Pictures: 6 NBAC stars who reached the Olympics before Michael Phelps
Well before Michael Phelps became the most-decorated Olympian of all time, the North Baltimore Aquatic Club was producing Olympic swimmers. Patrick Kennedy, Theresa Andrews, Anita Nall, Jill Johnson, Beth Botsford and Whitney Metzler were all part of an elite group that preceded Phelps molded by then-coach Murray Stephens. Later, there were swimmers Katie Hoff and current star Allison Schmitt.
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1996 Olympic gold medalist Beth Botsford
Three Olympics after Theresa Andrews carted 100-meter backstroke and the 400 medley relay gold medals back to Baltimore, Beth Botsford repeated the performance at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta while a student at Garrison Forest School.
The Timonium native credits NBAC age-group coach Tom Himes for giving her the motivation to become an Olympian after telling him she hoped to qualify for the 2000 games.
“You need to change that to 1996,” he said. “That was the first defining moment I recall when I realized that someone had faith in me and I was going to be a part of a pretty incredible journey.”
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