Ex-Olympian From West Orange Recalls Her Own Bid As Teen

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A historian in West Orange says the town has its own Olympic connection, and residents can take pride in it every time they visit the Ginny Duenkel Pool.

As the Summer Olympics continue in Tokyo, West Orange residents should take a moment to recognize Virginia “Ginny” Duenkel, the swimming champ the municipal pool is named after, according to Joe Fagan, town historian.

After all, she’s been there before.

According to Fagan:

“The 2020 games will mark the second time that Tokyo has hosted the Summer Olympics. The first time was in 1964, when a young West Orange High School student fulfilled her dreams of Olympic gold.”

Fagan said he recently spoke to Duenkel from her home in Missouri to get her thoughts about this year’s Olympics. Here’s what she said:

“I went to Tokyo in 1964 to compete, as a 17-year-old, at the Olympic Games. That event completely changed my entire life, and it set me on a path I would never have traveled. As I look at the new Tokyo Olympians, my hope for them is they will have the same life-altering experiences I had. Unfortunately, COVID issues will make their experience different. This takes nothing away from their accomplishments. They are still world class athletes and will ALWAYS be Olympians.”

Fagan offered some background about Duenkel’s own journey into the sport that she’d eventually master. He wrote:

“Ginny Duenkel moved to Fairview Avenue in West Orange at a young age. Their family spent summers at the former St. Cloud Swim Club. She was afraid of the pool and completely avoided the water. That all changed in 1956 when Ginny's father, frustrated by her lack of interest, tossed her into the shallow end of the pool. It caused quite a stir with lots of yelling and screaming because she was only 9-years-old and didn't know how to swim. The water was only knee deep and she was in no actual danger.

“She eventually grew comfortable with the idea of being in the pool and gradually learned to swim. Ginny soon joined the St. Cloud Swim Team but was not focused and easily distracted at practice. Her parents even tried to discourage her from continuing and suggested that she find another interest. But for whatever reason Ginny decided to stick with swimming.

“Things changed for her when the swim team hired Frank Elm as their new coach. He was the first to realize that Ginny had a natural talent for swimming. He saw her potential and taught discipline and helped develop her natural ability into refined techniques. Under his guidance Ginny became a contender with a strong work ethic. She learned that the more she achieved the more she believed in herself and as her confidence grew she began to set goals for herself.

“After several years of competitive swimming Ginny made tremendous progress and began qualifying for the U.S. Nationals. Her first sign of true greatness came in the 1963 at the US Nationals in Cleveland, where she broke the standing record for the 200-meter backstroke. She didn't learn how to swim until age 9, and by age 15 she became a new world record holder. Later that year she participated in the Pan American Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil and won a gold medal as part of a relay team.

“A year later, Ginny had qualified for the U.S. Olympic swim team and was competing at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Going into the '64 Olympics she really expected to win a gold medal for the 100-meter backstroke. Instead, she came in third and won the bronze, and was devastated by her inability to capture the gold. When they were placing the bronze medal around her neck on the victory stand, she was crying. But they were not tears of joy as most would have expected – instead she was crying for not winning the gold.

“Ginny had also qualified for the 400-meter freestyle at the '64 Olympics and had two days to prepare for the event. Her coach told Ginny that every swimmer there including herself was in top physical condition. He explained that the key to winning was not physical but only in the mental preparation. Ginny thoroughly grasped that concept and it became her advantage. She visualized the race while going over every move and turn in her mind. Ginny profoundly knew at the start of that race even before hitting the water she would win because she was totally mentally prepared and focused. This time when they hung the gold medal around her neck, she was crying tears of pure joy. She had not yet graduated from West Orange High School, but amazingly won two Olympic medals.”

A parade up Main Street was held in her honor on November 15, 1964, Fagan noted. And later, when a new town pool opened on June 2, 1967, it bore the name of the high school girl who stepped on to the world stage in Tokyo, Japan.

“Ginny is still a champion and hometown legend whose memory will endure forever,” Fagan said.

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