Background
Wood was born in Portland, Oregon, and swam for the Multnomah Athletic Club swim team in her hometown of Portland.
Wood was born in Portland, Oregon, and swam for the Multnomah Athletic Club swim team in her hometown of Portland.
University of Oregon.
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, however, during the women"s 100-meter butterfly finals, she accidentally swallowed water during the turn and did not finish the race. The United States. relay team set a new world record of 4:08.9 in the event final—nine seconds faster than the previous record. Individually, she competed in the 100-meter freestyle, and finished fourth in the event final with a time of 1:03.4.
Following the Olympics, Wood returned to her hometown of Portland, Oregon, where she attended Beaverton High School.
During one summer, she worked as a lifeguard and was ruled a professional, and was therefore ineligible to swim in college or in subsequent Olympic Games. Wood attended the University of Oregon and became an English teacher.
She taught at both Beaverton High School and Wilson High School in Portland. She was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.