Susan Sloan Kelsey
Swimming Athlete - Inducted 2014
Susan learned to swim at the Centennial Pool while growing up in Stettler. She set Canadian and Commonwealth records in the 100 M butterfly at the 1976 Olympic Trials. In Montreal at the 1976 Olympic Summer Games, Susan won a bronze medal with the women's 4 x 100 medley relay team. She won a gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton in the women's 4 x 100 Medley Relay and then a bronze medal at the 1978 FINA World Aquatic Championships in Berlin in the women's 4 x 100 Medley Relay. She also competed at the 1979 Pan Am Games in Puerto Rico.
At the age of fifteen, Susan was already an accomplished swimmer with the Stettler Centennial Swim Club. In 1975, she left Stettler to pursue her Olympic dream and moved to Vancouver to train for the Olympic Games. On her breaks, she returned home and practiced with the Stettler swim club.
Following the 1976 Olympics, Susan accepted a full scholarship to Arizona State University. Susan was a four- time All American and the 1977 AIAW 100 Butterfly champion. The ASU's women’s team won the collegiate title during Susan's first two years. During the summers Susan competed for Canada at the international level. She also prepared for the 1980 Olympic Games with the National team (Canada boycotted the Games).
Susan became an advocate and a role model for the sport of swimming. She also visited the different clubs and teams in central Alberta and shared both her experiences and her goals with young swimmers. “She reached her dream of being an Olympic swimmer while never leaving Stettler and Alberta swimming far behind.” Susan remained actively involved throughout the years in a number of sports and community organizations.
Susan was named to the Clearview Wall of Fame in 2000, the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, and the BC Swimming Hall of Fame in 2011. Susan was inducted into the Swim Alberta Hall of Fame in 2011.
