Skidmore College Athletics

Internationally recognized as the "Queen of Springboard Diving," Ann Ross Fairbanks was a member of the 1944 U.S. Olympic Diving Team (cancelled due to World War II). The first woman to execute five dives never before performed in competition, she captured nine Amateur Athletic Union National Championships.  

As associate professor emerita of physical education at Skidmore from 1967 to 1985, she directed the aquatics program, taught swimming and diving, and established and coached the swim and diving teams. She led Skidmore to a second-place finish in the 1970 New England Intercollegiate Championships. Fairbanks coached Sally Lundt '72 to fifth place in the National Division of Girls' and Women's Sports Intercollegiate Championships.  

Fairbanks conducted national conferences on aquatics and her book, Teaching for Springboard Diving, remains the definitive text for teachers and coaches nationwide. In 1984, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and honored by President H.W. Bush that year for her extensive volunteer work on behalf of the American Red Cross and her community.