Mary Killman Bancroft was born in Ada, Oklahoma, though she has always claimed Texas as her home. She is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) and represented the United States of America at the 2012 London Olympic Games in Synchronized Swimming as the youngest athlete to qualify. She was inducted into the USA Synchro Hall of Fame in 2020, holds four Athlete of the Year Titles, and earned an impressive 36 medals during her 15 year career.

Killman Bancroft is very proud of her heritage, shown in her first solo synchronized swimming competition in 2003, Bancroft’s (then Killman) routine was set to North American flute music and she wore a decoration of the CPN seal on her hip. Her identity is not only to the Potawatomi tribe, but also to Native American people in general; her father’s side of the family is Potawatomi and her mother’s side is Choctaw. She feels that her heritage has instilled a strong will. After all, Killman Bancroft made her name known in a sport where the required elegance and good timing in the pool is forged by a grueling training regime of up to 60 hours per week.

Killman Bancroft still enjoys giving back to the sport that made her who she is today by doing camps, as well as consulting with the National Team when needed.