Mindy Gehrs

Last updated

Melinda Anne "Mindy" Gehrs is a former All-American swimmer who was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in January 2009.

Contents

Youth in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

A native of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Gehrs is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Carl and Judi Gehrs. [1] [2] She began swimming at age seven and was a member of two junior national teams and two national teams. [3] She was also a four-time Tennessee state champion and swam for both Oak Ridge High School and the Atomic City Aquatic Club (so named because Gehrs' hometown of Oak Ridge was a base for the Manhattan Project, the operation that developed the atomic bomb). [4] In 1998, Gehrs was inducted into the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame. At the time of her selection, The Oak Ridger called Gehrs "the best swimmer to ever part the waters of the Atomic City." [3]

University of Michigan

Competing for Michigan from 1990 to 1993, she received 11 All-American honors in five events and won 13 Big Ten championships and the 1993 NCAA championship in the 400-meter individual medley. [5] [6] [7] In 1992, Gehrs was named the Big Ten Women's Swimmer of the Year [6] and received the Big Ten High Point Swimmer award after scoring a perfect 60 points with first-place finishes in: (a) the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:00.85, (b) the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:14.39, and (c) the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:59.52. [8] All three of her times were University of Michigan school records, and her time in the 200-meter individual medley was also a Big Ten Conference record. [8] At the end of the 1992 swim season, Gehrs told a Tennessee newspaper, "I just had a fantastic year. I was excited about the whole team. I got three individual bests - finally - and our relays were really good too." [8] In 1993, she was named the NCAA Woman of the Year. Gehrs also received honors for her academic accomplishments, including three Academic All-Big Ten awards and the 1993 Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor for combined excellence in academics and athletics. [5]

In January 2009, she was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor. [7]

Medical career and triathlete

In 1998, Gehrs received her medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama. [9] She also competed in triathlons and won the 1995 FS Fitness Systems Knoxville Lock Triathlon. [1] In December 2002, Gehrs married Heath William Beaver at the Trinity United Methodist Church of Hartford City, Indiana. [10] As of 2009, Gehrs is a practicing physician in Longmont, Colorado, specializing in the field of rehabilitation medicine. [9] She treats patients with musculoskeletal, neuromuscular and spine problems and is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Fernando J. Canales is a former freestyle swimmer from Puerto Rico and swimming coach. Up until the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he was the head assistant coach for men's swimming & diving at his alma mater, The University of Michigan, and also for the USA National Championship Team, Club Wolverine, home for numerous Olympic champions and medalists. He is a member of the USA Swimming's International Relations Committee as well as the United States' technical representative for the Amateur Swimming Union of the Americas (ASUA/UANA). He is an assistant director of development for The University of Michigan Athletic Department. He then was the head coach at Colgate University. In his first season at Colgate, the women's team took home the 2011 Patriot League Championship, and the men's team finished the meet in fifth place. In 2016 he coached his home country Puerto Rico at the Olympics in Rio. Currently he is the head coach for Pitchfork Aquatics and Puerto Rico.

Sheila Christine Taormina is an American former athlete who competed at four Olympics, and was the first woman to qualify for the Olympics in three different sports. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the women's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. She was inducted in 2009 into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame, and in 2015 into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

Roane State Community College College in eastern Tennessee, U.S.

Roane State Community College is a public community college in eastern Tennessee with its main campus in Harriman. It was authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1969, along with two other community colleges, and operates under the authority of the Tennessee Board of Regents.

Tracy Caulkins American swimmer

Tracy Anne Stockwell, OAM,, née Tracy Anne Caulkins, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time world champion, and former world record-holder in three events.

Megan Jendrick American swimmer

Megan M. Jendrick is an American former competition swimmer, former world record-holder, and fitness columnist. She won two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Jendrick set 27 American records and four world records in her swimming career. She is a 13-time national champion, ten-time U.S. Open champion, seven-time masters world record-holder, and fifteen-time U.S. Masters national record-holder. Jendrick is married to American author Nathan Jendrick.

Thomas Fitzgerald Dolan is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.

Oak Ridge High School is the public high school for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, enrolling grades 9 through 12. It was established in 1943 to educate the children of Manhattan Project workers.

Nicole Lee Haislett is an American former competitive swimmer who was a three-time Olympic gold medalist, a former world and American record-holder, and an eight-time American national college champion. During her international swimming career, Haislett won twenty-two medals in major international championships, including fourteen golds.

Alexander Timothy McKee is an American former competition swimmer and three-time Olympic silver medalist. He was a successful medley and backstroke swimmer, and is often remembered for being a part of the closest Olympic swimming finish in history and the resulting rule changes regarding the timing of international swimming events.

Martín López-Zubero Purcell, also known as Martin Zubero, is a former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. López-Zubero was born in the United States, swam in international competition for Spain, and holds dual Spanish-American citizenship.

Mary Wayte American swimmer

Mary Wayte Bradburne is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and television sports commentator. During her international swimming career, Wayte won eight medals in major international championships, including four golds.

Whitney Lynn Hedgepeth is an American former competition swimmer who won a gold and two silver medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Maddy Crippen American swimmer

Madeleine Marie Crippen, also known by her married name as Madeleine Plankey, is an American former competition swimmer. Crippen represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Theresa Andrews is an American former competitive swimmer and Olympic champion. Raised in Maryland, Andrews gained prominence as a national collegiate champion when competing for the University of Florida. In international competition, she was a backstroke specialist who won two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Ann Colloton is a former competitive swimmer. She was a five-time Big Ten Conference champion, an eight-time All-American, and the NCAA breaststroke champion in 1989. She was the first athlete in University of Michigan history to be twice named female athlete of the year and was also named Michigan's Female Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s. She was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in February 2008.

Francis Heydt American swimmer (1918–2008)

Francis Elmer Heydt was a competitive swimmer who won three NCAA men's swimming championships, including the 150-yard backstroke event and two 300-yard medley relay championships as a member of the University of Michigan swimming team in 1940 and 1941. He later operated a successful clothing and export business that manufactured camouflage clothing to governments in the United States, Israel, and Libya. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1988.

Taylor Drysdale American swimmer and coach

Taylor Drysdale was an American competition swimmer and swimming coach. Drysdale represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. He competed in the men's 100-meter backstroke, and finished fourth in the event final with a time of 1:09.4.

Dave Gillanders American swimmer

John David Gillanders is an American competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. He still competes in masters swimming in the 75–79 age group.

Davis Tarwater American swimmer

Davis Edward Tarwater is an American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. He grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and began competitive swimming at age seven. During high school, he set three state swimming records and led Webb School of Knoxville to the state title. In 2002, he was named High School Swimmer of the Year. Tarwater attended the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor's degree in political science, and St. Antony's College, Oxford earning a master's degree in Latin American Studies.

Melinda Copp, later known by her married name Melinda Harrison, is a former competitive swimmer from Canada. A native of London, Ontario, she attended the University of Michigan where she was the women's captain of the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team. She swam the backstroke and individual medley for Michigan, won four Big Ten Conference championships. She was also selected as an All-American swimmer in four events—the 100-yard backstroke, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard individual medley, and as a member of the 400-yard medley relay team.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mindy Gehrs Winner of Triathlon Event". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. August 6, 1995.
  2. ↑ "Dogwood Debs Announced". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. December 30, 1990.
  3. 1 2 Mike Blackerby (December 5, 1997). "Bound for the Hall of Fame Trio to be inducted Jan. 16". The Oak Ridger.
  4. ↑ "Oak Ridge's Gehrs Is Named Big Ten's Athlete of the Month". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. March 2, 1993.
  5. 1 2 "Leach, Campbell Headline U-M Hall of Honor Inductions". MGoBlue.com. January 21, 2009. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Madej, Bruce (1997). Michigan: Champions of the West, p. 208. Sport Publishing. ISBN   1-57167-115-3.
  7. 1 2 "Six standout former athletes set to join U-M's Hall of Honor". Ann Arbor News. January 23, 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 Steve Carellas (July 1, 1992). "Time Off Pays Off for Mindy Gehrs". The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
  9. 1 2 3 "Doctors E thru H". Longmont Clinic.
  10. ↑ "Gehrs, Beaver marry in Indiana". The Oak Ridger. March 7, 2003.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.