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

I took my daily swim at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool despite the presence of onlookers

Traveling to swimming meets took me beyond my small-town existence, gave me a hint of the exciting world outside of my own home.

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.

Victor Mature was a big man; he had a great swagger. I liked him and I knew we'd be good together on screen.

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 was all in gold sequins for Million Dollar Mermaid, 50 feet in the air