Super models? Do we care?
Yes. We. Do.
Super models, whether we want to admit it or not, retain real estate in our brains. We know them. We really don’t have a choice. They’re digitally shot out of the fashion media cannon and plastered everywhere on the web. That’s the world we live in.
As a swim-mom, I don’t necessarily like the image models send our daughters. Less than a fraction of a percentage of us have model-esque bodies. We look like normal women, have normal bodies with all sorts of proportions.
I do, however, appreciate seeing models who look fit instead of skinny. Interestingly, the three models profiled here are fit, and, surprise, they swam!
Molly Sims hails from Murray, Kentucky. By all accounts she was earthy and athletic, putting her time in the pool. A hardcore swimmer, she trained year-round for over a decade. As a model, she’s done it all. Aside from her Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Covers and her CoverGirl contract, she’s hosted MTV’s House of Style and has acted in several films; Starkey & Hutch, The Benchwarmers, Yes Man and Fired Up.
Hilary Rhoda, born and raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland, was a nice Catholic schoolgirl. She was well rounded, a strong student and always athletic. Hilary gravitated to sports with an edge, hinting at a strong competitive streak: field hockey, lacrosse, and swimming. With a long frame, broad shoulders and developed lats, Hilary’s figure doesn’t lie. She put her laps in the pool and will benefit from that training for the rest of her life. In addition to being a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, Hilary has worked the runway for designers Marc Jacobs, Versace, Donna Karen and Ralph Lauren, to only name a few.
 BELOW: Kim Alexis in her heyday.
Kim Alexis, our most decorated competitive swimmer, grew up in upstate New York. She swam for over twelve years, and lead her high school swim team to an undefeated season her senior year. At New York State High School Championships, she won in her best event, the butterfly. We, of course, remember Kim as the face of the Sport Illustrated Swimsuit issues back in 1980s, but she was also the face of Revlon, starred in Holy Man with Eddie Murphy, and appeared in the famed last episode of Cheers, which was seen by 42.5 million people, the second largest audience ever for a half-hour comedy.
Thanks, Chris. I actually spoke with Ray Looze about Tim, got some more background there. The interesting thing about launching a feature like this is swimmers come out of the woodwork with info, old heat sheets and new people to profile. We’ve already gotten a few good leads… A lot interesting people swam!
I tried looking for a history of NY State Champs, but couldn’t find one. Some states (Texas, Indiana, Illinois) keep better records.
I tried! I actually looked at 1986 Orlando SCY Nationals and got confused because I didnt see Timothy Olyphant in the finals When you follow the reference on his wikipedia page, its an article about him making the meet, and how he had to shave down to make it and wouldn’t shave again. He was 1:54.08 and missed the final by a lot. He did consol at SCY Nats in 1987 with a 1:51.9.
As for these other girls, without them making national meets like Olyphant its almost impossible to dig up.
“Hilary Rhoda, born and raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland, was a nice Catholic schoolgirl”
You mean, she’s not a nice Catholic schoolgirl now? Well, I am intrigued.
Chris….we need your research! 🙂
You know what these writeups are really missing? Times. How fast was Molly Sims?