 | The Cavalier daily Friday, April 20, 1973 |  |
Feldmann To Backstroke In World Games
By BILL BERNO
Women athletes perform in
the background at the
University, but occasionally a
member of the fairer sex
performs so well that it's
impossible to avoid publicity.
One case in point is Ellen
Feldmann, a superstar
swimmer who used to be
known only as a second-year
French major and Dean's List
student.
Now things have changed
for Ellen. She is again one of
the best backstrokers in the
nation, and was recently the
subject of a Baltimore Sun
feature.
Why all the attention?
Ellen, an old veteran at 20,
finished in the top six in two
events at the AAU Nationals
held April 4-7.
Her best race was the
200-yard backstroke, in which
she came from nowhere to
nearly beat Melissa Belote, the
Olympic triple gold medalist.
Ellen's time of 2:06.1 was
good enough to quality for the
World University Student
Games, which are scheduled
for August in Moscow.
In the 100-yard backstroke,
Ellen didn't do quite as well,
but still finished sixth with a
59.8.
Every swimmer's dream is
an Olympic gold medal, but
Ellen has missed out in two
tries for an Olympic berth. She
appeared to be certain of a
spot in the Munich team, being
ranked ahead of Belote and
nearly everyone else before the
Olympic Trials, but disaster
struck.
"I thought I had reached a
peak," she recalls, "but I didn't
even make the finals in the
Trials I was really
disappointed; every time I
think about it I get sick."
After seeing her dream
ruined, Ellen went into
"semi-retirement" until
February. Her old team, the
Knights of Columbus-Orchards
Club, asked her to swim on a
relay in the Nationals. She
consented.
"I found I was in better
shape than I thought. So I
decided to try again at the
Nationals." As they say, the
rest is history.
The 1976 Olympics? "...a
long way off, but I may want
to stick at it," she says.
| The Cavalier daily Friday, April 20, 1973 | |