Brenda Helser
Quick Facts
Biography
Brenda Mersereau Helser (born May 26, 1924), later known by her married name Brenda Helser de Morelos, is an American former competition swimmer who won a gold medal in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. A graduate of Stanford University, de Morelos grew up in Oregon where her swim coach was International Swimming Hall of Fame member Jack Cody. Along with fellow 1948 Olympians Suzanne Zimmerman and Nancy Merki, Helser was part of the Multnomah Athletic Club team dubbed "Cody's Kids" that from 1939 to 1948, won 58 individual national swimming titles and three national team swimming championships.
After her retirement from competition swimming, Helser married the Comte de Morelos, a French nobleman, and became the Comtesse de Morelos y Guerrero. She is a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.