After having been inducted into the Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame in 2009, Reading native and 2000 Olympic silver medalist, Kristy Kowal is now being inducted into the state’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Missing the 1996 Olympic team roster by just .17, Kowal persevered to make the 2000 line-up for Team USA and wound up earning silver in the 200m breaststroke at the Sydney Olympics. Kowal was also the first American woman to win a world championship title in the 100m breaststroke when she took the gold at the 1998 meet in Perth.
In addition to her international career, Kowal was a major contributor to her University of Georgia Bulldog team earning two NCAA Championships, while also garnering NCAA swimmer of the year honors in 1999 and 2000. By the end of her collegiate career, Kowal collected an incredible 8 NCAA titles, while establishing 8 American records, culminating in her being named 2000’s NCAA Woman of the Year.
Now at age 37, Kowal is a teacher in Pennsylvania, but she doesn’t forget everyone in her past who has made her who she is today. “I came from my coaches,” she says. “They’re the ones who made my strokes the strokes that I took with me and developed me into the swimmer who was awarded a scholarship to the University of Georgia, and the University of Georgia turned me into a swimmer who became a national champion, who became an Olympic silver medalist. I think the most important thing I carried with me is never forgetting that.”
Kowal, the only female member of the 2015 Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame induction class, is being honored on Saturday, October 24th at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia.