Jenny Thompson

Infobox Swimmer
swimmername = Jenny Thompson


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fullname = Jennifer Beth Thompson
nicknames = Jenny
nationality = USA
strokes = Butterfly, Freestyle
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birthdate =birth date and age|1973|02|26
birthplace =Dover, New Hampshire, United States
deathdate =
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height = height|m=1.78
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Jennifer ("Jenny") Beth Thompson (born February 26, 1973) is a former competitive swimmer, and one of the most decorated Olympians in history, winning twelve medals, including eight gold medals, while representing the United States of America in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics.

Thompson, a Massachusetts native who calls Dover, New Hampshire her hometown, began swimming for the Seacoast Swimming Association under coaches Amy and Mike Parratto. She first appeared on the international scene as a 14-year-old in 1987, when she won the 50-meter freestyle and placed third in the 100 m freestyle at the Pan American Games. She won her first world championship in 1991, as part of the USA's winning 4x100 m freestyle relay team, and held the world record in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle when she participated in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

In 2006, Thompson received a medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is currently working as an anesthesiologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2006/06/15/thompson_has_new_calling|title=www.boston.com/sports/articles/2006/06/15/thompson_has_new_calling ]

World competitions and records

1992 Olympics

Thought to be at the height of her competitive career at the time, Thompson was expected to win up to five gold medals at those Olympics. However, she failed to qualify for the final in the 50 m freestyle, and finished second in the 100 m, where she was beaten by Zhuang Yong of China. Thompson won two gold medals as part of the 4x100 m free and 4x100 m medley teams. Considerable controversy was raised after the 100 m freestyle when the U.S. team speculated on the loose doping policy standards in Barcelona -- at that time the event winner did not have a mandatory doping test -- only the second and fourth-place finishers were tested, based on a random draw. Thompson and her teammates believed that the Olympic champion should be tested and that rule was changed a few months later when 9 members of the Chinese swimming team tested positive for steroid use.

University years

Thompson continued her career as a part of the U.S. team and a member of the Stanford University swimming team, and continued to rank among the world's best swimmers for the next four years. During Thompson's four years at Stanford, she was a member of four NCAA championship teams, considered to be some of the most dominant collegiate teams in NCAA history. During that time, Thompson amassed nineteen individual and relay NCAA titles. However, a poor performance at the 1996 Olympic Trials kept her from competing in any individual event at that year's Games in Atlanta. Despite this, she competed in three gold-medal winning relay teams at the Olympics; the 4x100 m freestyle, 4x100 m medley, and 4x200 m freestyle.

Between 1997 and 1999, Thompson won eight more world championship titles, including three in a row in the 100 m freestyle. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia she won a bronze in the 100 m freestyle and was fifth in the 100 m butterfly. But in the relay events, she swam the anchor leg in helping the USA defend its titles in the 4x100 m freestyle and the 4x200 m freestyle relays. She also swam the butterfly leg in the winning 4x100 m relays. The 4x100 free and medley teams set new world records in the process.

At the World Championships that year, she broke the world record in the 100 m butterfly for the fourth time, winning a qualifying heat in a time of 56.56 en route to a gold medal in the event.

2000 through 2004

Thompson seemingly retired from competition after the 2000 season with 10 Olympic medals, eight gold, one silver and one bronze, and 12 gold medals at World Championships. In 2001, Thompson moved to New York City to begin studying at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. However, while attending medical school, she made a return to competition at the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan. Thompson won five medals in two days, setting a career-best time in winning the 50 meter freestyle. At the 2003 World Championships, she would win five medals, including two gold medals.

At age 31, Thompson was the oldest member of the 2004 U.S. Swimming and Diving team, competing in her fourth Olympics in Athens, Greece. She was the anchor member of the 400-meter freestyle relay, where contributed to a national record of 3:36.39 and a silver medal. She earned another silver medal as a member of the 4x100 meter medley relay. During her Olympic career, Thompson won twelve medals, eight of which were gold; the most for any female U.S. Olympian in history.

Recent life and work

In 2006, Thompson received a medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She did her internship at the New York City Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and she is currently working as a resident anesthesiologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2006/06/15/thompson_has_new_calling|title=www.boston.com/sports/articles/2006/06/15/thompson_has_new_calling ]

Accolades and other recognition

She was the 1993 and 1998 USA Swimming Swimmer of the Year, and ranked as the 62nd greatest female athlete of all time in a 1999 poll conducted by "Sports Illustrated". She was named by the Swimming World magazine as the Female World Swimmer of the Year in 1999. She was the Women's Sports Foundation's Athlete of the Year in 2000.

References

ee also

*List of multiple Olympic gold medalists

External links

* [http://www.fina.org/bios/swimming/all.php FINA biography (currently unavailable)]
*Videos & Results on [http://www.swimpassion.net/Athletes/jennythompson.html SwimPassion.net]

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