Suzy Jones

Susan Jean Jones (born May 12, 1948), also known by her married name Suzy Roy as of 1975, is an American former competition swimmer, 1968 Mexico City Olympic swimmer, former World Record Holder, and swimming coach.

Early education and swimming

Suzy Jones was born on May 12, 1948 to Mr. and Mrs. J. Lloyd Jones in Palo Alto, California, and was a June, 1966 graduate of Palo Alto High School. She began competitive swimming around the age of 12 in 1960. "Palo Alto High School to Hold Graduation", ''Peninsula Times Tribune,'' Palo Alto, California, June 9, 1966, pg. 50 In a preliminary meet for the Memorial Day Plunge in Merced in July 1960, California, at 12 she placed fifth in the 50-meter freestyle, second in the 50-meter backstroke, and 4th in the 100-meter medley in her age-group category.

Excelling in breaststroke at an early age, at San Francisco's Midwinter Swim Meet, at only thirteen in October, 1961 she placed third in the breaststroke. Continuing to progress, in February, 1964, swimming for the Fontana Athletic Club, she placed first in the 100-yard breastroke with a time of 1:14.3 at the Alameda Air Station Invitational in the San Francisco Area. By 1965, she trained under Hall of Fame coach George Haines at the highly competitive Santa Clara Swim Club in Santa Clara, California.

College

Susan attended the University of Southern California (USC) from 1966 to 1968, where she was a member of Delta Gamma Sorority, though she did not compete there in swimming. She later attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in political science in 1971.

Mid-career swimming competition

Jones first attempted to qualify for the 1964 Olympic team, swimming the fastest 100-meter breaststroke time in her preliminary heat. However, she did not succeed in repeating her performance in the finals, swimming the 8th fastest time, and did not make the Olympic Team.

In 1965, she joined the Santa Clara Swim Club under coach George Haines, where she set a world record in the 110-yard breaststroke and earned national rankings in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events.

After briefly retiring from swimming in 1966, after attending the University of Southern California (USC) as a freshman and sophomore, she again attempted to qualify for the Olympic Team in 1968.

Suzy dropped out of college in December 1967, and returned to training with the Santa Clara Swim Center under George Haines, who was also the U.S. Olympic Coach, where she trained up to 10,000 meters a day in two two-hour training sessions.
Prior to the Mexico City Olympics, at the July 6, 1968 Santa Clara International Invitational, she placed second in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:18.2, with future 1968 Olympic gold medalist Jan Henne placing first with a time of 1:17.1. Performing less well in competition at longer distance breaststroke, she placed fifth in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:50.9."60 Second Scoreboard, Swimming", ''The Daily Breeze'', Torrance, California, July 7, 1968

1968 Mexico Olympics

Going into the 1968 Olympic trials, she had been rated the third fastest women's 100-meter backstroke swimmer in the world, having recorded a time of 1:16.3. At the 1968 U.S. Olympic trials, Jones placed third in the 100-meter breaststroke, qualifying for the team. She was one of the oldest swimmers on the women's 1968 Olympic squad at the age of only 20, and the first women's swimmer over 19 on the U.S. women's swimming team since 1948. Having qualified for the 1968 Olympics, she trained with the U.S. Olympic swim team for one month in Colorado Springs to adjust to Mexico City's high altitude, but fell sick during her training. She attributed her illness during training, high altitude, and her nervousness during the Olympic competition as the reason for her relatively sub-par performance during the games, though she was pleased to have made the team. Many in the U.S. Olympic swimming team performed under expectations for similar reasons that year.

Jones represented the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Suzy Jones
Retrieved October 21, 2012. She swam for the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the women's 4x100 medley relay, but did not receive a medal under the 1968 Olympic rules because she did not swim in the event final. Her 4x100 medley relay team swam in the first preliminary heat on the morning of October 17, 1986 for a total time of 4:34.7, though the event final time for the American team was later recorded at 4:28.3 on the evening of October 17, capturing the gold medal. Her preliminary team was first in their heat, and therefore fast enough to allow the Americans to advance to the finals, though Jones did not later swim with the American team in the final. The Australians took the silver in the final and the West Germans took the bronze.

She also competed in the semifinals of the women's 100-meter breaststroke, finishing in 10th place with a time of 1:18.6, around 2.5 seconds away from contending for the bronze medal.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games
Women's 100 metres Breaststroke Semi-Finals
Retrieved October 21, 2012. In a highly competitive field, in her preliminary round for the 100-breaststroke, she finished only 3/10 of a second from qualifying for the final rounds. Going into the 1968 Olympic trials, she had been rated the third fastest women's 100-meter backstroke swimmer in the world, having recorded a time of 1:16.3.Boardman, George, "Olympics Greatest Thing in My Life,"The Peninsula Times Tribune'', November 12, 1968, pg. 22

Coaching and U.S. Masters Competition

In 1975, Jones returned to her hometown and took a full-time position as swim coach and Aquatic Director of Alpine Hills Tennis and swim Club in Portola Valley, CA, though she had taught swimming on and off since around 1964.  She continued to stay active in swimming for over 55 years as a coach, swim instructor, and United States Masters competitor.

She competed in U.S. Masters Swimming for 25 years. Susan set 30 USMS records between 1976-2001, in the 50, 100, and 200 yards/meters breaststroke events and 100 yards/meters Individual Medley. Jones also set 7 World Records in the breaststroke events during that time.

In 1988, Susan founded the Susan Roy Swim School, her family-owned business in Los Altos, CA, where she coached with her 4 sons as of 2010. Jones also continued to instruct and coach swimmers in the Portola Valley area. In 1996, she swam in Mountain View, California with Los Altos Masters, a part of United States Masters Swimming, and trained on her own up to five days a week.

Personal life

Jones married Richard Harvey Roy III, an electrical engineering graduate, on September 13, 1975 at the First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto, California. The couple resided in Mountain View, California, and had four sons, Sean, Ryan, Kevin, and Ricky, and four grandchildren."Weddings and Engagements, Jones-Roy", ''Palo Alto Times'', Palo Alto, California, September 16, 1975, pg. 13

References

1948 births
Living people
American female breaststroke swimmers
Olympic swimmers for the United States
Sportspeople from Palo Alto, California
Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
20th-century American sportswomen

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