View source for Kathy Ellis

{{Short description|American swimmer (born 1946)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{similar names|Catherine Ellis (disambiguation){{!}}Catherine Ellis}}
{{Infobox swimmer
| name           = Kathy Ellis
| image          = Kathy Ellis, 1964.jpg
| image_size     = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| alt            =
| caption        = Ellis at 17 at the Tokyo Olympics in September, 1964
| fullname       = Kathleen Ellis
| nicknames      = "Kathy"
| national_team  = United States
| strokes        = [[Butterfly stroke|Butterfly]], [[freestyle swimming|freestyle]]
| club           = Indianapolis Athletic Club (IAC)<br>Riviera Swim Club (RSC)
| coach          = Gene Lee (IAC, RSC)<br>[[Peter Daland]] '64 Olympics<br>[[James Counsilman]] 
| collegeteam    = 
| birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1946|11|28|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], U.S.
| spouse         = Carl John Hood<br>Douglas Landsgraf
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = {{convert|5|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}
| weight         = {{convert|130|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Women's swimming}}
{{MedalCountry | the United States}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Tokyo]] | [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay|4x100 m medley]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Tokyo]] | [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Women's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay|4x100 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Tokyo]] | [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre butterfly|100 m butterfly]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Tokyo]] | [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre freestyle|100 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1963 Pan American Games|1963 São Paulo]] | [[Swimming at the 1963 Pan American Games|100 m butterfly]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1963 Pan American Games|1963 São Paulo]] | [[Swimming at the 1963 Pan American Games|100 m freestyle]]}}
}}

'''Kathleen Ellis,''' (born November 28, 1946), also known by her married names '''Kathy Hood''' and '''Kathy Landsgraf''' is an American former competition [[swimming (sport)|swimmer]] for the Riviera Swim Club, a 1964 Tokyo Olympic champion in the 4x100-meter freestyle and medley relay events, and a former world record-holder in three events.  Graduating Indiana University in 1968 with a degree in Nursing, she later married, and coached swimming at the Riviera Club replacing her former coach Gene Lee.  She also coached at [[Butler University]], where Lee had coached, and later at [[Wabash College]].<ref name=ISHOF/><ref name=IU/>

== Early swimming ==
Ellis was born on November 26, 1946 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Mr. and Mrs. Donald Ellis, who were avid golfers and able athletes and wanted Kathy and her sister Maddie to learn to swim competently while they enjoyed their own avocation.  Kathy and her sister swam first with the Indianapolis Athletic Club (IAC) beginning in elementary school. Ellis's Coach Gene Lee began working at the IAC around 1956.  When Coach Lee left the IAC for the Riviera Club in 1962, Kathy and her sister followed.<ref name=IU>{{cite web|url=https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2021/6/17/womens-swimming-and-diving-who-knew-kathy-ellis-one-of-ius-best-from-pre-title-ix-era|title=Indiana University, June 17, 2021, Women's Swimming and Diving, Kathy Ellis One Of IU's Best From Pre-Title IX Era|website=iuhoosiers.com|access-date=27 November 2024}}</ref>  Lee became an [[American Swimming Coaches Association]] Hall of Fame honoree.  An outstanding program, Lee coached the Riviera Club from 1962-1977 mentoring four Pan American and Olympic participants in his career.<ref name=Lee>{{cite web|url=https://swimmingcoach.org/page/HOFgenelee|title=ASCAA Hall of Fame, Gene Lee|website=swimmingcoach.org|access-date=27 November 2024}}</ref>  As a young swimmer, at only 14, Kathy took her first National Championship in the 100-yard butterfly in 1961.<ref name=Home/>  At the 1963 U.S. Nationals, she set a new world record mark for the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:06.5.<ref name=ISHOF/>

== 1960 Olympic trials ==
At only 13 at her first U.S. Olympic Trials in Detroit, Michigan in 1960, she did not advance out of the preliminaries, yet finished tenth in the 100-meter butterfly event, just missing the eight person final round.<ref name=IU/>

Ellis captured a bronze medal at the 1963 Summer Pan American Games in Sao Paulo, in the 100-meter butterfly, and a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle.<ref name=Olympedia>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011|title=Olympedia Bio, Kathy Ellis|website=olympedia.org|access-date=27 November 2024}}</ref>

==1964 Tokyo Olympics==
Ellis qualified for the 1964 Olympics at the Trials in Astoria pool, in Queens, New York, on August 29, 1964, after swimming a time of 1:00.4 in the 100-meter freestyle, placing second only .1 seconds behind [[Sharon Stouder]], the reigning world record holder in the event.  Ellis's time was below the listed American record.  He sister Maddie missed making the U.S. team by one-tenth of a second.  Maddie Ellis would later win a gold medal at the 1967 World University Games.<ref>"Riviera", ''The Indianapolis Star'', Indianapolis, Indiana, 20 February 1983, pg. 130</ref><ref name=IU/><ref>"Riviera's Kathy Ellis in Olympics", ''The Indianapolis Star'', Indianapolis, Indiana, 30 August 1964, pg. 56</ref> The Head Women's Coach for the 1964 Olympics was [[Peter Daland]], who coached the swim teams at the [[Los Angeles Athletic Club]] and the [[University of Southern California]], and worked with Ellis and the U.S. Women's Olympic team during their pre-Olympic training in Los Angeles and later in Tokyo.<ref name=coaches>{{cite web|url=https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/eventsdocuments/rosters/olympics/olympic-coaches-historic.pdf|title=Historical U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Head Coaches (1924-present)|website=usaswimming.org|access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref>

After qualifying in the trials, Ellis represented the United States as a 17-year-old at the October [[1964 Summer Olympics|Olympics]] in Tokyo, Japan.  She won two gold medals as a member of the winning U.S. teams in the [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Women's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay|women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay]] and [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay|women's 4×100-meter medley relay]], with both events setting new world records.  Individually, she also received two bronze medals for her third-place finishes in the [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre freestyle|women's 100-meter freestyle]] with a time of 1:00.8 and the [[Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre butterfly|women's 100-meter butterfly]] with a time of 1:06.0.<ref name=sroprofile>Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417090421/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/el/kathy-ellis-1.html  Kathy Ellis].  Retrieved March 16, 2015.</ref>  

In the 400-meter freestyle relay, Ellis swam anchor and teamed with [[Sharon Stouder]], [[Lillian Watson|Lillian "Pokey" Watson]], and [[Donna de Varona]].<ref name=Home>"Williams, Bob, Olympic Swim Champion Home", ''The Indianapolis Star'', Indianapolis, Indiana, 25 October 1964, pg. 59</ref> The 4x100-meter medley relay consisted of [[Cathy Ferguson]], [[Cynthia Goyette]], and [[Sharon Stouder]], with Ellis swimming anchor.  Their world record time was 4:33.9. On the breaststroke leg of the medley relay the Soviet team had a slight lead, but American team mate Sharon Stouder opened a 2 1/2 length lead in her butterfly leg, and Ellis was able to maintain the lead on the final leg to capture the gold medal.<ref name=Olympedia/>  

===Indiana University===
After the Olympics, Ellis attended [[Indiana University]], graduating in 1969 with a major in Nursing.  She was active in the national sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta.<ref name=Wedding/>  She did not compete as a swimmer, but did train for a period.<ref name=ISHOF/>  Women's scholarships were not available at the time, and Ellis was not interested in Synchronized swimming, the only women's swimming team available at Indiana at the time.<ref name=IU/>

While at Indiana University, Ellis remained in training and competition for a few years, and was managed by Indiana's Hall of Fame Coach [[James Counsilman|James "Doc" Counsilman]].  She married shortly after college and became Kathy Ellis Hood.<ref>"Adams, Leroy, More and More Women Are Coaching Men's Teams", ''The Terre Haute Tribune'', Terre Haute, Indiana, 27 November 1977, pg. 37</ref>

Shortly after graduating Indiana University, Kathy married Carl John Hood on the evening of Thursday, July 3, 1969, at [[Meridian Street United Methodist Church]] in Indianapolis. Hood was a graduate of Butler University, where Kathy would later coach.  Kathy's sister Madeline Ellis, an accomplished competitive swimmer who had trained with Kathy, was Maid of Honor.  A reception was held at the Riviera Club, where Kathy had trained as a swimmer, and would later coach swimming.<ref name=Wedding>"Miss Kathleen Ellis Married to Carl John Hood", ''The Indianapolis Star'', 4 July 1969, pg. 12</ref>  In the late 1970's, Kathy later married Doug Landsgraf who was coaching swimming at Butler College, and also coached soccer.<ref>"Alkire, Jack, 64 Olympic Swimmer Knows What U.S. Athletes Will Miss", ''Journal and Courier'', Lafayette, Indiana, 8 February 1980, pg. 6</ref>

===Honors===
Ellis was inducted into the [[International Swimming Hall of Fame]] as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1991.<ref name=ISHOF>{{cite web |url=http://www.ishof.org/kathy-ellis-(usa).html |title=Kathy Ellis (USA) |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=[[International Swimming Hall of Fame]] |access-date=March 16, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135140/http://www.ishof.org/kathy-ellis-(usa).html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

She was voted "Woman of the Year", in 1965 by Theta Sigma Phi professional fraternity for women in journalism.<ref name=Wedding/>

Though she did not compete for Indiana University, she was honored by the school on their "Wall of Fame" in August, 1982, at the newly opened Indiana Natatorium, a large modern facility. Also honored on the wall were her coach Gene Lee, who coached her at the Indianapolis Athletic Club and Riviera Club, and James "Doc" Counselman, who coached her for a short period while she was in college.  Counselman had also coached at the Indianapolis Athletic Club in the 1950's and 1960's.<ref>"Indiana Swim Olympians Named for Wall of Fame", ''The Indianapolis Star'', Indianapolis, Indiana, 8 August 1982, pg. 60</ref>

===Coaching===
Ellis coached the Riviera Swim Team, when her former Coach Gene Lee died in 1977, and also began coaching [[Butler University]] Men's swim team, a position that had formerly been held by few women, as the Division I school was highly competitive.  She became one of the few women to coach a Division 1 college team.<ref name=ISHOF/> After coaching at Butler, she had a successful head coaching position with Crawfordsville, Indiana's [[Wabash College]] men's swimming program.<ref name=IU/>

She later lived in Carmel, Indiana with her husband Doug Landsgraf and two children, a boy, and a girl, who excelled as soccer players.<ref name=ISHOF/>

==See also==
* [[List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame]]
* [[List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)]]
* [[World record progression 100 metres butterfly]]
* [[World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay]]
* [[World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/el/kathy-ellis-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417090421/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/el/kathy-ellis-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17 |title=Kathy Ellis}}
* {{webarchive |title=Kathy Ellis (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135140/http://www.ishof.org/kathy-ellis-(usa).html |date=2015-04-02 }}
* [https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2021/6/17/womens-swimming-and-diving-who-knew-kathy-ellis-one-of-ius-best-from-pre-title-ix-era Indiana University, June 17, 2021, Women's Swimming and Diving, Kathy Ellis One Of IU's Best From Pre-Title IX Era]
* [http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz0002sq35 Image of U.S. Olympic swimmers Donna deVarona and Kathy Ellis, California, 1964.] [[Los Angeles Times]] Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, [[Charles E. Young Research Library]], [[University of California, Los Angeles]].
* [https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/51011 Olympedia Biography, Kathy Ellis]

{{Footer USA Swimming 1964 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Freestyle Relay Women}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Medley Relay Women}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions 100 m Butterfly Women}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Kathy}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American swimming coaches]]
[[Category:American female butterfly swimmers]]
[[Category:American female freestyle swimmers]]
[[Category:Indiana University Bloomington alumni]]
[[Category:Butler Bulldogs coaches]]
[[Category:World record setters in swimming]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Swimmers from Indianapolis]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1963 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportswomen]]