Breeja Larson (born April 16, 1992) was an American former competition swimmer for Texas A&M University[2] who specialized in the breaststroke, and earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[2]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National team |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 16, 1992 Mesa, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 161 lb (73 kg)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Breaststroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Texas A&M University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Steve Bultman Texas A&M University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Larson was born in Mesa, Arizona, one of seven sisters. She later moved to Boise, Idaho, where she attended Boise's Centennial High School for three years and graduated from Mountain View High School in Mesa, Arizona, in 2010. She swam for the Centennial Patriot and Mountain View Toros high school swim teams. As a senior, she was the state runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke. She also lettered in softball and track and field.[2][3]
She attended Texas A&M University, where she swam for the Texas A&M Aggies swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2011 to 2014 under Hall of Fame Coach Steve Bultman.[4][5] As a freshman, she finished second in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke at the 2011 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships; as a sophomore in 2012, she was the NCAA national champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, and finished third in the 200-yard event. She was a senior during the 2013–14 school year, and during her college years graduated from Titans of Investing, A&M Class 19.[6]
2012 Olympics
editAt the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Larson made the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by winning the 100-meter breaststroke in a time of 1:05.92, ahead of favorite Rebecca Soni.[7] At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she earned a gold medal by swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×100-meter medley relay.[8] At the final 100-meter breaststroke, Larson false started. However, it was determined there was a technical issue and she was allowed to compete. She finished in sixth place. [3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Breeja Larson's profile at the Olympic Games 2012 official site". Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c Gibbs, Robert (June 4, 2021). "2012 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST BREEJA LARSON ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022.
- ^ a b "Olympedia Bio, Breeja Larson". olympedia.org.
- ^ "Texas A&M Staff, Steve Bultman". 12thman.com.
- ^ "Kaufman, Sophie, Texas A&M Coach Steve Bultman Announces Retirement after 25 years". swimswam.com.
- ^ "TITANS CLASS DIRECTORY". Titans of Investing.
- ^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 100 metre breaststroke (final)". Omega Timing. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Breeja Larson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
External links
edit- Breeja Larson at World Aquatics
- Breeja Larson at the International Swimming League (archived)
- Breeja Larson at USA Swimming (archived June 2, 2021)
- Breeja Larson at Team USA (archive February 3, 2022)
- Breeja Larson at Olympics.com
- Breeja Larson at Olympedia
- Breeja Larson – Texas A&M University athlete profile at AggieAthletics.com at the Wayback Machine (archived July 28, 2012)