Sylvia Ruuska
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Elina Ruuska (born July 4, 1942) is a retired medley
and freestyle
swimmer from the United States
, who won two Olympic medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics
in Melbourne, Australia when she was aged fourteen. She captured silver with the women's relay team in the 4x100 m freestyle and bronze in the individual 400 m freestyle. On June 27, 1958 she became the first woman to set an official world record in the 400 m individual medley, clocking 5:46.6 at a swimming meet in Los Angeles, California
. She is of Finnish origin.
Medley swimming
Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay...
and freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
swimmer from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who won two Olympic medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne, Australia when she was aged fourteen. She captured silver with the women's relay team in the 4x100 m freestyle and bronze in the individual 400 m freestyle. On June 27, 1958 she became the first woman to set an official world record in the 400 m individual medley, clocking 5:46.6 at a swimming meet in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. She is of Finnish origin.
External links
- Sylvia Ruuska biography and Olympic results, from http://www.sports-reference.com/.