Sharon Wichman

Sharon Lynn Wichman (born May 13, 1952), also known by her married name Sharon Jones, is an American former competition swimmer and 1968 Olympic champion in the breaststroke.

Early age group swimming Sharon's family left Detroit when she was young, and she swam for a while in Toledo, Ohio. One of her earliest age group coaches was Coach Glen Hummer who coached at the YMCA in Huntington, near Fort Wayne. Besides Sharon, Hummer had also taught swimming technique to Hall of Fame Coach George Haines.

Club Olympia At eleven, Sharon started swimming for Fort Wayne's Club Olympia in Fort Wayne, Indiana, coached by Don Carter, and then by her Olympic trainer, and world-renowned Coach Steven Hunyadfi. By 16, prepping for the Olympics, Sharon would practice up to four hours a day, and swim up to 13,000 yards or seven miles a day.

'68 Indiana Junior Olympics

Sharon bested a few breaststroke records prepping for the 68 Olympics. In the Spring of '68, she won the 200-yard breaststroke and was second in the 100 at the Pittsburgh Indoor National meet, though she lacked a world record.

'68 Summer Olympic medals While a Junior at Snider High School, in her most noteworthy performance she represented the United States as a 16-year-old at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, having qualified to compete in both breaststroke events.

Sharon benefitted from the training she received at the Olympic training camp in Colorado Springs in preparation for the altitude in Mexico City, and believed she was inspired by Olympic Coach Frank Elm.

Bronze medal She also received a bronze medal for her third place in the women's 100-meter breaststroke (1:16.1), finishing less than two seconds behind gold medalist Bjedov (1:15.8) and only two-tenths of a second behind Soviet swimmer Galina Prozumenshchikova (1:15.9).

Post-Olympic competition Continuing to swim, in July 1969, she competed in the Santa Clara International Invitational, one of the top international meets of the year, at the Santa Clara Swim Center in Santa Clara, California. Continuing successful competition in 1969, she won the 100-meter breaststroke title in the national short course championship and was able to place in the top three in most subsequent national competitions. She later took international titles at Bremen, Germany in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke.

Later life She graduated from college, married David Jones in 1973, and lived in nearby Churubusco, Indiana. The couple had two sons. As a result of a strong Baptist faith, after years of disciplined spending and cautious informed investments, Sharon and her husband David Jones started giving generous donations to a number of organizations, particularly her favorite, a Prison Fellowship. She also has worked driving a school bus to serve her community and give her time with children.

Honors She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1991.