Sarah Gay Josephson (born January 10, 1964) was a competitor in synchronized swimming, who competed for Ohio State University and was an American 1992 Barcelona Olympic champion in duet competition. A member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Josephson won a silver medal in duet competition. In collegiate competition, she was nearly undefeated competing with her sister Karen in duet competition,[1]
Sarah Josephson was born January 10, 1964, in Bristol, Connecticut. She and her sister Karen began competing by the age of six with local clubs, and first trained in synchronized swimming at Bristol's Girl's Club,[2] later training with the Spindrifts Synchro team beginning around 1977, as part of the Rocky Hill School of Swimming. As High School Sophomores at Bristol Central High School, the sister's mother Beryl P. Josephson, who worked as a teacher at Bristol High, drove both daughters twenty miles to practice with the Spindrifts after school, where training averaged three hours per day. With the Spindrifts team, Sarah and Karen were coached by Susan BeVier.[3][2]
To increase the quality of their training, in September 1979, the sisters left Bristol High and moved to Hamden, Connecticut to train with the Hamden Heronettes and attend Hamden High School, while living with an Aunt. Sarah's sister Jennifer was also a synchronized swimmer and competed for the Hamden Heronettes. While in Hamden, by 1980, Sarah and Karen were coached by Linda Lichter, a founder of the Hamden Heronettes, a U.S. National team coach and an Assistant Coach at Yale. Years later, Lichter would become an able successor to Dr. Mary Jo Ruggieri as a Hall of Fame synchro team Head Coach at Ohio State.[2][4] Sarah graduated Hamden High around 1981.[3][5]
Competing for the Spindrifts, Sarah and her sister Karen won a gold medal at the National AAU Junior Olympics in Lincoln, Nebraska on August 12, 1979.[3]
Ohio State University
Enrolling in the Fall of 1981, Sarah and Karen attended Ohio State University and competed with their exceptionally strong synchro team under Hall of Fame Head Coach Dr. Mary Jo Ruggieri from 1982-1985. At Ohio State, Sarah received All American honors four times, and majored in Genetics, graduating with honors in 1985 while maintaining a 3.5 grade point average. Sarah's syncro coach, Dr. Ruggieri coached the Ohio State team from 1970-1995, leading them to 17 of the 19 National Championships for Collegiate synchronized swimming in which the team participated.[6] Sarah and sister Karen helped lead Ohio State's team to National Championships in three years.[7][8]
Beginning around 1979, Sarah and Karen spent twelve years on the U.S. National Synchronized swimming team. After graduating college in 1985, the sisters moved to Walnut Creek, California to train with Gail Emery and the U.S. National Team. After college, they swam for a period with Emery's Walnut Creek Aquanuts team in Walnut Creek.[2][9]
Sarah and, and her sister Karen were American Synchronized Swimming Champions in Duet competition seven times.[1]
International competition highlights
Sarah competing both alone and with her sister, had a record of achievement in international synchronized swimming competition. Sarah won silver medals in the solo, duet, and team events at the 1986 World Championships in Madrid. At the 1991 World Championships in Perth she won gold medals in the duet and team events.
Competing with her sister Karen, the two captured gold medals at the 1991 Pan Pacific Championships, and the World Cups in 1991.[1]
Sarah and Karen retired from elite synchronized swimming not long after the 1992 Olympics.[2]
Honors
A United States Synchronized Swimming Inc. (USSSI) National Solo Champion twice, Josephson received the Western Conference Medal of Honor during her collegiate years. Josephson was Athlete of the year for Ohio State for women in 1984, and College Athlete of the year for the USSSI.[7] Highly recognized in the sport of Synchronized Swimming, in 1993, Sarah was admitted to The Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 1997 to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale. In a rare honor, Sarah and sister Karen were only one of two Synchronized Swimming duet teams to become members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[1][2] Sarah and Karen were AAU Sullivan Award finalists, and became members of Connecticut's Bristol Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.[11]
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