Indianapolis native Becky (Collins) Furste is among 33 All-American swimmers coached by the legendary Johnny Galvich. His swimming and diving teams won 94 consecutive dual swim meets before a loss in 1960. Her biography can be read along with many Riviera Club swimming champions at http://johngalvich.com/riviera.htm which was created his daughter, Nancy.

Furste described her initial swimming experience: "We belonged to the Riviera Club and that is what I always wanted to do. I enjoyed going swimming every day. One day, a lifeguard asked me if I wanted to participate in a novice swimming meet and I joined the Riviera Club swimming team when I was 11 years old", she recalled.

"My coach at the Riviera Club was Johnny Galvich. My best event was the butterfly and the individual medley", Furste said. She became one of many future champion swimmers that Galvich discovered. He entered young Becky (at age 13) in her first national swim meet at Shamrock-Hilton in Houston, Texas, in 1957. She placed 3rd in the 200-meter butterfly and 8th in the 100-meter butterfly, according to Junior Swimmer Magazine. The talented swimmer had only just begun.

In 1959, Becky captured the National Senior Outdoor Championships in the 110-yard, 220 yard and 200 meter butterfly, setting world records. She also achieved success in the 400 meter individual medley, which is 100 meters of each stroke: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. At this time, she was the only girl beside Sylvia Ruuska to swim the 400-yard Individual Medley in less than five minutes, and lost to Ruuska in the 1959 Indoor Nationals by 4/10th of a second (4:58.2 to 4:58.6 for Collins), reported also by JS Magazine.

"Sports Illustrated sent a reporter to cover the women's short course national. In the three 2nd place finishes, I lost those races by a total of only one second. On the last day, I won the 200-meter butterfly event by 10 yards. On the national level, I also swam in some breaststroke events" she mentioned.

She is the youngest Indiana native to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (July of 1959). Placing the Olympic hopeful in the national spotlight, she inspired future generations of swimmers at the Riviera Club and community pools nationwide. She went on to win the National Senior Butterfly Championships in the 200 meter event in 1960 and 1961.

She retired from swimming at age 17 because "there weren't any swimming teams at that point for women when I went to college. I attended Indiana University for three years and then I transferred to the University of Arizona in Tucson. I earned an elementary education degree and taught in the public school systems in Long Beach, California, from the 1960s into the 1980s. I was also active in community volunteer work", she said. "I swam in Masters swimming meets in my 30s while living in Southern California. The Masters also had national swimming meets twice annually with one event in the winter and some in the summer. Normally, it was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida", Furste added.

"In 1987 I moved back to Indianapolis. I swam at the Natatorium at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), where I met my future husband, Steve, when we were sharing a swimming lane. He is from Fort Wayne and swam there as he grew up", Furste said. He is also an avid marathon runner and competes in triathlons.

She has worked in residential real estate with the Heritage Realty Group in Zionsville since 1999, which she started with two partners. Swimming remains a passion, though. "I would consider doing Master swimming as a hobby. It is open to anyone, though you can't be representing a member of a collegiate swimming team" she explained. Providing advice for young athletes, Furste said, "It doesn't matter what sport you undertake, it should be something you really enjoy doing, because you just might reach your complete potential."

Her swimming triumphs, like golf/track & field star Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Wimbledon tennis Champion Althea Gibson and Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph, can be credited with inspiring Title IX of the Education Amendment Act. Passed by Congress in 1972, it banned sex discrimination in education programs receiving federal funding. Colleges and universities accepting federal money are required to provide equal athletic opportunities for men and women.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association created women's athletic programs in 1980 when Divisions II and III established 10 championships for the 1981-1982 year. The NCAA's 75th convention in 1983 adopted a governance plan to include women's athletic programs, services and representation. Convention delegates expanded women's championship programs with the addition of 19 events, as reported by the www.ncaa.org website.

If the NCAA organized women's sports in the 1950s, one can only guess how far swimming would have taken Becky Furste in an era fondly remembered by many.