Kaye Marie Hall (born May 15, 1951), later known by her married name Kaye Greff, 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 ...

, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Hall was born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

,Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Kaye Hall
Retrieved March 18, 2015. and attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma. She trained with the Tacoma Swim Club with Hall of Fame coach Dick Hannula who also coached Wilson High School. Hall made her international debut 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, 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.

Early life

In Tacoma, Hall was in the YWCA with her sister, and her brothers were in the YMCA where they all took swimming lessons. During this time the YWCA only had swimming lessons that did not accommodate exceptional swimming ability, unlike the YMCA. At 8, Hall was placed in more high-level swimming lessons with the boys because she was too skilled for the YWCA lessons. During this time there were no Title IX, high school, or college swimming teams for women. She could only swim in town clubs, like the Tacoma Swim Club. She traveled with Tacoma Swim Club to Canadian swim meets in Vancouver and Ocean Falls, where she met Elaine Tanner, her greatest rival during her swimming career.

Olympics 1968

As a 17-year-old, she won two gold medals and a bronze medal 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. 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 Eleanor Suzanne Daniel (born June 11, 1950), is an American former competition swimmer, 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 F ...

(butterfly), and Susan Pedersen (freestyle). 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). 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).Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games
Women's 200 metres Backstroke Final
Retrieved March 18, 2015.

Later life

After the Olympics, she attended the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1888. The institution offers a variety of undergraduate degrees as well as five graduate programs in counseling, education, oc ...

under Hall of Fame Coach Donald A. Duncan 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. In 1967, Hall became the first woman to break the one minute mark in the 100-yard backstroke, a significant milestone for a difficult stroke. She is a member of the International Swimming and the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame. She retired from competitive swimming in 1970. Hall 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 1979. She is also a member of the Puget Sound University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame. She is married, and has two kids and six grandchildren. She now works as an art teacher in a suburb of Seattle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Kaye 1951 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers 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 Tacoma, Washington Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in swimming 20th-century American sportswomen

Early life

Olympics 1968

Later life

See also

References

External links