Shelley Isabel Mann (October 15, 1937 – March 24, 2005) was an American competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and Olympic medalist at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne, Australia where she won the gold medal in the women's 100-meter butterfly event, and was a member of the U.S. team that won the silver medal for the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Mann was born in Long Island, New York in 1937 to Hamilton and Isabel Mann. Her father was in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Mann caught polio at age six while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She spent weeks in the hospital and was left with a paralyzed right leg. She took up swimming to aid her recovery. She learned to walk but with a significant limp. She was a student at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in Washington, D.C.

Career

In the pool, her limp didn't matter and Mann began practicing and taking lessons from some of the top professional coaches. She was a member of the Walter Reed Swim Club,Sports Illustrated Vault: STAN TINKHAM'S TEEN-AGERS
/ref> and began competing. The swim team had to train at 6:00am because the Walter Reed medical hospital was needed for the patients. By the time she was 14 she had won the first of what would eventually be 24 AAU national championships in the freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and individual medley events. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "honor swimmer" in 1966, and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.

References

External links

*
Shelley Mann (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame

Mention of Shelley Mann's death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Shelley 1937 births 2005 deaths American female butterfly swimmers American female freestyle swimmers American University alumni Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from New York City Swimmers at the 1955 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games 20th-century American women 21st-century American women

Career

See also

References

External links