Lynne Allsup

National 100-yard record At the Central AAU Junior Olympic Short Course Championships in Bloomington, Illinois on August 9, 1964, Allsup broke the National AAU record for the 100-yard freestyle for girls 15-17, with a record time of 55.9. She would lower the record again in 1968. She also improved on the Central AAU record for the 200-yard freestyle with a record time of 2:09, although this was not considered a National record.

World record 4x100-meter relay time On September 27, 1964, Allsup swam the lead off leg of a short-lived long course 4x100-meter freestyle relay record of 4:07.6 with the team of Allsup, Kathy Seidel, Ericka Bricker, and Terri Stickles at a pre-Olympic meet in Los Angeles California. The U.S. Olympic team was training for the October Tokyo Olympics, and would depart for Tokyo three days later. The American team had such depth that year that the American Women's 4x100-meter Olympic finals team in Tokyo would break the 4:07.6 record by 3 seconds with four different swimmers.

1964 Tokyo Olympics

At the 1964 Olympic Trials in New York on September 3, 1964, Allsup tied for third in the 100-meter freestyle finals with a time of 1:01.6, qualifying for a position on the U.S. Women's freestyle relay team. Allsup was a 15-year-old Sophomore from Bloomington High School, and two other qualifiers, Kathy Seidel at 14, and Erika Bricker at 15 were equally young. Alsup subsequently trained with other members of the U.S. team in Palo Alto, and Los Angeles prior to the Olympics. 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 Allsup and the U.S. Women's Olympic team during their training in Los Angeles and later in Tokyo.

After departing on a flight to Tokyo on September 30, Allsup represented the United States at the mid-October 1964 Summer Olympics. She swam for the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay. She swam the third leg with the 4x100 preliminary relay team of Jeanne Hallock, Erika Bricker and anchor Patience Sherman, who won their preliminary heat with a combined time of 4:12.2, qualifying the America women for the final heat. The relay finals team for the 4x100 freestyle consisted of Sharon Stouder, followed by Donna de Varona, Pokey Watson, and Kathy Ellis, who swam a noteworthy World Record time of 4:03.8. with lead off swimmer Sharon Stouder taking a commanding lead to help clinch the gold. Allsup did not receive a medal under the 1964 international swimming rules because she did not compete in the relay event final.

On August 21, 1966, while competing for the Bloomington Normal Swim Club, she swam a 1:01.8 for the 100-meter freestyle, placing 5th at the National AAU Swim Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska. The women's competition was dominated by Californians, particularly Claudia Kolb, who set a world record in the 200-meter individual medley, and Pokey Watson of the Santa Clara Swim Club, who set an American record in the 100-meter freestyle of 59.9.

Summer Universiade Returning to Japan in 1967, Allsup swam in the Summer Universiade in Toko, also known as the Student University Games, where she won a gold in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, and a silver in the 100-meter freestyle. As she did not swim year round with her college team, she lacked the conditioning to qualify for the 1968 Olympics, and did not make the U.S. team.

Later life Allsup taught High School for a few years near Midland, Michigan after graduating college. She entered Masters Swimming as therapy after knee surgery.

While training with Michigan Masters, part of United States Masters Swimming, she met her husband, Richard Olson in the early 1980's. A fellow athlete, Olson had been a marathon runner before taking up swimming. At the time of her wedding in 1985, Lynne Allsup Olson was employed by Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan. Her husband Richard had a Bachelors and Masters Degree from the University of North Dakota and worked as a teacher at Bullock Creek High School in Sanford, Michigan. The couple continued to live in Sanford about ten miles Northwest of Midland, Michigan where Lynne worked. Lynne continued working for Dow Chemical at least through 1996.

Allsup was an avid cyclist, taking trips with her husband Richard in Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and also enjoyed hiking in the Western United States and Canada. At home she greatly enjoyed gardening.