Carol Taylor, 1948 U.S. Olympian and Longtime Coach, Dies at 96

Carol Taylor, a 1948 Olympian who competed under her maiden name, Penny Pence, died on November 4 at the age of 96. In addition to her own successes in the pool, Taylor was an accomplished coach with almost a century in the sport.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 11, 1929, Taylor competed for Lafayette Swim Club, where she swam while attending Purdue University. Over the course of her career, she was a six-time National Champion and held American records in the 100, 200, and 250m breaststroke.

Taylor qualified to represent Team USA in the 200 breast at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, the first Olympics to feature an indoor pool. She placed 22nd with a time of 3:28.1 (hundredths weren’t factored into publicized times until 1972).

She went on to win two international medals at the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, the inaugural edition of the meet: gold in the 4×100 medley relay and bronze in the 200 breast (3:14.7).

One of the Oldest Living Olympians

Taylor was the 131st Oldest Living Olympian and 13th oldest American Olympian at the time of her death, according to the Oldest Living Olympians Project. She was the only living member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic Swim Team and one of only three living members of the 1948 U.S Summer Olympic Swim Team.

Herb Barten and George Stanich are the two remaining members. They both competed in athletics.

After her swimming career, Taylor hung up her goggles and exchanged them for a stopwatch, spending 35 years coaching in the St. Louis area.

Taylor led the Ferguson-Ritenour YMCA Team to three National Women’s Team Championships and coached the Parkway Swim Club, which accumulated double-digit state and district team titles. Her most notable athlete was five-time Olympic champion Tom Jager, whom she coached both during his developmental years and when he came home for summer breaks from UCLA.

On the organizational side, Taylor worked as “Team Leader” for USA Swimming at the 1984 and 1992 Olympics, “Head Manager” for the 1986 and 1991 World Championships, “Volunteer Deck Marshal” at the 1996 Olympics, and “Chef de Mission” for all aquatic sports at the 1994-2013 World Championships.

Taylor was the first woman elected to the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) Board of Directors and served as secretary of the Olympic International Operations Committee of USA Swimming for 24 years. She received the United States Swimming Award in 1999, was inducted into the Purdue Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 2005, earned the Paragon Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2012, and was inducted into the ASCA Hall of Fame in 2013.