Helen Ciabattoni

One of the premier swimmers in Berks County and Pennsylvania during the late 1930s and the early 1940s. Won several Berks County championships and A.A.U. titles swimming for the South of Penn pool.
Won the Senior 40-yard Freestyle Championship (1939-41). Won Middle Atlantic A.A.U. 50-meter Championship at the Maple Grove pool in Lancaster, PA (1940). Won the Regional Championship in the 100-yard freestyle at the Hershey Athletic Club (1945). Won 50-meter freestyle in the Semana Nautica Championships in Santa Barbara, CA (1948-49). Won championships in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard individual medley in Pasa Robles, CA (1949). Competed in the Senior Olympics Swim Program in California, winning gold medals in the early 1980s in freestyle, individual medley and backstroke events. In the mid-1980s she represented the USA in competition in the Soviet Union, winning the 50- and 100-meter events at Yessentoki in the Russian Caucasus Mountains. Later won events at Helsinki, Finland, site of the 1952 Olympics. In addition to being an outstanding swimmer, she also excelled as a coach, swimming instructor and aquatic leader. Served as an instructor for years in Reading and at summer YMCA camps. Later, she coached teams in Santa Barbara, CA. She received national acclaim for having coached and trained developmentally delayed athletes (a precedent setting practice in the 1960s) as she overcame opposition from those who did not support Special Olympic-type events.

Deceased