Betsy Mitchell Book Signing and Meet & Greet
Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Olympic gold and silver medalist swimmer and Lakesider Betsy Mitchell as she visits on Wednesday, July 3. She will host a Book Signing on Walnut Plaza from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and a Meet & Greet from 2-4 p.m. on the porch of 156 Oak Avenue. All are welcome.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Mitchell won a silver medal in the women’s 100-meter backstroke. 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 4×100-meter medley relay.
She competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where she received a silver medal for swimming the backstroke leg for the second-place U.S. team in the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay in the preliminary heats.
Mitchell began her competitive swimming journey at the age of 5 as a member of the Marietta, Ohio, YMCA’s Marietta Marlins Swim Team before she attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where she continued competitive swimming during her high school years.
She graduated from Mercersburg in 1983 and remains passionately involved with the Academy, having served as a longtime member of its Board of Regents.
Mitchell competed for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels Swimming & Diving Team during the 1983-84 season. After the 1984 Olympics, Mitchell transferred to the University of Texas and won nine NCAA individual titles in addition to leading the Longhorns to four straight NCAA national championship teams from 1985-88.
Mitchell competed at the 1986 World Championships where she set the American and world record in the 200-meter backstroke (2:08.60). That world record stood for five years, while the American record stood for 19 years.
Swimming World Magazine named her as its American Female Swimmer of the Year in 1986.
Mitchell is currently the Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California, the first woman to hold that position.
Her new book, More Than Medals, was released in late May and is available at The Fine Print Lakeside.