Jane Katz

Who is Jane Katz?

Dr. Jane Katz is an educator, author, and world-class competitive and long distance swimmer. She is a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, in the Department of Physical Education and Athletics, teaching fitness and swimming to New York City police officers and firefighters. Katz currently resides in New York City.

As a member of the 1964 United States Synchronized Swimming Performance Team in Tokyo, Katz helped pioneer the acceptance of synchronized swimming as an Olympic event. At the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney, Australia in 2000, Katz was awarded the Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur Certificate of Merit to honor her lifetime of "dedication and contribution to the development" of the sport of swimming.

Katz earned a Masters degree in Therapeutic Recreation for Aging and a Doctor of Education degree in Gerontology from Columbia University.

After being injured in a 1979 car accident, Katz devised her own aquatic program to speed her rehabilitation. From this experience she began creating a series of instructional books and videos.