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Mary Freeman (swimmer)
Mary Gray Freeman (born October 30, 1933), also known by her former married name Mary Kelly, as Mary Freeman Kelly and by her subsequent married name Mary Spitzer, is an American former swimmer who represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland in the 100-meter backstroke. After leaving competitive swimming in 1953, she became a Hall of Fame swim coach for Philadelphia's Vesper Boat Club from 1955–68 and coached the Women's Team at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. Recognized as one of the most outstanding women coaches of her era, in 1964 she was the first woman to be recommended as an American Olympic coach but declined the nomination, believing a man should take the honor as they were more reliant on earning wages to live.
Mary Gray Freeman was born in Bangor, Maine, to Christine Gray and Monroe E. Freeman, a chemist who served as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps during the war. She attended Amherst High School in Massachusetts and graduated from Coolidge High School in Washington. She later studied at George Washington University from around 1950-1954, while continuing to pursue her competitive swimming through clubs, as George Washington had no women's swim team at the time.
Kelly began swimming in the Walter Reed Army Hospital pool in Washington as her father, a chemist, was on the staff. Her competitive career began around 1948, aged 15. She started 6 a.m. swim sessions with the Walter Reed Swim Club under Coach Jim Campbell, who was also a physical therapist at the hospital. Campbell would later coach swimmers at the University of Pennsylvania as would Mary. In 1952, Freeman made the U.S. Olympic team bound for Helsinki. Recognized as an attractive American athletic champion with a Hollywood connection through her husband, she held a measure of celebrity status and appeared on the cover of Life Magazine on July 23, 1951.
In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, she finished ninth in the women's 100-meter backstroke, placing ninth overall with a time of 1:18.0, and did not qualify for the finals.
Freeman won the backstroke competition in the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the 1951 AAU outdoor championships. That year she also captured AAU 200-yard indoor backstroke title. In 1953, one of her best years, she won three additional AAU competitions; the 330-yard outdoor medley relay, the 880 yard outdoor freestyle relay, and the indoor 300 yard individual medley.
She was proficient in each of the three swim strokes at the time and in January 1952, set a national record in the 150-yard individual medley consisting of back, breast, and freestyle, at a District AAU Meet in York, Pennsylvania. Her proficiency in all three strokes would be an advantage as a future swim coach.
After retiring from competitive swimming, Freeman married Olympic rowing bronze medalist John B. Kelly Jr., the brother of movie actress Grace Kelly, on March 4, 1954. Both she and Kelly participated in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and had met there. Freeman and Kelly had six children; she sued for divorce in 1968. She later married Professor Alan Spitzer of the University of Iowa in late May, 1981, and lived in Iowa City, Iowa.
She went on to become a renowned swimming coach after retiring from competitive swimming around 1953. In 1955, she established one of the first all-women swim teams in the country, which she named Vesper Boat Club. She picked the name as it was the same as the rowing team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for which her husband John was competing.
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Mary Freeman (swimmer)
Mary Gray Freeman (born October 30, 1933), also known by her former married name Mary Kelly, as Mary Freeman Kelly and by her subsequent married name Mary Spitzer, is an American former swimmer who represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland in the 100-meter backstroke. After leaving competitive swimming in 1953, she became a Hall of Fame swim coach for Philadelphia's Vesper Boat Club from 1955–68 and coached the Women's Team at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. Recognized as one of the most outstanding women coaches of her era, in 1964 she was the first woman to be recommended as an American Olympic coach but declined the nomination, believing a man should take the honor as they were more reliant on earning wages to live.
Mary Gray Freeman was born in Bangor, Maine, to Christine Gray and Monroe E. Freeman, a chemist who served as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps during the war. She attended Amherst High School in Massachusetts and graduated from Coolidge High School in Washington. She later studied at George Washington University from around 1950-1954, while continuing to pursue her competitive swimming through clubs, as George Washington had no women's swim team at the time.
Kelly began swimming in the Walter Reed Army Hospital pool in Washington as her father, a chemist, was on the staff. Her competitive career began around 1948, aged 15. She started 6 a.m. swim sessions with the Walter Reed Swim Club under Coach Jim Campbell, who was also a physical therapist at the hospital. Campbell would later coach swimmers at the University of Pennsylvania as would Mary. In 1952, Freeman made the U.S. Olympic team bound for Helsinki. Recognized as an attractive American athletic champion with a Hollywood connection through her husband, she held a measure of celebrity status and appeared on the cover of Life Magazine on July 23, 1951.
In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, she finished ninth in the women's 100-meter backstroke, placing ninth overall with a time of 1:18.0, and did not qualify for the finals.
Freeman won the backstroke competition in the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the 1951 AAU outdoor championships. That year she also captured AAU 200-yard indoor backstroke title. In 1953, one of her best years, she won three additional AAU competitions; the 330-yard outdoor medley relay, the 880 yard outdoor freestyle relay, and the indoor 300 yard individual medley.
She was proficient in each of the three swim strokes at the time and in January 1952, set a national record in the 150-yard individual medley consisting of back, breast, and freestyle, at a District AAU Meet in York, Pennsylvania. Her proficiency in all three strokes would be an advantage as a future swim coach.
After retiring from competitive swimming, Freeman married Olympic rowing bronze medalist John B. Kelly Jr., the brother of movie actress Grace Kelly, on March 4, 1954. Both she and Kelly participated in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and had met there. Freeman and Kelly had six children; she sued for divorce in 1968. She later married Professor Alan Spitzer of the University of Iowa in late May, 1981, and lived in Iowa City, Iowa.
She went on to become a renowned swimming coach after retiring from competitive swimming around 1953. In 1955, she established one of the first all-women swim teams in the country, which she named Vesper Boat Club. She picked the name as it was the same as the rowing team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for which her husband John was competing.
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