Kathy Keeler

Kathy Keeler
Personal information
Full nameKathryn Elliott Keeler
BornNovember 3, 1956 (1956-11-03) (age 68)
Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Medal record
Women's rowing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Women's eight

Kathryn Elliott "Kathy" Keeler (born November 3, 1956, in Galveston, Texas) is an American former competitive rower and Olympic gold medalist.[1] She was a member of the American women's eights team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, "the only women's crew in U.S. history to win an Olympic gold medal" until 2008.[2][3][4][5]

Education

Keeler is a 1978 graduate of Wesleyan University.

Competition

Keeler was a member of the U.S. national rowing team in 1982 and the women's four that won a silver medal at the World Rowing Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland that year. Keeler qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. She was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later.[6] Overall, she was a member of four U.S. national rowing teams.[7]

Coach

Subsequent to her competitive rowing career, Keeler was a member of the U.S. national rowing team as a coach on six occasions (in 1987, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95). As U.S. Olympic Team coach in 1996, she directed the U.S. women's lightweight double to a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.[8][9] She also was a college coach at Smith College, among other institutions.[10]

Personal life

She was married to the late Harry Parker. They have a daughter, Abigail Parker, who rowed at Harvard University and Cambridge University. Kathy currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kathy Keeler". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Berry, Maeve. "Home | USRowing - USRowing". Rowing.teamusa.org. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "Graves and Olympic teammates recognized by US Rowing - University of Texas Athletics". Texassports.com. January 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  4. ^ http://preview.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=269944.html [permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "Los Angeles 1984 - Rowing - Olympic Data Project". Odp.mjchost.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
  7. ^ "Wesleyan Athletics". Wesleyan.edu. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  8. ^ "John Harvard's Journal - Sports, September-October 1996". Harvardmagazine.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "1984 Olympic gold medal women's 8 reunion row - Rowing Stories, Features & Interviews". row2k.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  10. ^ "From Ranching to Rowing in a Single Stroke". Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.