Carolyn Wood (swimmer)

Carolyn Wood

Wood at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Carolyn Virginia Wood
National team	United States
Born	(1945-12-18) December 18, 1945 (age 78) Portland, Oregon, U.S. [1]
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	132 lb (60 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, freestyle
Club	Multnomah Athletic Club
Coach	Olive McKean (Multinomah)
Medal record Representing the United States Olympic Games 1960 Rome 4×100 m freestyle relay

Carolyn Virginia Wood (born December 18, 1945) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. She would later work as an English High School teacher.

Early years

Wood was born in Portland, Oregon, and swam for the Multnomah Athletic Club and for Beaverton High School, where she won seven individual state championships in butterfly, freestyle and the individual medley. ^[2] At the Multinomah Athletic Club, one of her primary coaches was 1936 Olympic silver medalist Olive McKean. ^[3] Swimming for MAC at the AAU Oregon Girl's Swimming Championships in February 1961, Jamison set a new Oregon state record for 15-16 year olds in the 100-yard butterfly of 1:12.2, breaking the former state record by 9 seconds. ^[4]

1960 Olympics

At the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials, Wood finished first in the 100-meter butterfly event and was favored to win the gold medal in the event at the Olympics. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, however, during the women's 100-meter butterfly finals, she accidentally swallowed water during the turn and did not finish the race. She did win a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Joan Spillane, Shirley Stobs and Chris von Saltza. She swam the crucial third leg of the relay, during which she caught up to and passed Australian swimmer Lorraine Crapp and gave a two-foot lead to anchor swimmer von Saltza, who finished the relay in first place to give the Americans the gold medal. The U.S. relay team set a new world record of 4:08.9 in the event final—nine seconds faster than the previous record. ^[5]

Wood also swam for the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay, but under the international swimming rules in effect in 1960, she did not receive a medal because she did not swim in the event final. Individually, she competed in the 100-meter freestyle, and finished fourth in the event final with a time of 1:03.4. Wood, at 14 years old, was the youngest member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team to win a medal. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Life after swimming

Following the Olympics, Wood returned to her hometown of Portland, Oregon, where she attended Beaverton High School. During one summer, she worked as a lifeguard and was ruled a professional, and was therefore ineligible to swim in college or in subsequent Olympic Games. ^{[5] [8]} Wood attended the University of Oregon ^[9] and graduated Phi Beta Kappa ^[10] before becoming an English teacher. She taught at both Beaverton High School and Wilson High School in Portland. ^{[11] [12]}

She was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. ^{[8] [9]} Wood's autobiography, Tough Girl: An Olympian's Journey, was released in the autumn of 2016. ^[13] Wood wrote a follow-up about her year as a governess for Robert F. Kennedy's family following his death in 1968 and her early experiences as a teacher. Titled Class Notes: A Young Teacher's Lessons From Classroom to Kennedy Compound, the book was published in the summer of 2021. ^[14]

See also

• Biography portal
• Olympics portal

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
• List of University of Oregon alumni
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Carolyn Wood". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
2. "OSAA Girls Swimming Championships" (PDF). Oregon School Activities Association . Retrieved July 22, 2016.
3. "Olive McKean Mucha, silver medallist in 1936 Olympics". alt.obituaries.narkive.com. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
4. "Girls Lower Tank Marks, Carolyn Wood Wins Butterfly", The Sunday Oregonian, Portland, Oregon, 5 February 1961, pg. 64
5. Cluff, Carl (September 16, 1988). "Oregon's Olympians Look Back". The Oregonian .
6. Danzig, Allison (August 31, 1960). "Collegian Victor in Breast-Stroke". The New York Times . Retrieved February 13, 2008.
7. "U.s. Women Break Swim Relay Mark". The New York Times. September 4, 1960. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
8. Schneidermann, Floyd (August 2, 1992). ""Giant Killers" Highlight of Oregon Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies".
9. "Hall of Fame Roll of Honor Members". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
10. "Former Olympic swimmer Carolyn Wood pens revealing memoir". August 6, 2016.
11. Wendy Owen (May 18, 2013). "Long-time Beaverton swim coach Rod Harman named to the National High School Hall of Fame". The Oregonian . Retrieved August 15, 2013.
12. "English Channel Awaits Wilson Swimmer". Karen Gaffney Foundation. 2015. Archived from the original on January 2, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
13. "Drexler swings with Obama, Portland stars' Ali memories, a new home course for Ducks golf, and more". Portland Tribune. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
14. ""Class Notes: A Young Teacher's Lessons from Classroom to Kennedy Compound"". KATU. October 27, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2022.