Wayne State University Athletics

Shimman, a Detroit native and graduate of Detroit Central HS, was one of Wayne State's earliest premiere swimmers. She was a member of WSU's Griffin Tanksters in the 1932, 1933, and 1934 seasons. During her matriculation at Wayne, Shimman won four national intercollegiate titles, and set one national swim record for the 100-yard breaststroke, as well as four national collegiate records. Additionally, Shimman set eight Michigan state records, while helping Wayne State place second in the National Telegraphic Swim Meet national championships in 1933 and 1934. Shimman's national swim record was a set at a NAAU meet. Up against 1932 Olympian Jane Cadwell, recognized as one of the USA's top woman swimmers at that time, Shimman defeated both Cadwell and the clock, establishing a new mark of 1:26.0 in 1933. Her four intercollegiate records were set in the 1933 and 1934 NTSM national championships. In the 1933 meet, she set two records in the 40-yard backstroke at 29.1, and the 40-yard breaststroke at 29.9. Shimman broke her own 40-yard breaststroke record the following year, winning in a 29.4 performance. Also in 1934, she won a national title with a 22.3 time in the 40-yard freestyle. For her efforts in 1933 and '34, Shimman and fellow Griffin Tankster Astrid Johannesen were selected by the Detroit News as Michigan's Outstanding Women Swimmers in 1934. The Tanksters finished second to Illinois in the NTSM championships in 1933 and second to Northwestern in 1934. Originally, though, Wayne State was declared the national champion in 1934, but a measurement of their pool indicated that their times were inaccurate, and Northwestern was declared the NTSM champion that year. In the 1930's the NCAA did not sponsor women's swimming championships, so the WNCAA sanctioned a national meet in which participating schools swam in their own pools on a predetermined date, under tournament conditions, and the results were telegraphed to a central location. Times were compared and team and individual champions declared. In 1934, Wayne was declared the winner with 23 points. But in measuring Webster Hall Pool, WSU's home pool, to certify the championship, it was discovered that the south side of the pool measured 75 feet but the north side measured only 74 feet 11 ¾ inches. Since WSU officials had said the pool was 75 feet in length in their official entry, all times were then recomputed, and this quarter inch discrepancy proved enough to disqualify Wayne from the title. Wayne State would win its first-ever national title in 1935, but Shimman had graduated from the University. Upon leaving WSU, Shimman taught in the Detroit and West Bloomfield schools systems for several years, and though she did not swim competitively again, remained an active instructor and teacher of youth swimming throughout her career.