1896, Ross matured as a swimmer at the Multnomah Athletic Club under coach Jack Cody. Following a career at..Read More