Photo © Joan Lippert

Highlights

  • Member, US Performance Synchronized Swimming Team at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

  • World Masters Swimming and Synchronized Swimming Champion.

  • National TV appearances including NBC, ABC, and CBS. Featured in Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Glamour, and Parade.

  • Numerous publications including Encyclopedia Britannica’s Health and Sportsmedicine Annual.

  • New York Post Liberty Award Medal for Educator.

  • Featured in the August 1, 2010 New York Times

  • Inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2011

  • Certificate of Merit from the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame at the UN in June 2011


Dr Jane Katz

Dr. Jane Katz was awarded the Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) Certificate of Merit to honor her “dedication and contribution to the development” of the sport of Swimming, awarded in Sydney, Australia, during the XXVII Olympiad in 2000.

Dr. Jane Katz has taught thousands of students about the benefits of water fitness at the City University of New York since 1964.  She is a professor at John Jay College in the Department of Physical Education and Athletics teaching fitness and swimming to New York City’s police and firefighters.

Dr. Katz has been recognized for her work as an educator, aquatics innovator and author.  Among many prestigious honors for her work is the Townsend Harris Academic Medal from her alma mater, CCNY, an award bestowed to fellow alumnus, former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

As a member of the 1964 U.S. Synchronized Swimming Performance Team in Tokyo, Dr. Katz helped pioneer the acceptance of Synchronized Swimming as an Olympic event.  Her achievements as a Masters competitive, long-distance, synchronized and fin swimmer have earned her All-American and World Masters championships. 

Dr. Katz earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education at the City College of New York, a Masters in Education Administration from New York University and both a Master’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation for Aging and her Doctor of Education degree in Gerontology from Columbia University.

Her company, Global Aquatics (www.globalaquatics.com), has published a number of aquatics books including Swimming for Total Fitness and Your Water Workout (Random House/ Broadway Books), and produced several DVDs on swimming for fun and fitness.

Jane Katz is on the Advisory Board of Aquatics International magazine, is a member of USA Swimming’s Education Committee and has been a consultant to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports since 1981.

Dr. Katz received the Outstanding Teacher Award for the academic year 1999-2000 at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of CUNY, and was the 2000 honoree of the New York City PSAL’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day.  In April 2001, the Dr. Jane Katz Natatorium was dedicated at the Children’s Better Health Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

In 2004, for the second time, Professor Katz was voted Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year of the City University of New York Division III Athletic Conference.  In 2005, she was selected by Aquatics International Magazine as one of the 25 most powerful people in the world of aquatics.  Dr. Katz earned U.S. Masters Swimming All American Status for 2004 and won the 2005 USMS Long Distance One Mile Swim Championship.

In 2007, Professor Katz helped create the KARE (Kids Aquatic Re-Entry) Program, in cooperation with the Department of Juvenile Justice to help troubled youth learn life’s lessons poolside.

In 2008 she swam in the Pan American Masters Maccabi Swim Championships in Argentina highlighting 50 years of Maccabiah Games by winning 7 gold medals.  Dr. Katz also won the 2008 U.S. Masters Swimming Short Course 200 yard Backstroke Championship in Austin, Texas in May 2008.

In 2009, she competed for the 13th time at the Maccabi Games in Israel and won four gold medals at the World Senior Games at Stanford University in Palo Alto.

In April 2010, Dr. Katz was honored with a Distinguished Faculty Award by John Jay College, and in 2011 she was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

At the 2011 United States Aquatics Sports Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Katz received the U.S. Masters Swimming 2011 Fitness Award for continued support of fitness through swimming. In addition she also received the USMS June Krauser Communications Award in recognition of Dr. Katz’s books, DVDs, articles, appearances and volunteerism.

In May 2012, Dr. Katz received the Distinguished Educator Award from City College of New York (CCNY). The award is presented annually to “individuals who have made significant contributions in the field of education.”

In September 2012, Dr. Katz was inducted into the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Athletics Hall of Fame. The Hall was created in 1993 and currently has 19 members.

In 2014, she was awarded from the Presidents’ Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in aquatics.

in 2015 Dr. Katz launched W.E.T.s 4 VETS™, a service for rehabilitiating the mind, body and spirit of military veterens re-entering civilian life using holistic water excercise techniques.