If you’re anything like us, you have been eagerly consuming everything Olympics-related for the past two weeks. This summer’s Tokyo Olympics, delayed for one year due to Covid-19, has been full of excitement and accomplishment as Team USA competed with the rest of the world. Teenagers in particular took this Olympics by storm, as a trio of teens from Japan and Brazil swept the women’s street skateboarding competition, and teenagers from the U.S. won gold medals in women’s tae kwon do and women’s all-around gymnastics.
Chris von Saltza.
Lynn Burke.
Did you know that Los Gatos has its own pair of dynamic teenage Olympians? In the 1960 Olympic games in Rome, teenagers - and Los Gatos High School students - Chris von Saltza (now Olmstead) and Lynn Burke represented Team USA in swimming. Chris, who swam for Coach Haines’ Santa Clara Swim Club, won four medals in Rome: individual gold in the women’s 400-meter freestyle and individual silver in women’s 100-meter freestyle, as well as two team golds in the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay and the 4x100-meter medley relay. Both of those relay teams set world records in the event finals! Lynn won two medals in Rome: individual gold in the women’s 100-meter backstroke (also setting a world record) and team gold in the women’s 4x100 medley relay (on the same world record-setting team as Chris!). Both Chris and Lynn retired from competitive swimming after those 1960 games, and have been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as “Honor Swimmers.”
Chris von Saltza on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Lynn Burke and Chris von Saltza on the cover of Life.
What you might not know is that Chris still has a connection with USA Swimming - through current star Katie Ledecky. Chris, who was once hailed as “the best freestyle swimmer ever developed in America,” reached out to Katie after the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The two have a lot in common - they were both teenage phenoms who had the weight of a nation’s expectations on them. Since that initial contact, they have established a close bond; Chris has been able to support Katie throughout her time on Stanford’s women’s swim team - a luxury fellow Stanford-alum Chris was unable to enjoy, as in the 1960s the university not only lacked a women’s competitive swimming team, but didn’t even allow women in the men’s competition pool. You can be sure that Chris has been cheering Katie on during these Tokyo games!
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