Patty Kempner

Who is Patty Kempner?

Patricia Kempner is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.

On April 27, 1957, she became the first woman to set an official world record in the 200-meter individual medley, clocking 2:48.2 at a swim meet in Chicago, Illinois. The record would survive for over a year.

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, she won a gold medal by swimming the breaststroke leg for the first-place U.S. team in the women's 4x100-meter medley relay, together with teammates Lynn Burke, Carolyn Schuler, and Chris von Saltza. The U.S medley relay team set a new world record in the event final of 4:41.1. Individually, she also competed in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, finishing seventh in the event final.