A two-time Olympic silver medalist, Mitchell won medals on the 10-meter platform at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, and the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. A Wildcat alumna, Mitchell herself was a member of the University of Arizona Dive Team. During her collegiate career 1979 to 1983, she was a four-time All-American and nine-time U.S. national champion. Mitchell was also a 1985 World FINA Cup champion, finalist for the 1986 Sullivan Award, 1987 Pan American Games champion and a four-time U.S. Olympic Committee Athlete of the Year honoree. Mitchell holds the American Record for platform diving with 479.40 points for an eight-dive list. She was inducted into the University of Arizona Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995.