Catherine Mai-Lan Fox (born December 15, 1977) is an American former competition swimmer who won two gold medals at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. She is of

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

and European descent. Her father, Thomas C. Fox (editor and former publisher of the ''

National Catholic Reporter The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a progressive national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt want ...

''), worked in Vietnam for International Voluntary Services from 1966 to 1968, where he met Catherine's mother, To Kim Hoa, a social worker in

Can Tho Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can * Metal can (disambiguation) Music * Can (band), West Germany, 1968 ** ''Can'' (album), 1979 * Can (South Korean band) Other * Ca ...

who married Fox and moved to the United States in 1972. Fox grew up in

Roeland Park, Kansas Roeland Park is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and located within the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,871. History The community was named after John Roe, an immigrant f ...

, attended high school at Bishop Miege and graduated from Stanford University, majoring in human biology and studio art. Fox competed at the 1995 Pan American Games and was a member of the gold medal-winning 4×200-meter freestyle relay team. She made the U.S. Olympic team for the

in Atlanta as a freestyle swimmer, and was a member of two gold-winning relay teams: the 4×100-meter freestyle (where she swam in the final) and the 4×100-meter medley (where she swam freestyle in a preliminary heat). Fox won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and bronze medals in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke, at the 1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. At Stanford, Fox was a 21-time All-American in swimming, a nine-time NCAA champion, and set an American record in the 100-yard

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

in 1999 with a time of 52.47 seconds. In 2006, she was named to the

Kansas Sports Hall of Fame The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in Wichita, dedicated to preserving the history of sports in the state of Kansas. The museum provides exhibits, archives, facilities, services, and activities to honor those individuals and te ...

.Kansas Sports Hall of Fame

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Catherine 1977 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers American female freestyle swimmers American sportswomen American sportspeople of Vietnamese descent Bishop Miege High School alumni Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States People from Roeland Park, Kansas Sportspeople of Vietnamese descent Stanford Cardinal women's swimmers Swimmers at the 1995 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games

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