Gail Peters (born June 23, 1929), also known by her married name Gail Roper, is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the.
Gail Peters, also known by her married name Gail Roper, is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.!
Olympic swimmer from Healdsburg still at it at age 91
Gail Roper, the Healdsburg resident who swam in the 1952 Olympics, is back in the pool, just months after a heart attack sent her on an ambulance ride to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
When she was known by her maiden name of Gail Peters, Roper, 91, was regarded as one of the world’s top swimmers.
But because of an injury she didn’t fare well in the breaststroke, her main event in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
A year later, she was ranked as the No. 1 women’s breaststroker in 1953, but she did not return for the 1956 Olympics because other swimmers said it would be “selfish” for her to do so, she said.
While such opinions kept her from the highest level of competition, they couldn’t stop her from swimming into her 90s.
Later, Roper had seven children, six girls, followed by a son born on April Fools’ Day. She laughs delightedly at the story of having expected another girl and had a girl’s name picked out, and a dress