Kathy Smith Connor

Kathy Smith Connor can credit the start of her swimming career to a hatred for humidity. While she originally grew up in Seattle, she moved to Virginia and would often go to the pool to keep cool. It was here that she was spotted one day by a coach who asked her to swim a length of the pool and then recruited her to the local summer swim team.

By the time Kathy was 11, she had moved back to Seattle, was swimming year round, and would continue to do so as a breaststroker and sprint freestyler through college. Kathy would go on to swim at Stanford University and be a member of the United States National Team for 7 years, competing and medaling in the Pan American Games, World University Games, Pan Pacific Games, and Goodwill Games, amongst others. She was also an alternate for the United States Olympic Team in 1980 in the 200m Breaststroke. Following her college days, Kathy has continued her connection with the swimming world through her children, one of whom is now a competitive swimmer, and lifelong best friend Mary Wayte Bradburne.

Last year she went to visit Mary in Seattle to watch her swim in the inaugural Swim Across America Seattle event. To Kathy this was a “glorious day” as she got to be involved in an atmosphere where swimmers were fighting cancer stroke by stroke in Lake Washington. It was also a very bittersweet day, bringing back many memories of loved ones that have been touched by cancer. It was this event that has caused her to passionately want to be a part of Swim Across America for many years to come.

This year, Kathy will be swimming with her daughter Alayna, who is 10. Kathy swims for her father who died of cancer 4 years ago after a hard fought 10 year battle. When he moved from the Seattle area to Portland for treatment, Kathy eventually followed with her family in hopes that her children’s memories of their grandfather would be strong.

Kathy also swims for her mom who is a breast cancer survivor and her sister who had melanoma. She swims in the hope that they – and her children - will never have to go through this fight again. As Kathy swims side by side with her daughter at this year’s Seattle swim, she will be inspired by all those around her as well as the fact that she will be swimming in the exact waters that she once waterskied on with her father. She hopes to bring as many swimmers as possible with her so that together they can make waves to fight this terrible disease and become as captivated with the swim as she did herself last year.