Eleanor Suzanne Daniel (born June 11, 1950), is an American former 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 ...

, four-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder.

Early age group swimming

In her earlier years, Daniel trained with Hall of Fame Coach Mary Freeman Kelly at the

Vesper Boat Club The Vesper Boat Club is an amateur rowing club located at #10 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1865 as the Washington Barge Club, the club's name was changed to Vesper Boat Club in 1870. ...

team in Philadelphia. She started on the "B" team, swimming at the aquarium, underneath the art museum. The following year, she made the "A" team, which practiced at the University of Pennsylvania's Weightman Hall pool. Later, when her family moved to California around 1967, she swam with Hall of Fame Coach Sherm Chavoor's at Arden Hills Swim Club in Sacramento.Ivy50.com, Ivy Women in Sports
Ellie Daniel
Retrieved April 9, 2015. In her second year of competition, she came in eighth in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the AAU national championships. Afterward, she switched to the butterfly stroke, which came naturally to her because she was double-jointed in her back and her strength was in her shoulders, and won seven national championships. Around 1967, she graduated Abington Senior High in Abington, Pennsylvania.

1967 Pan Am games

At the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games, officially known as the V Pan American Games () and commonly known as Winnipeg 1967, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on ...

in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she won gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly (1:05.24), and swimming the butterfly leg in the 4×100-meter medley relay with her teammates Kendis Moore (backstroke), Catie Ball (breaststroke), and Wendy Fordyce (freestyle) (4:30.0).

1968 Olympics

Daniel represented the United States at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

in Mexico City, where she competed in three events.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Ellie Daniel
. Retrieved March 16, 2015. She received a gold medal by swimming the butterfly leg for the winning U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay, together with teammates Kaye Hall (backstroke), Catie Ball (breaststroke), and Sue Pedersen (freestyle). The American women set a new Olympic record of 4:28.3, defeating the Australians (4:30.0) and West Germans (4:36.4). In individual competition, she won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly, and a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly.

1972 Olympics

She received a bronze medal in 200-meter butterfly at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich, Germany. She also competed in the 100-meter butterfly, finishing sixth in the event final. She held the 200-meter butterfly (long course) world record (2:18.4) from August 1971 to August 1972. In her swimming career, she was a national champion seven times and took 14 individual American and/or national records.

College

Daniel is a 1976 graduate of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and trained with both the Women's team and Penn's Men swim team under Hall of Fame Coach George Breen, a former Olympian. She was a standout on the Women's team. She had a double major in psychology and elementary education, and later attended law school. She is currently a prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

Swimming administration

She was an executive member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the U.S. Olympic Committee's Athletes Advisory Council. She was a member of the Speakers' Bureau for the Olympic Organizing Committee before the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.

Honors

Daniel was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1997. She is also a member of the University of Pennsylvania Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Ellie 1950 births Living people American female butterfly swimmers World record setters in swimming Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Penn Quakers women's swimmers Swimmers from Philadelphia Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming 20th-century American sportswomen