Jane Louise Barkman (born September 20, 1951), also known by her married name Jane Brown, is an American former

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 ...

, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.

Competitive swimming career

Barkman's earliest coaches include Bob Fitzgerald who mentored her when she was six-years-old, Bill Taylor, who worked with her from ages seven-eleven. Barkman started more competitive age group swimming at Philadelphia's Vesper Boat Club under Hall of Fame swimming coach Mary Freeman Kelly.

1967 AAU championships

Swimming for the Vesper Club in late March 1967, she set a record of 5:21.7 in the 500-yard freestyle at the Middle Atlantic AAU Swimming Championships, also winning the 100-yard freestyle, and the 400-yard freestyle relay and had previously set a AAU District record in the 100-yard breaststroke of 1:12.0 in 1965 and a 200 I.M meet record in 1966.

68 Olympic medalist

Preparing for 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, Jane trained four hours a day Monday-Friday, and three hours on Saturday, as well as doing pully weights at home. She attended the Olympic trials at Los Angeles Stadium seeded first in her event. She was disappointed to finish fourth in the 100-meter freestyle, but still qualified for the event, and the relays. She also qualified in the trials for the 200-meter freestyle, though it was not one of her better events.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Jane Barkman
. Retrieved October 21, 2012.

'68 Olympic gold and bronze medals

In the finals, she won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Linda Gustavson, Sue Pedersen, and

Jan Henne Jan Margo Henne (born August 11, 1947), also known by her married name Jan Hawkins, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, she received four medal ...

. She and her relay teammates set a new Olympic record of 4:02.5 in the event final. Individually, she also received a bronze medal for her third-place performance in the women's 200-meter freestyle. Barkman finished behind

Debbie Meyer Deborah Elizabeth Meyer (born August 14, 1952), also known by her married name Deborah Meyer Weber, is an American former competition swimmer, a 1968 three-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in five freestyle events, 200,400 ...

, and

, completing an American sweep of the event.

Attending Salem College

She attended

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational esta ...

, in Winston-Salem, South Carolina, beginning in 1969, but swam with the team from 1970 to 1974, taking off to train for the 1972 Olympics, and training as well for a period with the Wake Forest men's team in the Fall of 1970. She continued to train with Head Coach George Breen at Vesper Boat Club.

72 Olympic medalist

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 ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, she was also part of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, including Sandy Neilson, Jenny Kemp and Shirley Babashoff. Neilson, Kemp, Barkman and Babashoff set a new world record of 3:55.19 in the final, narrowly edging the East German team.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1972 München Summer Games
Women's 4 × 100 meters Freestyle Relay Final
. Retrieved October 21, 2012. Barkman served as a Tri-Captain of the 1972 team and was a Torchbearer carrying the torch en route to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Coaching

Barkman was formerly the coach of the

Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in me ...

women's swimming and diving team at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. She is the mother of two sons and a daughter. She now resides in a small town in Pennsylvania and is a kindergarten and first grade teacher.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barkman, Jane 1951 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportswomen