Della Sehorn

Idella Thrasher Sehorn (May 28, 1927 – March 14, 2001), née Idella Thrasher, was an American competition swimmer.

Della Sehorn
Personal information
Full nameIdella Thrasher Sehorn
Nickname(s)"Della"
National team United States
Born(1927-05-28)May 28, 1927
Portland, Oregon
DiedMarch 14, 2001(2001-03-14) (aged 73)
Los Altos, California
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
ClubColumbia Athletic Club

Sehorn was born in Portland, Oregon,[1] and she grew up in Oregon City. She began swimming at a young age at the Columbia Athletic Club in Portland.[2] Following World War II, she married her coach, Al Sehorn, and began to set records in her best event, the breaststroke. From 1950 to 1953, she set 18 American records in the event.[1][3]

Sehorn represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where, at the age of 25, she was the oldest female member the U.S. swim team.[4][5] She competed in the preliminary heats of the women's 200-meter breaststroke, posting a time of 3:13.7.[4]

Upon her return to Portland, Sehorn was honored as the first woman to receive the Bill Hayward Award, given to Oregon's top amateur athlete.[1] In 1953, she set three U.S. records in a single day.[1] Sehorn retired from competitive swimming in 1953 to raise her three children and coach swimming in Portland, and later in Los Altos, California.[3] In the 1970s, she began masters swimming, winning several masters swimming awards.[3] She was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.[6]

In 2000, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died in Los Altos in 2001.[3]

References
  1. Abby Haight, "Swimmer Della Sehorn dies at 73," The Oregonian (March 16, 2001).
  2. Associated Press, "Miss Peters Clips U.S. Swim Record: Wins in 3:02.6 in 200-Meter Breast-Stroke at Olympic Trials at Indianapolis," The New York Times (July 6, 1952). Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. Liz Kellar, "Della M. Sehorn," Santa Cruz Sentinel (March 25, 2001). Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  4. Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Della Sehorn Archived 2012-11-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  5. Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, United States Swimming at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  6. Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Roll of Honor Members Archived July 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  • Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Della Sehorn". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13.
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