Kathleen Baker
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kathleen Baker | |||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Thleen[1] | |||||||||
| National team |
 United States | |||||||||
| Born |
February 28, 1997 Winston-Salem, North Carolina | |||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke, Freestyle | |||||||||
| College team | University of California, Berkeley | |||||||||
Medal record
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Kathleen Baker (born February 28, 1997) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle and backstroke events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay and a silver medal in the individual 100-meter backstroke.
Early life
Baker attended Forsyth Country Day School until the tenth grade, and then became home-schooled so it would be easy to travel back in forth between Winston-Salem and Charlotte to swim and train with SwimMAC Carolina. Her mother swam for the College of Charleston and her older sister, Rachel currently swims for Washington and Lee University[2][3]
In 2010, Baker was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.[4]
Career
College Swimming
Baker attends the University of California, Berkeley, where she competes for the California Golden Bears swimming and diving team.[5]
2014-2015
At the 2014 Phillips 66 Nationals, the qualification meet for the 2014 Pan Pacifics, Baker finished second in the 200-meter backstroke and qualified for the team. She finished ninth in the 200-meter backstroke at Pan Pacifics, just outside the final.
Baker was also selected to the 2015 World Championships roster in the 100-meter backstroke. She placed eighth in the final of the 100-meter backstroke. She also swam in the prelims for the 4x100-meter medley relay, but didn't receive a medal as the final squad finished fourth.[6]
2016 Summer Olympic Games
At the 2016 Olympic Trials, Baker qualified for her first Olympics in the 100-meter backstroke by finishing second with a time of 59.29.
In Rio, she won a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 58.75, three tenths behind the winner Katinka Hosszú. She was not considered by many to be a medal threat since she had never broken 59 seconds prior to the Olympics.[7] Baker also won a gold medal alongside Lilly King, Dana Vollmer, and Simone Manuel as the lead off of the 4x100-meter medley relay.
References
- ↑ Murtagh, Alison (July 18, 2016). "5 Reasons to Cheer for Olympian Kathleen Baker". Swimming World. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ↑ Lowe, Kegan (August 9, 2016). "Winston-Salem's Kathleen Baker takes silver in 100m backstroke". journalnow.com. BH Media Group, Inc. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- ↑ Fowler, Scott (July 1, 2016). "For swimmer Kathleen Baker, 19, road to Olympics ran between Winston-Salem, Charlotte". charlotteobserver.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- ↑ Crouse, Karen (July 14, 2016). "Swimmer Kathleen Baker Overcomes Crohn's Disease to Become an Olympian". nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- ↑ "Kathleen Baker Bio". calbears.com. California Golden Bears. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Kathleen Baker Bio". SwimSwam. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
- ↑ "Kathleen Baker: It's a Good Time to Go A Best Time (Video)". swimswam.com. Swim Swam. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
External links
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