Betsy Mitchell

Betsy Mitchell

Personal information
Full name	Faith Elizabeth Mitchell
Nickname(s)	"Betsy"
Nationality	United States
Born	(1966-01-15) January 15, 1966 Cincinnati, Ohio
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Backstroke, freestyle
College team	University of North Carolina University of Texas
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for the  United States Summer Olympics Silver 1984 Los Angeles 100 m backstroke Silver 1988 Seoul 4 × 100 m medley relay World Championships (LC) Gold 1986 Madrid 100 m backstroke Silver 1986 Madrid 200 m backstroke Silver 1986 Madrid 4×100 m freestyle Silver 1986 Madrid 4×200 m freestyle Silver 1986 Madrid 4×100 m medley

Faith Elizabeth Mitchell (born January 15, 1966) is an American former competition swimmer who was a world record-holder, world champion, and Olympic silver medalist. She also was a member of the United States' 1994 Rowing World Championship team.^[1]

Mitchell began competitive swimming at age 5. She competed for Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania during her high school years.

Mitchell represented the United States at two consecutive Olympic Games. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, she won a silver medal for her second-place performance in the women's 100-meter backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:02.63. She also earned a gold medal by swimming the backstroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the women's 4x100-meter medley relay.^[2]

After the 1984 Olympics, she initially attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and competed for the North Carolina Tar Heels swimming and diving team during her freshman year. She then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, and swam for the Texas Longhorns swimming and diving team from 1986 to 1988. She won nine NCAA titles, and was a member of the Lady Longhorns NCAA national championship teams in 1987 and 1988. She was inducted into the Texas Longhorns Hall of Honor in 2000.^[3]

She set a women's world record in the 200-meter backstroke at the 1986 World Championship Trials. The record stood for five years. Swimming World Magazine named her as its American Female Swimmer of the Year in 1986.

She again competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. She received a silver medal for swimming the backstroke leg for the second-place U.S. team in the women's 4x100-meter medley relay in the preliminary heats. Individually, she also swam in the final of the women's 100-meter backstroke, finishing fourth in the final with a time of 1:02.71.^[2]

She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1998.^[4]

Mitchell was recently the Director of Athletics & Recreation at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.^[1] She resigned in March 2011, and is currently the Director of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Because of Mitchell's self-reporting of previously undisclosed NCAA rules violations, Caltech's athletics department was punished on July 12, 2012.^[5]

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
• List of University of Texas at Austin alumni
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
• World record progression 200 metres backstroke

References

External links

• Betsy Mitchell – Olympic athlete profile at Sports-Reference.com
• Betsy Mitchell (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame

Records
Preceded by Cornelia Sirch	Women's 200-meter backstroke world record-holder (long course) June 27, 1986 – August 25, 1991	Succeeded by Krisztina Egerszegi
Preceded by Regina K. Cavanaugh Charles D. Cecil Keith J. Jackson Gordon C. Lockbaum Mary T. Meagher David Robinson	Todays Top VI Award Class of 1989 Dylann Duncan Suzanne T. McConnell Betsy Mitchell Anthony P. Phillips Thomas K. Schlesinger Mark M. Stepnoski	Succeeded by Vicki Huber John Jackson Jolanda Jones James Martin Virginia Stahr Jacob Young

v t e 1984 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Matt Biondi Rick Carey Chris Cavanaugh George DiCarlo Jeff Float Geoff Gaberino Rowdy Gaines Matt Gribble Bruce Hayes Mike Heath Tom Jager Patrick Kennedy Jeff Kostoff David Larson Robin Leamy Steve Lundquist John Moffet Pablo Morales John Mykkanen Mike O'Brien Richard Saeger Rich Schroeder Jesse Vassallo Dave Wilson Women's Team Theresa Andrews Tracy Caulkins Tiffany Cohen Sue Heon Nancy Hogshead Jenna Johnson Kim Linehan Mary T. Meagher Betsy Mitchell Susan Rapp Kim Rhodenbaugh Michelle Richardson Carrie Steinseifer Jill Sterkel Dara Torres Tori Trees Mary Wayte Amy White Sippy Woodhead Coaches Ron Ballatore Ray Bussard Don Gambril George Haines Charlie Hodgson Doug Ingram Frank Keefe Skip Kenney Richard Quick Randy Reese Mark Schubert

v t e 1988 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Mike Barrowman David Berkoff Steve Bigelow Matt Biondi Matt Cetlinski Troy Dalbey Mark Dean Doug Gjertsen Chris Jacobs Tom Jager Shaun Jordan Dan Jorgensen Lars Jorgensen Jeff Kostoff Brent Lang Jay Mortenson Craig Oppel Rich Schroeder Kirk Stackle Bill Stapleton Melvin Stewart Dan Veatch Daniel Watters Dave Wharton Women's Team Beth Barr Tami Bruce Janet Evans Leigh Ann Fetter Erika Hansen Andrea Hayes Whitney Hedgepeth Janel Jorgensen Mitzi Kremer Susan Johnson Tracey McFarlane Mary T. Meagher Betsy Mitchell Trina Radke Susan Rapp Jill Sterkel Dara Torres Laura Walker Mary Wayte Paige Zemina Coaches Steve Bultman Dick Hannula (manager) Mitch Ivey Frank Keefe Skip Kenney Richard Quick Eddie Reese Randy Reese Mark Schubert