Kaye Hall

Kaye Hall
Personal information
Full name Kaye Marie Hall
National team United States
Born (1951-05-15) May 15, 1951
Tacoma, Washington
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight 143 lb (65 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Backstroke
Club Tacoma Swim Club

Kaye Marie Hall (born May 15, 1951), later known by her married name Kaye Greff, is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.

Hall was born in Tacoma, Washington,[1] and attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma. She trained with the Tacoma Swim Club with coach Dick Hannula. Hall made her international debut at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where she won a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke behind Canadian gold medalist Elaine Tanner. In December 1967, she became the first woman to swim the 100-yard backstroke in under one minute.[2]

As a 17-year-old, she won two gold medals and a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.[1] She won her first gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in women's 4×100-meter medley relay. Swimming the lead-off backstroke leg of the relay, she set a new Olympic record of 4:28.3 with American teammates Catie Ball (breaststroke), Ellie Daniel (butterfly), and Susan Pedersen (freestyle).[3] She won a second gold in individual competition, in the women's 100-meter backstroke, recording a new world record (1:06.2) and besting Canadian Elaine Tanner by half a second (1:06.7).[4] She added a bronze medal for her third-place finish in the women's 200-meter backstroke, finishing behind fellow American Pokey Watson (2:24.8) and Canadian Elaine Tanner (2:27.40).[5]

After the Olympics, she attended the University of Puget Sound and continued to swim for the Tacoma Swim Club with Dick Hannula. At the 1970 World University Games in Turin, Italy, she won three golds in the 100-meter backstroke and the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relays. She retired from competitive swimming in 1970.[2]

Hall was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1979.[2] She is also a member of the Puget Sound University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame.

She now works as an art teacher in Mukilteo, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Kaye Hall. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Kaye Hall (USA). Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games, Women's 4x100 metres Medeley Relay Final. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games, Women's 100 metres Backstroke Final. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games, Women's 200 metres Backstroke Final. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
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