Janis Hape was a breaststroker who competed at the 1976 Olympics while still in high school, but later swam for the University of North Carolina, graduating in 1980. She survived a health scare just before she turned 30, when she was discovered to have a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in her chest, but this responded to chemotherapy. Hape later married and had three children as Janis Dowd. She also ran and managed several exercise clubs for 11 years. A meet is held in her honor at UNC, the Janis Hape Dowd Nike Cup.