While many swimmers excel in a particular stroke, Jodi Jackson Patterson dominated the individual medley, a race that combines the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. In each of her four years at Punahou, she won the state championship in the 200 meters individual medley. She also captured the state title in the 100 meters butterfly in 1993, 1994 and 1995.
“Jodi didn’t want to lose,” said Jeff Meister, her coach at Punahou. “She wasn’t mean about it. She wasn’t arrogant about it. No matter who was around her, she was going to do whatever it took to get to the wall before them.”
Patterson also competed in cross country and kayaking. For all her sporting feats, she was named Athlete of the Year in her sophomore, junior and senior years. She also received Punahou’s President’s Award in 1995.
After Punahou, Patterson attended Stanford University, then medical school at University of Hawai‘i’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. She is now an obstetrician/gynecologist in Northern California.