Dana Schoenfield

Dana Lee Schoenfield is an American swimmer who partipicated in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and won a silver medal in the 200 metre breaststroke.

Early life

Dana was born in Harvey, Illinois and spent her childhood in Schererville, Indiana. She first learned to swim at the local Sherwood Golf and Swim Club, where she began to excel in the breaststroke. Her family relocated to Anaheim, California in 1963 where Dana, along with her brother Michael, actively swam on the Disneyland Hotel Swim Team. She qualified for the Women's Senior National Championships in the 200 meter breaststroke at age 12 years, the youngest swimmer to participate. At 14 years, Dana was the second fastest Women's 200 meter breaststroke swimmer in the country, and just missed making the 1968 U.S. Olympic Team. She would have been the youngest swimmer on the U.S. Team. After semi-retiring for the next 3 years, she was a varsity cheerleader for Loara High School in Anaheim, California.

1972 Summer Olympics

After graduation, Dana, along with her swim coach Ray Woods, began a 1-year regimen of serious training in an effort to make the 1972 Olympic Team. At the 1972 Chicago Olympic Swimming Trials, she qualified first in the 200 m breaststroke, with a personal best time of 2:43.7. At the Munich Olympic Games, Dana was not expected to 'medal' as she had just the 4th fastest time/ranking for 1972. She placed fourth in the qualifying heats, and was in lane 6 for the Munich final. With her idol, Galina Stepanova of Russia, swimming in lane 3, Dana paced her for the entire race, and out-touched Stepanova, with a time of 2:42.03, another personal best. Beverly Whitfield of Australia, on the outside #7 lane, beat out Dana for the gold medal.

College career

After the Munich Olympic Games, Dana attended UCLA where she helped start the Women's Swim Team under the auspices of the AIAW. In 1973, she qualified for the World University Games in Moscow, Russia. Afterward, retiring from swimming, Dana was selected to the 1975-76 UCLA Spirit Squad as a Songgirl/Dance Team member, where she performed at the 1976 Rose Bowl (UCLA vs. Ohio St.), and the NCAA men's basketball Final Four in Philadelphia, PA (UCLA vs. Indiana, Michigan). She met her husband, Bob Reyes, a UCLA football player, when they shared their first kiss after the Rose Bowl win!

Later years

Dana Schoenfield and Bob Reyes now reside in Orange, CA with their two daughters, Taylor and Sammee. Taylor is a 2006 graduate of Purdue University and is currently doing graduate work at the University of California at Irvine. Sammee is a Cinema Arts student at USC.