Kathleen Baker
American swimmer
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname(s) | Thleen, ThleenBean, Little Bean [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
(
1997-02-28
)
February 28, 1997
(age
26)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 149 lb (68 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Backstroke , Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | SwimMAC Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 . She is the former world-record holder in 100 meter backstroke, set on July 28, 2018 in 58.00 at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, CA. Baker is also the former world-record holder in the 4x100 meter medley relay with Lilly King , Dana Vollmer, and Simone Manuel .
Early life
Baker attended Forsyth Country Day School until the tenth grade and then was home-schooled, so it would be easy to travel back and forth between Winston-Salem , North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina to swim and train with SwimMAC Carolina. Her mother swam for the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina , 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 attended the University of California, Berkeley , where she competed for the California Golden Bears swimming and diving team for three years from 2015 to 2018. [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 did not receive a medal as the final squad finished fourth. [6]
2016 Summer Olympics
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 .
2017
2017 World Championships | ||
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4×100 m medley | 3:51.55 (WR) |
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100 m backstroke | 58.58 |
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200 m backstroke | 2:06.48 |
At the 2017 World Championships , Baker won three medals. She won silver in the 100-meter backstroke , [8] bronze in the 200-meter backstroke , [9] and gold in the 4x100-meter medley relay . [10] Though she did not medal in the 50-meter backstroke , Baker broke Natalie Coughlin's American record in the event in the semifinals with a time of 27.48. [11] Baker led off the women's 4x100-meter medley relay, with the team winning with a time of 3:51.55. The team of Baker, Lilly King , Kelsi Worrell , and Simone Manuel broke the 2012 world record of 3:52.05 set by Missy Franklin , Rebecca Soni , Dana Vollmer , and Allison Schmitt . [12] [13]
Personal life
In July 2021, Baker announced on her engagement to her long-time boyfriend and United States Marine , Sean Dowling. [14] [15]
See also
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" . The New York Times . Retrieved August 17, 2016 .
- ↑ "Kathleen Baker Bio" . calbears.com . California Golden Bears . Retrieved June 29, 2016 .
- ↑ "Kathleen Baker Bio" . SwimSwam . Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
- ↑ "Kathleen Baker: It's a Good Time to Go A Best Time (Video)" . swimswam.com . Swim Swam. June 28, 2016 . Retrieved June 29, 2016 .
- ↑ "Results Summary" . Omega Timing . July 25, 2017. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017 . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .
- ↑ "Results Summary" . Omega Timing . July 29, 2017. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017 . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .
- ↑ "Results Summary" . Omega Timing . July 30, 2017 . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .
- ↑ "Kathleen Baker Downs Natalie Coughlin's 50 Back American Record - Swimming World News" . Swimming World News . July 26, 2017 . Retrieved August 3, 2017 .
- ↑ "U.S. set world record to win women's 4x100 metres medley relay" . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .
- ↑ "Watch USA Women Eclipse WR in 4x100 Medley Relay (Race Video)" . SwimSwam . July 30, 2017 . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .
- ↑ D'Addona, Dan (July 19, 2021). "Olympic Gold Medalist Kathleen Baker Announces Engagement" . Swimming World . Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ↑ Dornan, Ben (July 19, 2021). "US Olympian Kathleen Baker Announces Engagement To US Marine Sean Dowling" . SwimSwam . Retrieved January 15, 2022.
External links
- Kathleen Baker at USA Swimming
- Kathleen Baker at World Aquatics
-
Kathleen Baker
at
TeamUSA.org
-
Kathleen Baker
at
Olympics.com
-
Kathleen Baker
at
Olympedia
-
Kathleen Baker
at
Olympics at Sports-Reference.com
(archived)
Records | ||
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Preceded by |
Women's 100 metre backstroke
world record holder (long course) 28 July 2018 – 28 July 2019 |
Succeeded by |
Men | |
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Women |
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