Olympic Gold Medalist Returns to West Orange Roots

Virginia Duenkel returns to West Orange on Saturday 50 years after she came home from Tokyo with Olympic gold and bronze medals.

Duenkel, a West Orange grad who captured gold in the 400-meter freestyle and bronze in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1964 Olympics at the age of 17, will dedicate a newly installed pool spray pad and attend a ceremonial swim meet on Saturday.

The dedication will be held at the Ginny Duenkel Municipal Pool, which was named after the Olympian in 1967, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. A ceremonial swim meet featuring the West Orange Wave Summer Swim Team will follow at 11:30 a.m.

A buffet lunch will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the West Orange Elks at 424 Main St. The day will conclude with an "Olympic" cake and coffee at 1:15 p.m.

“West Orange is so proud that former Olympian Ginny Duenkel grew up right here in town and went on to become a trailblazer for women athletes in all sports, not just swimming,” West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi said in a statement. "It is an honor that she was able to return to the pool that we named after her to celebrate the anniversary of her Olympic gold medal win."