Sandra Lynn Neilson (born March 20, 1956), also known by her married nameSandy Bell, is an American former competitionswimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder.
Despite being ranked as the third-best American swimmer, Neilson participated in the1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany at the age of 16. In the 100-meter freestyle, Neilson defeated heavy favoritesShane Gould from Australia and her American teammateShirley Babashoff in an Olympic record time of 58.59 seconds. The victory landed her a spot on the4×100-meter freestyle relay with Babashoff as well as the4×100-meter medley relay. Both of Neilson's relay teams won gold medals in world record times.[2]
In a twist of fate, during theMunich massacre which took place the day after the swimming events were completed, both Gould and Babashoff were huddled with Neilson in herOlympic Village while the massacre was taking place. Neilson recalled, "When we found out about the terrorists, I called my parents and told them I loved them. I thought I might never see them again."[3]
Neilson met her current coach and husband, Dr. Keith Bell, a Texas sports psychologist, in 1984. Bell successfully argued in August 1984 to theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame that Neilson had been "retired" for nine years, despite still participating inU.S. Masters Swimming. This made her eligible under the ISHOF's four-year retirement requirements and Neilson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.[4][5]
Neilson participated in the1988 and1992 U.S. Olympic Trials. She missed qualifying for the 1996 Trials in the 50-meter freestyle by a mere nine one-hundredths (0.09) of a second.[3]
In 1996, Neilson was the first swimmer over 40 to be ranked top 25 in the world in an event (50-meter freestyle) and the first swimmer over 40 to compete in the U.S. National Championships, at which she was honored by having USA Swimming's comeback award named after her, the "Sandy Neilson-Bell Comeback Swimmer of the Year Award".[3]
