Carin Cone set six US records in the 50m pool and many others in short course events, with 24 US records in all. During the period 1955-59 she won 16 AAU titles and took two gold medals in 100 metre backstroke and 4×100 metres medley (with Chris von Saltza and the non-Olympians Anne Bancroft and Becky Collins) at the 1959 Pan American Games. Her eight AAU backstroke titles bettered Suzanne Zimmerman’s then record of seven.
After attending school in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Cone attended the University of Houston, and then the University of Houston, graduating in 1962, and later represented the Shamrock SC. Cone attempted to qualify for the 1960 Olympic team but missed out at the Final Trials. As Mrs. Vanderbush, she later competed actively in master’s swimming competition. She married Albert Vanderbush, a West Point football co-captain, and they were married for over 60 years until Cone-Vanderbush’s death. As a military family they moved frequently while raising two children. Carin Cone worked as an elementary school teacher, mainly kindergarten and second grade, during their many moves.
United States