Three events. Three gold medals. I was news, big news, in the sports world.

The newspapers loved pinup pictures of pretty young swimmers, and as a national champion, I got more than my share of space in the sports pages.

Everything about my teenage life was almost ideal.

My training in Science of Mind had begun with my mother. She took me to a different church every Sunday, and she encouraged me to question the minister afterward.

Three events. Three gold medals. I was news, big news, in the sports world.

I took a job at the pool in order to earn the five cents a day it cost to swim. I counted wet towels. As a bonus, I was allowed to swim during lunchtime.

I always felt that if I made a movie, it would be one movie; I didn't see how they could make 26 swimming movies.