Quick Facts
Biography
Nancy Jane Ramey (born June 29, 1940), later known by her married name Nancy Lethcoe, is an American former competition swimmer, 1956 Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in two events.After the Olympics, Ramey earned her doctorate and became a college instructor, environmental activist and political candidate.
Biography
Ramey was born in Seattle and grew up on Mercer Island, Washington.At time of the 1956 Olympics, she was a student at Mercer Island High School.
As a 16-year-old, Ramey represented the United States at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, where she won a silver medal in the 100 meter butterfly event.In 1958 she set two world records in the 100 m and one in the 200 m butterfly; the same year she won five American and one Canadian national title. In 1959 she won a silver medal in the 100 m butterfly at the Pan American Games.
Later Ramey graduated from the University of Washington and earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin. In the 1970s she worked as an assistant professor of religious studies at Stanford University. After that she organized Alaskan wilderness safaris, together with her husband Jim Lethcoe.
