Cathy Jamison

Catherine Jamison (born March 26, 1950) also known by her married name Jamison-Imwalle is an American former competition swimmer who swam for Portland's Multinomah Athletic Club and participated in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics for the United States, finishing 5th in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Early life Jamison was born in Portland, Oregon, on March 26, 1950 to Mr. and Mrs. James W. Jamison. She had three younger siblings who all competed in swimming in their youth. As a six-year old, Jamison had her first swim lesson at the outdoor pool at Portland's Jewish Community Center, but was not pleased with the experience. Determined, she returned for lessons the next summer. She attended St. Helen's Hall Elementary and Hayhurst Elementary, and began competing in swim meets while in grade school at Hayhurst. Achieving local recognition at an early age, while still at Hayhurst Elementary she was part of the girls' swimming team that won Portland's city championship in four successive years from 1959-1962.

In her youth she started at Tualatin Hills Swim club, but began training in earnest in the 1960's with former 1936 Olympic bronze medalist Olive McKean at Portland's Multinomah Athletic Club (MAC), a premier club that produced a number of Olympians. Jamison trained at MAC through High School. She was a 1967 graduate of Portland's Wilson High School where she was on the year book staff, played violin and viola, was a member of Quill and Scroll, maintained an "A" average, and was in the Mathematics honorary. Swimming for the Multinomah Athletic Club at an AAU National Meet as a 14-year-old in December 1964, Jamison broke the national age record for the 220 yard breaststroke with a time of 2:58.9. In 1965, she earned a spot at Mexico City's Little Olympics, where she took a gold medal in the 400 Individual Medley.

While swimming for the Multinomah Athletic Club at age 14, Jamison competed in the 1964 Olympic trials, but did not make the U.S. team. At the Oregon State Junior Olympics on June 27, 1964, in Springfield, Oregon, Jamison set a new National Junior Olympic record for the 100-yard breaststroke of 1:13.3, improving on the old mark by 1 second.

College Beginning around the Fall of 1967, when she started college in Santa Clara, in preparation for a potential Olympic appearance she trained with the Santa Clara Swim Club in Santa Clara, California,

1968 Summer Olympics At the 1968 Olympic trials in Los Angeles, Jamison swam a personal best of 2:48 in the 200 breaststroke in the preliminaries, then swam a 2:45 to advance to the finals. In the Trial finals she reduced her time in the 200 breaststroke to 2:42, and placed second, securing her place on the U.S. Olympic Team. Sharon Wickman of the United States team won the 200-meter breaststroke gold in 2:44.4. If Jamison had swum closer to her best Olympic Trial finals time of 2:42, she would have medaled, and could have won the gold. As a result, she was somewhat disappointed with her performance, but enjoyed participating in the Olympics. Her MAC coach Olive McKean Mucha was the official U.S. Olympic Women's swim team chaperone in Mexico City that year, and also served as an Assistant Coach to the U.S. Women's team . The couple left California's Bay Area in the early 1970's and moved to Bend, Oregon about 150 miles Southeast of Jamison's native Portland. They started a business in Bend, I&J Carpets & Vinyl Flooring, operating it for over forty years. Paul and Cathy have three children who all swam competitively. Her two daughters received swimming scholarships at University of California and Oregon State.