CALTECH STUDENT HISTORY NOTES
OLYMPICS
Glenn Graham earned a silver medal in the pole vault at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, France, contributing to the United States team's 32 total medals in athletics. He continued his Caltech career as captain of the 1926 squad which tied Occidental College for the SCIAC Championship – the Beavers' first in any sport. The year prior, he led the Beavers to an undefeated dual meet record while clearing what still ranks as the sixth-highest bar in program history at 13 feet, 2 7/8 inches.
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| Glenn Graham, silver medalist at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris | ||
Phil Conley attended Caltech where he played baseball, basketball, and football, in addition to track. He graduated with a BS degree in mechanical engineering. He won the 1956 NCAA title in the javelin throw, after finishing fifth in 1955. At the AAU meet, he finished in the top six 9 of 10 years from 1956-1965, missing only 1963, with best finishes of third in 1958-60. He was a member of the 1956 US Summer Olympic team in Melbourne, Australia, where he competed in the men's javelin throw. He was silver medalist in the javelin at the 1959 Pan American Games. He had a personal best throw in 1964 of 260ft 2in. Phil Conley remained active in track & field throughout his life, serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford.
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| Phil Conley, member of the 1956 US Olympic team. |
Betsy Mitchell, Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation at Caltech was a competitive swimmer for over 10 years. She was a seven-time individual NCAA Champion in the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes and the 200-yard individual medley, holding the American record for both backstroke events for many years and the world record in the 100-yard event. She earned an Olympic silver medal as a high school athlete by placing second in the 100-meter backstroke, and also winning a gold medal as a member of the 400-meter medley relay in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. She earned another Olympic medal after helping the 400-meter medley relay team to a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. In between Olympics, she set the world record in the 200-meter backstroke at the 1986 World Championships, a record that stood for five years. Prior to her appointment as the Director of Athletics at Caltech in 2011, Mitchell served as the director of athletics and recreation at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.
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| Betsy Mitchell, 1984 US Olympic silver and gold medallist. |
Last updated 4/10/04.
Christopher E. Brennen