{ "id": "ep98mb3sbx", "slug": "kathy-ellis", "title": "Kathy Ellis", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play" }, { "id": "play.individual", "label": "Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual" }, { "id": "play.individual.water", "label": "Water sports", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.water" }, { "id": "play.individual.water.swimming.people", "label": "Swimmers (biographies and medalists)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.water.swimming.people" }, { "id": "play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers", "label": "Freestyle swimmers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers" }, { "id": "play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers", "label": "American freestylers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers" }, { "id": "play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers.mid-century-freestyle-swimmers", "label": "Mid-century freestyle swimmers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers.mid-century-freestyle-swimmers" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers.mid-century-freestyle-swimmers", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Mid-century freestyle swimmers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers.mid-century-freestyle-swimmers", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play.individual", "label": "Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play.individual" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water", "label": "Water sports", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people", "label": "Swimmers (biographies and medalists)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers", "label": "Freestyle swimmers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers", "label": "American freestylers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers.mid-century-freestyle-swimmers", "label": "Mid-century freestyle swimmers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers.mid-century-freestyle-swimmers" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Kathy Ellis (Kathleen Ellis, later Landgraf, Greer), American swimmer born 1946 in Indianapolis, Riviera Club; won 2 gold and 2 bronze medals in four events at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and held the 100 m butterfly world record.", "snippet": "Kathy Ellis (Kathleen Ellis, later Landgraf, Greer), American swimmer born 1946 in Indianapolis, Riviera Club; won 2 gold and 2 bronze medals in four events at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and held the 100 m butterfly world record.", "node": "play.individual.water.swimming.people.freestyle-swimmers.american-freestylers.mid-century-freestyle-swimmers", "markdown": "# Kathy Ellis\n\n**Kathy Ellis** (Kathleen \"Kathy\" Ellis, later Landgraf and Greer) is an American former competition swimmer who won four medals, two gold and two bronze, at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, taking a medal in every event she swam.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011) Born in 1946 in [Indianapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/indianapolis), Indiana, she competed for the Riviera Club and was a world record holder in the 100-meter butterfly and in both Olympic relays.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Born | 1946, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; 169 cm / 59 kg; club, Riviera Club[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011) |\n| 1964 Olympics | Gold, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay; bronze, 100 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011) |\n| World records | 4 in long course: 100 m butterfly (1:06.5, 16 August 1963, High Point), 4 × 100 m freestyle relay (4:03.8, Tokyo 1964), and 4 × 100 m medley relay (4:34.6, Los Angeles 1964; 4:33.9, Tokyo 1964)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011) |\n| 1963 Pan American Games | Gold, 100 m butterfly; bronze, 100 m freestyle, at São Paulo[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011) |\n| National titles | 4 AAU national championships in the 100-yard and 100-meter butterfly, plus 7 American records[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/) |\n| First national title | 100-yard butterfly, 1961, at age 14[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/) |\n| After swimming | Indiana University graduate; coached the Riviera team from 1977 and the Butler University men's team[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/) |\n\n## Early swimming\n\nEllis grew up in Indianapolis, where she and her sister Maddie began swimming with the Indianapolis Athletic Club in elementary school. She was a freestyler and butterflyer who performed equally well in both strokes.[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/)\n\n**Early success.** At 13 she reached the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials in Detroit, where she finished tenth in the 100-meter butterfly and missed the eight-person final. In 1961, at age 14, she won her first national championship in the 100-yard butterfly.[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/)\n\n## 1963 breakthrough\n\n1963 was her breakout year internationally. At the [Pan American Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/pan-american-games) in São Paulo, Brazil, she won the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly and the bronze in the 100-meter freestyle.[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/) At the U.S. Nationals that same year she set the world record for the 100-meter butterfly at 1:06.5, a mark listed by Olympedia as set on 16 August 1963 in High Point and standing until 1 September 1963.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011) • [2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/)\n\n## 1964 Tokyo Olympics\n\nAt the Games, as a 17-year-old, she medaled in all four of her events.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011)\n\n**Relay golds.** She swam the butterfly leg of the medley relay and anchored the freestyle relay, and both finals produced world records. The freestyle relay, with Stouder, Lillian \"Pokey\" Watson, and [Donna de Varona](https://www.edgepedia.org/donna-de-varona), set a world record of 4:03.8 on 15 October 1964; the medley relay, with [Cathy Ferguson](https://www.edgepedia.org/cathy-ferguson), Cynthia Goyette, and Stouder, set 4:33.9 on 18 October 1964.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011)\n\n**Individual bronzes.** In the 100-meter butterfly final, Stouder led from the start and won in 1:04.7, bettering [Ada Kok](https://www.edgepedia.org/ada-kok)'s world record, with the Dutch record holder second in 1:05.6 and Ellis third in 1:06.0.[3](https://olympedia-pro.t5tyuwenpa.eu-west-1.elasticbeanstalk.com/results/5804) In the 100-meter freestyle she was only the seventh fastest qualifier, but took third place from an outside lane, finishing in 1:00.8.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011) Her four medals placed her among the most successful competitors of the Tokyo Games, alongside [Don Schollander](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-schollander), Věra Čáslavská, Yukio Endo, and [Sharon Stouder](https://www.edgepedia.org/sharon-stouder).[4](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/16)\n\n## Later career\n\nEllis retired from competition after the Olympics to enroll at [Indiana University](https://www.edgepedia.org/indiana-university), where she graduated without having competed for the school's swimming team, since women's varsity sports did not then exist on the campus.[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/) • [5](https://www.hoosierhistorylive.com/mail/2016-08-06.html) She returned to the sport in 1977 as coach of the Riviera team, taking over after the death of [Gene Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-lee), and later held the coaching position for the men's team at [Butler University](https://www.edgepedia.org/butler-university), a post held by few women in a Division I school.[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/) She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[2](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Kathy Ellis, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011)\n2. [Kathy Ellis, International Swimming Hall of Fame](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-kathy-ellis/)\n3. [100 metres Butterfly, Women, Olympedia](https://olympedia-pro.t5tyuwenpa.eu-west-1.elasticbeanstalk.com/results/5804)\n4. [1964 Summer Olympics Overview, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/16)\n5. [Hoosier History Live newsletter, 6 August 2016](https://www.hoosierhistorylive.com/mail/2016-08-06.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Water sports › Swimmers (biographies and medalists) › Freestyle swimmers › American freestylers › Mid-century freestyle swimmers*\n\n*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-ellis", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-ellis.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Kathy Ellis\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-ellis. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Kathy Ellis](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-ellis)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-ellis](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-ellis). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Kathy Ellis\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-ellis. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Kathy Ellis, American swimmer born 1946 in Indianapolis, Riviera Club; won 2 gold and 2 bronze medals in four events at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and held the 100 m butterfly world record." }