Bio

Kate Schmidt wasted no time using her javelin to take the track and field community by storm. In 1968, at age 14, she narrowly missed making the U.S.A. Olympic team, and only one year later won the women's nationals. This began a decade of javelin dominance by Schmidt, earning her the nickname "Kate the Great". 
Schmidt set the American javelin record ten times, and set a world record in 1977 of 227 ' 5" (69.32 m), and that same year was named the Track and Field News Female Athlete of the Year. She was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams, winning bronze in 1972 and 1976. Over the course of her career, Schmidt won seven national titles and placed in the top three in twelve of thirteen national championships between 1972 and 1984. 

In the midst of her rise to fame, Schmidt attended Long Beach City College, and went on to attend California State University at Long Beach and the University of California at Los Angeles. 

Schmidt was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Long Beach City College Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1982, she founded "Home Bodies", a company that provides physician-supervised rehabilitation exercise programs in a pool or on land.

Schmidt is a well-respected expert in the field of water exercise, and has consulted for two books on the subject. She is currently an assistant coach at Occidental College, specializing in throws events.