Catie Ball
Encyclopedia
Catherine Northcutt "Catie" Ball Condon (born September 30, 1951) is a former American international swimmer
and Olympic
gold medalist. At the 1968 Summer Olympics
in Mexico City, Mexico, she won a gold medal as the anchor swimmer for the U.S. 4x100-meter medley relay team. Ball is a former world record holder in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events, and is remembered as a teenage star who was the dominant female breaststroke
swimmer of her generation.
in 1951. As a teenager, she swam for the J.E.T.S. swim team in Amateur Athletic Union
(AAU) competition and attended Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville. In December 1966, she tied the world record of 1:15.7 in the 100-meter breaststroke at the international swim meet at the Hall of Fame pool in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
. While swimming for the Lee High School Generals swim team, she won the 1967 Florida 2A state high school championships in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke events, setting Florida state records in both. Her Florida record in the 100-yard breaststroke stood for eleven years.
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ball won three gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events, and by swimming the breaststroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the 4x100-meter medley relay. In the process, she set a new world records in all three events. During the course of 1967, she set world records in all four individual breaststroke events as a 15-year-old.
Despite having to overcome mononucleosis
and missing several scheduled meets in early 1968, Ball was the favorite to win three gold medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics. She was the reigning world record holder in all four breaststroke distances and bettered her own world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic Trials in August 1968. She arrived at the Mexico City
Olympics, however, with a case of influenza
. She won her only Olympic medal, a gold, as a member of the winning U.S. 4x100-meter medley relay
team by swimming the breaststroke leg of the four-person relay. Sharing the gold medal honors were her relay teammates Kaye Hall
, Ellie Daniel
, and Susan Pedersen
. In the 100-meter breaststroke final, Ball led close to the finish but physical exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she finished fifth. She was too ill to swim in the subsequent qualifying heats of the 200-meter breaststroke and was scratched from the event.
in Gainesville, Florida
, but effectively dropped out of competition swimming because there were no women's college swim teams at the time and because of her desire to lead a more "normal" life. As an undergraduate senior
at the University of Florida, she was hired by athletic director Ray Graves
to be the first head coach
of the new women's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
(AIAW) competition during the 1972–1973 school year. In their first year of intercollegiate competition, Ball's Lady Gators swimmers were undefeated in dual meets and placed second at the AIAW national championship during her single-season tenure.
Ball graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
in education in 1973.
. In the time since retiring from competition swimming at the age of 17, she has been a college swim coach, kindergarten
teacher, junior swim coach, housewife and interior decorator. Ball and her business partner have operated a successful interior decorating business, "Beside the Point," for the past decade. She and her husband Tom Condon have three children and a grandchild.
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame
in 1976, and the Florida Sports Hall of Fame
in 2010.
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medalist. At the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
in Mexico City, Mexico, she won a gold medal as the anchor swimmer for the U.S. 4x100-meter medley relay team. Ball is a former world record holder in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events, and is remembered as a teenage star who was the dominant female breaststroke
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
swimmer of her generation.
Early years
Catie Ball was born in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
in 1951. As a teenager, she swam for the J.E.T.S. swim team in Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
(AAU) competition and attended Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville. In December 1966, she tied the world record of 1:15.7 in the 100-meter breaststroke at the international swim meet at the Hall of Fame pool in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
. While swimming for the Lee High School Generals swim team, she won the 1967 Florida 2A state high school championships in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke events, setting Florida state records in both. Her Florida record in the 100-yard breaststroke stood for eleven years.
International swimming career
At the 1967 Pan American Games1967 Pan American Games
The 5th Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967.Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the fourth Pan American Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago. It lost to São Paulo, Brazil...
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ball won three gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events, and by swimming the breaststroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the 4x100-meter medley relay. In the process, she set a new world records in all three events. During the course of 1967, she set world records in all four individual breaststroke events as a 15-year-old.
Despite having to overcome mononucleosis
Mononucleosis
Mononucleosis , is a disease most commonly caused by the Epstein-Barr virus . The EBV virus affects the lymphocytes- white blood cells that battle infections by attacking antibodies. Mononucleosis can also be caused by Cytomegalovirus , a herpes virus most commonly found in body fluids...
and missing several scheduled meets in early 1968, Ball was the favorite to win three gold medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics. She was the reigning world record holder in all four breaststroke distances and bettered her own world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic Trials in August 1968. She arrived at the Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
Olympics, however, with a case of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
. She won her only Olympic medal, a gold, as a member of the winning U.S. 4x100-meter medley relay
Medley swimming
Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay...
team by swimming the breaststroke leg of the four-person relay. Sharing the gold medal honors were her relay teammates Kaye Hall
Kaye Hall
Kaye Hall is an American former swimmer. In December 1967, she became the first woman to go under one minute for the 100 yard backstroke. She was born on May 15th in Tacoma, Washington. She now works as an art teacher in Mukilteo, Washington...
, Ellie Daniel
Ellie Daniel
Eleanor Suzanne Daniel is an American swimmer and olympic champion. She competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where she received a gold medal in 4 × 100 m medley relay, a silver medal in 100 m butterley, and a bronze medal in 200 m butterfly...
, and Susan Pedersen
Susan Pedersen (swimmer)
Susan Pedersen is an American swimmer and olympic champion. She competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where she received a gold medal in 4 × 100 m medley relay, and also in 4 × 100 m freestyle relay...
. In the 100-meter breaststroke final, Ball led close to the finish but physical exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she finished fifth. She was too ill to swim in the subsequent qualifying heats of the 200-meter breaststroke and was scratched from the event.
College coaching career career
After the Olympics, Ball received a special scholarship to attend the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, but effectively dropped out of competition swimming because there were no women's college swim teams at the time and because of her desire to lead a more "normal" life. As an undergraduate senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
at the University of Florida, she was hired by athletic director Ray Graves
Ray Graves
Samuel Ray Graves is a former American college and professional football player and former college football coach. He is a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of the University of Tennessee, where he played college football...
to be the first head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the new women's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships. It evolved out of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women . The association was one of the biggest...
(AIAW) competition during the 1972–1973 school year. In their first year of intercollegiate competition, Ball's Lady Gators swimmers were undefeated in dual meets and placed second at the AIAW national championship during her single-season tenure.
Ball graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in education in 1973.
Life after swimming
Ball currently resides in Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. In the time since retiring from competition swimming at the age of 17, she has been a college swim coach, kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
teacher, junior swim coach, housewife and interior decorator. Ball and her business partner have operated a successful interior decorating business, "Beside the Point," for the past decade. She and her husband Tom Condon have three children and a grandchild.
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame
International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...
in 1976, and the Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
The Florida Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honoring athletes with outstanding achievement in sports in Florida. It has expanded its goals to include encouraging physical fitness among Florida's citizens through the example of its honorees.The FSHOF was founded by the Florida...
in 2010.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- History of the University of FloridaHistory of the University of FloridaThe history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Olympians
- University Athletic AssociationUniversity of Florida Athletic AssociationThe University Athletic Association, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that is responsible for maintaining the Florida Gators intercollegiate sports program of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida...
- World record progression 100 metres breaststrokeWorld record progression 100 metres breaststrokeThis is a list of the world record progression in the 100 metres breaststroke. The first world record in long course swimming was recognized by the International Swimming Federation in 1961, while the women's world record times were officially acknowledged in 1958...