Jenny Thompson

Jenny Thompson

Personal information
Full name	Jennifer Beth Thompson
Nickname(s)	Jenny
Nationality	United States
Born	February 26, 1973 (1973-02-26) Danvers, Massachusetts, United States
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Butterfly, Freestyle
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for the United States Olympic Games Gold 1992 Barcelona 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1992 Barcelona 4x100 m medley Gold 1996 Atlanta 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1996 Atlanta 4x200 m freestyle Gold 1996 Atlanta 4x100 m medley Gold 2000 Sydney 4x100 m freestyle Gold 2000 Sydney 4x200 m freestyle Gold 2000 Sydney 4x100 m medley Silver 1992 Barcelona 100 m freestyle Silver 2004 Athens 4x100 m freestyle Silver 2004 Athens 4x100 m medley Bronze 2000 Sydney 100 m freestyle World Championships (LC) Gold 1991 Perth 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1998 Perth 100 m freestyle Gold 1998 Perth 100 m butterfly Gold 1998 Perth 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1998 Perth 4x100 m medley Gold 2003 Barcelona 100 m butterfly Gold 2003 Barcelona 4x100 m freestyle Silver 1994 Rome 4x100 m freestyle Silver 1994 Rome 4x100 m medley Silver 1998 Perth 4x200 m freestyle Silver 2003 Barcelona 50 m butterfly Silver 2003 Barcelona 4x100 m medley Bronze 2003 Barcelona 100 m freestyle Bronze 1994 Rome 4x200 m freestyle World Championships (SC) Gold 1997 Gothenburg 100 m freestyle Gold 1997 Gothenburg 100 m butterfly Gold 1997 Gothenburg 4x100 m medley Gold 1999 Hong Kong 100 m freestyle Gold 1999 Hong Kong 50 m butterfly Gold 1999 Hong Kong 100 m butterfly Gold 1999 Hong Kong 4x100 m medley Gold 2000 Athens 50 m butterfly Gold 2000 Athens 100 m butterfly Gold 2004 Indianapolis 50 m butterfly Gold 2004 Indianapolis 4x100 m freestyle Silver 1997 Gothenburg 50 m freestyle Silver 1999 Hong Kong 50 m freestyle Silver 2000 Athens 100 m freestyle Silver 2000 Athens 4x200 m freestyle Silver 2004 Indianapolis 4 100 m medley Bronze 2000 Athens 4x100 m medley Bronze 2004 Indianapolis 100 m butterfly Pan American Games Gold 1987 Indianapolis 50 m freestyle Gold 1987 Indianapolis 4x100 m freestyle Bronze 1987 Indianapolis 100 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 1989 Tokyo 50 m freestyle Gold 1989 Tokyo 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1991 Edmonton 50 m freestyle Gold 1991 Edmonton 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1993 Kobe 50 m freestyle Gold 1993 Kobe 100 m freestyle Gold 1993 Kobe 100 m butterfly Gold 1993 Kobe 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1993 Kobe 4x200 m freestyle Gold 1993 Kobe 4x100 m medley Gold 1995 Atlanta 100 m freestyle Gold 1995 Atlanta 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1995 Atlanta 4x200 m freestyle Gold 1997 Fukuoka 100 m freestyle Gold 1997 Fukuoka 100 m butterfly Gold 1997 Fukuoka 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1997 Fukuoka 4x200 m freestyle Gold 1997 Fukuoka 4x100 m medley Gold 1999 Sydney 50 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 100 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 100 m butterfly Gold 1999 Sydney 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 4x200 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 4x100 m medley Gold 2002 Yokohama 50 m freestyle Silver 1989 Tokyo 100 m freestyle Silver 1997 Fukuoka 50 m freestyle Silver 2002 Yokohama 4x100 m freestyle Silver 2002 Yokohama 4x100 m medley Bronze 2002 Yokohama 100 m freestyle Bronze 2002 Yokohama 100 m butterfly

Jennifer ("Jenny") Beth Thompson (born February 26, 1973) is an American former competitive swimmer, and one of the most decorated Olympians in history, winning twelve medals, including eight gold medals (all relay), in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics.

Thompson, a Massachusetts native who calls Dover, New Hampshire her hometown, began swimming at age 7 at a summer country club called Cedardale in Groveland, Massachusetts. She swam there every summer from ages 7 to 12 under coach Nancy Pearson Brennan. During the indoor season, she swam at the Danvers YMCA from ages 7 to 9, and then continued swimming under coach Nancy Pearson Brennan at the Andover-North Andover YMCA from the ages of 10 to 12. At age 12 she began swimming for 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 a fellow in anesthesiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

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 200 m freestyle, finished a disappointing fifth in the 50, 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 relay gold; the most for any female Olympic swimmer 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. In June,, 2010 she was assaulted when two men attempted to steal her scooter, however she was able to fight off both of her attackers. [1] [2]

Thompson married Daniel Richard Cumpelik on September 5, 2010. She currently works as an anesthesiologist for the Spectrum medical group at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine.

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 1998. She was the Women's Sports Foundation's Athlete of the Year in 2000.

Her adopted hometown of Dover, New Hampshire has a public pool named in her honor.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event

External links

Records
Preceded by Mary T. Meagher	Women's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) August 23, 1999 – May 27, 2000	Succeeded by Inge de Bruijn
Preceded by Ayari Aoyama	Women's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (short course) April 19, 1997 – January 26, 2002	Succeeded by Martina Moravcová
Preceded by Martina Moravcová	Women's 100 metre individual medley world record holder (short course) January 16, 1999 – April 2, 1999	Succeeded by Martina Moravcová
Preceded by Martina Moravcová	Women's 100 metre individual medley world record holder (short course) April 2, 1999 – November 23, 2002	Succeeded by Natalie Coughlin
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Claudia Poll	Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year 1998	Succeeded by Penny Heyns
Preceded by Summer Sanders	Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year 1993	Succeeded by Allison Wagner
Preceded by Kristine Quance	Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year 1998 – 1999	Succeeded by Brooke Bennett