• Olympian, Synchronized Swimmer • Silver Medalist, Pan American Games • 2001 Synchro Athlete of the Year
Although born in Ada, Oklahoma and reared in Texas, swimming champion Mary Killman is also a citizen of the Oklahoma Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
At age 11, as a member of the Santa Clara Aquamaids, Killman competed as a race swimmer in youth competitions. "I took to the water like a fish," she would later state in an interview for Indian Country Today. At age 15, however, Mary decided to switch from race swimming to synchronized swimming.
A member of a close-knit family, Mary was homeschooled due to her father's travel schedule and the family's desire to be near him.
By 2009, Mary Killman was finding success in the U.S. National Championships and finished third in solo competitions. She placed second in the duet and 1st in the team competitions.
Shortly before the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico Killman partnered with Mariya Koroleva as a duet. The two had been partners since August 2011, but in spite of having only a month and a half to prepare, the duo placed a respectable seventh at the Olympic qualifying meet in Guadalajara in October. They would go on to win Silver Medals in the duet competitions.
In order to have access to top-level training, the worldwide synchro competitor joined the Lindenwood University synchronized swimming team. The private liberal arts university located in Saint Charles, Missouri, is one of only six colleges in the USA with a varsity synchronized swimming program,
Mary took advantage of its excellent training and would later graduate from Lindenwood with a bachelor's degree in business.
The result of her preparation and powerful work ethic was that Killman and partner Koroleva would be the only USA women to qualify for the women's duet. They placed eleventh at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Mary and other competitors in her sport discovered that they had to wear full facial waterproof makeup while performing. It took some getting used to!
Mary Killman also holds five US senior titles for 2010 through 2016. Killman's career, in addition, includes three US collegiate national solo titles for 2013-2015. She was a member of the teams that won Silver medals in the duet and team competitions at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara.
She is a four-time USA Synchro athlete of the year (2010 through 2014). Killman holds five US senior national titles for the years 2010 through 2016. She is also winner of three US collegiate national solo titles for years 2013 through 2015.
Like all Olympic hopefuls, Mary Killman was elated that she qualified for the London Summer Games. But there is a hint of wistfulness in her words as she recalls another choice once dear to her heart: "I originally wanted to go to the Olympics as a swimmer. It's a different sport now but I'm still living the dream," she further states in her interview with Indian Country Today.
Sources:
Facebook, Mary Killman
Lindenwood University webpage
London-Bound: an interview with Mary Killman, Olympic Synchronized Swimmer, Indian Country Today, June 11, 2012
Mary Killman webpage
Mormon Olympians' webpage
TeamUSA.org webpage
Wikipedia, Mary Killman
A version of this article appears in 100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World by KB Schaller, winner, International Book Award, Women's Issues Category. Other KB Schaller books are available through amazon.com and other booksellers.
