Betty Brey

Elizabeth Evadna Mullen Brey (; November 23, 1931 – March 21, 2015) was an American competition swimmer who represented the United States in the 4x100 freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. In addition to marriage and raising three children, she would work as a physical therapist, physical education teacher at Chevy Chase High School, a swim instructor, and as a coach of the women's swimming team at George Washington University. She was one of five children and the only girl among four athletic male siblings, that included Thomas, Dean, Richard and Jack. Dean and Richard played High School basketball and baseball as did her younger brother Jack. In the 1960s Tom would help manage the local Lehighton Community Pool, and her brothers Thomas and Dean would attend teacher's colleges and pursue careers in Education, as would her future husband Paul.

Despite her male sibling's love of sports particularly baseball, her father Charles did not encourage her to play boys' sports, but strongly supported her interest in swimming, a sport that would greatly influence her future. The Weissport area offered few pools, and fewer clubs where she could compete. She began swimming summers at Graver's Pool in Lehighton as her father knew the owner. She took up more focused training at the Allentown YMCA one day a week, where she won a few competitions including one that included diving, and was coached by their Athletic director Dennis McGinley. New York's WSA was a legendary program that had originated many of America's first female Olympians and campaigned to allow women to swim in more Olympic events. The organization was founded by Charlotte Epstein in 1917 and in its earliest years, worked for women's suffrage.

Purdue University Brey attended Purdue University, where she was a majorette in their marching band. As was common in the 1950s, Purdue had no women's swimming team, so Betty trained with the men's team under Hall of Fame Coach Richard "Pappy" Pappenguth, and competed for the local Lafayette Swim Club, also coached by Pappenguth. At the time, Perdue had one of the most outstanding freestyle sprint programs in the country and Brey continued to improve her times under Pappenguth's skilled training.

As a College Junior she trained in the summer of 1952 to qualify as a freestyle sprinter for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, but failed to make the team. She was disappointed in her failure to qualify, particularly since her Purdue coach, Dick Papenguth was the U.S. Olympic head coach that year.

Walter Reed Army Hospital After completing her studies in physical therapy at the Brooke Army Medical Center, she obtained a transfer, and began working as a physical therapist at Washington D.C.'s Walter Reed Army Hospital. She specialized at Walter Reed working with people recovering from Polio, and amputees from the Korean War. While at Walter Reed, she began training with their exceptional swim program in the 1950s under Head Coaches Jim Campbell and after 1954, trained exclusively with Stan Tinkham, a Hall of Fame Coach, who had been an All American swimmer for the University of North Carolina. Interestingly, Shelley Mann, one of her exceptional teammates on the Walter Reed Hospital swim team, had herself recovered from childhood polio, yet would attend the 1956 Olympics with her, and win the first gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly event. Mary Jane Sears was another Walter Reed teammate who would also medal at the 1956 Olympics.

Taking time off from Walter Reed in the summer of 1955, Brey went on an American Athletic Union tour giving butterfly exhibitions in Greece, Turkey, Germany and Italy. Brey was discharged from the Army in August 1955, and began work that Fall as a High School teacher in physical education at Chevy Chase High School. In April 1956, her best time in the 100-yard butterfly was 1:05.4 set in the 1955 Nationals.

At the Melbourne Olympics, Brey swam for the silver medal-winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay. She was not eligible to receive a medal under the 1956 Olympic swimming rules, however, because she did not swim in the relay final. The Women's team was coached by her Walter Reed Swim Coach Stan Tinkham that year and took six of the combined eleven medals won by the U.S. Men's and Women's teams. Several of her Walter Reed team mates made the team and medaled that year.

Later life In 1964, Brey taught clinics and served as a swim and water ballet instructor at Chevy Chase, Maryland's Columbia Country Club, and served as an official at the 1964 Olympic trails in Long Island, New York. Brey accepted a position as the women's swim coach at George Washington University from 1978-1982. In January 1980 season working under Athletic Director Lynne George, she had had three swimmers and one diver on scholarship at George Washington, but had plans to increase the scholarships awarded to 12 in swimming and 3 in diving in the upcoming 1980 season.

Swimming for District of Columbia Masters in August, 1975, she won the 100-meter longcourse Master's freestyle event at the University of Tennessee and the 200 backstroke competition in a time of 34.7. Continuing to swim for recreation and fitness, she swam and trained with United States Masters Swimming, where she competed into her eighties. daughter Brenda was a swimmer at Louisiana State University and a physical education teacher and son Shane Brey was the Founder and inventor of 360 Hoops and worked in sports marketing at the University of Central Florida.

Honors She was a member of the Alumni Relations Board of U.S.A. Swimming, and received the honor of membership in Purdue University's Athletic Hall of Fame. She and her husband were both honoraries of the Carbon County Sports Hall of Fame, and she was made a "Graduate of Distinction" by the Lehighton Education & Athletic Foundation. As a local tribute in September 2017, a statue was constructed in Weissport Park, in her hometown.

Brey died March 21, 2015, at her home in Lake Mary, Florida, in greater Orlando, of a heart attack; she was 83 years old.