Joanna Hartley

WONDER WOMAN by Kim Goss, B.A., C.S.C.S. Assistant Strength Coach, U. S. Air Force Academy swimming — the weight training really made a difference,” says Casey Converse. the Academy's head swimming coach. Many swimming coaches shy away from weight training. Joanna insists a swimmer has everything to gain, and nothing to lose. from lifting. “With the yardage we do, I don’t think it’s possible for a swimmer to bulk up.” Besides The comic book character Wonder Woman is smart, strong and loves her country. improving her upper body strength, Joanna believes lifting helps develop a better start. “Our team is faster out of the Hartley is smart, strong. loves her country and wants to fly.

blocks than other teams, and I believe that can be attributed She can also swim. to weight training.”

The Air Force Academy recently selected Joanna as its Joanna attended Fort Frye High School in Beverly, “All American Strength and Conditioning Athlete for Ohio. She was class valedictorian with a 3.94 GPA. Joanna 1992.” Sponsored by the National Strength and Conditioning could have had her pick from many of the nation’s finest Association, this award is given to athletes whose achievecolleges, and seriously considered Cornell, Purdue and ments in sports are best reflected by their commitment to Lehigh University. But Joanna wanted to be a pilot, so the weight training. It’s the perfect award for Joanna.

Although she was not physically strong in high school, logical choice was the Air Force Academy and a major in aeronautical engineering. this softspoken senior can now clean and jerk 135 pounds Deciding to major in aeronautical engineering and and bench press 130 pounds. Her strength in the water is actually doing it are two different things. This semester equally impressive. Since her freshman year, Joanna (which is considered in-season) she is taking a law class, improved her 100-yard freestyle from 59.47 to 54.67. She two engineering classes, and three aeronautics classes.

A also improved her 50-yard freestyle from 25.98 to a team typical school day for Joanna begins at 6:00 a.m., a day that best of 24.49. “You just don’t see improvements like this in will include four hours of classes. two hours of swimming, an hour in the weightroom, and at least four hours of homework.

On the weekends she can look forward to inspections, military training, a possible swim meet, and ten to fifteen more hours of homework. When asked what she does in her spare time, Joanna replied “SLEEP!”

As with her studies, Joanna’s swim training is also difÏcult at the Academy.

“We do more yardage and have a more regimented school,” says Joanna. ming year starts with an endurance base of more distance swims, then works into pace training and sprints. the days of year-round, marathon swimming workouts for sprinters are gone.

“Your muscles don’t have time to recover; it’s not as effective as the quality speed training we do now.”

One of the pleasant aspects of hard training is dieting, or rather, a lack of it.

Although she doesn’t think she’s capable of consuming the 7,000 calories a day that some female swimmers claim to be able to, Joanna says dieting is not an issue with her. “Whatever I feel like eating I basically do. I don’t have to put any limits on my diet.” Joanna has enjoyed steady improvements in her swimming times and weight training encounter one major setback. class Joanna injured her left knee during a game of volleyball. a month. Joanna didn’t lose much, however, because she was still able to work her upper body hard with weights.

In athletics, Joanna's role model is Betsy Mitchell. A backstroker who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics and broke several world records, Betsy is from pilot training this year.

What a Great Role Model! Joanna and her coach attribute much of her success in swimming to lifting. SHE CAN CLEAN POUNDS!

Although a relatively minor operation, she could not swim for Joanna’s hometown of Marietta, Ohio. “She came out of nowhere, and her accomplishments showed me the value of hard work.” Being a woman at a predominantly male institution presents an environment for discrimination, but Joanna hasn’t encountered any at the Air Force Academy. “I haven't experienced any problems other than a high level of competitiveness, which I see as positive.” Another positive force for Joanna at the Academy is the swim team. “We have a close, tight-knit team. We pull each other along.”

Although she has few opportunities to watch TV or go to the movies, Joanna doesn’t like how Hollywood portrays women in the military. “In the movies you usually don’t see women as ofÏcers, especially in movies about combat. But women are now even more involved in military operations — just look at Desert Storm.”

If she gets accepted and graduates from pilot training, Joanna’s flying will be limited to transport planes like the C-141. She would like to fly fighters, like the F-16, and believes not being able to “denies me an opportunity to serve my country in a greater capacity.” When asked if she has a fear of combat, Joanna replied, “The greatest honor is to give your life for your country, so death in combat is not a fear of mine.” Perhaps Joanna Hartley is Wonder Woman!

From BFS Magazine — Spring 1993. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).