Olympic silver medalist Susan Zimmerman has died at the age of 95 years old.
Zimmerman represented the United States at the 1948 Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:16.0. She was also one of the country’s top athletes prior to the 1944 Olympic Games, which were ultimately canceled due to World War II.
Over the course of her swimming career, Zimmerman competed for the Multnomah Athletic Club in Oregon under International Swimming Hall of Fame coach Jack Cody. Under Cody, Zimmerman was a member of the group known as “Cody’s Kids”, which included fellow 1948 Olympians Brenda Helser and Nancy Merki. The group won 58 individual national swimming titles and three national team swimming championships.
Zimmerman won a total of 15 AAU National Swimming Championship titles across both the backstroke and freestyle events. Over a 6 year span, Zimmerman won 7 of those titles, breaking the record for the most AAU swimming titles over that span of time.
For her successful career, Zimmerman was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. The museum honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon.
After her retirement from swimming, Zimmerman attended Willamette University and married Gordon Edwards. The couple raised two children together.