Mary Sears

Mary Jane (née Sears) Parks (born May 10, 1939) is an American former competition swimmer and 1956 Olympic Bronze medalist. Swim training Mary Jane began swimming around the age of five, then competed in age group meets at country clubs. By thirteen, she was seriously training at the Walter Reed Swim Club's 40-yard pool at Washington Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. At Walter Reed, she was coached by James Campbell, who would later coach at the University of Pennsylvania, and become an Olympic coach for the U.S. team in 1964. Between 1954-57, she competed in six National meets and became the National breast stroke champion in all the competitive distances. In her peak years of training, she would run up to two miles, do weight training, sit-ups for her core, and complete five 2 1/2 hour swim training sessions per week with a 3 and 4 hour swim sessions on weekends. Prior to a national meet, she often trained three sessions a day, completing 5-10 miles in each session. After retiring from competition, she conducted clinics and presented exhibitions. 1956 Olympics In August 1956, while swimming for Walter Reed Swim Club, she broke her own 200 meter National Breaststroke record with a time of 2:58.2 at the Olympic Swimming trials in Detroit.