Claudia Kolb
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Claudia Anne Kolb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Hayward, California | December 19, 1949|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 134 lb (61 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Breaststroke, individual medley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Santa Clara Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach | George Haines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Claudia Anne Kolb (born December 19, 1949), also known by her married name Claudia Thomas, is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events.
Kolb represented the United States as a 14-year-old at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She competed in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, and received the silver medal for her second-place performance (2:47.6) behind Soviet Galina Prozumenshchikova, who set a new Olympic record (2:46.4).[1][2]
When Mexico City hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics, Kolb won two gold medals. She dominated her competition in the medley events, winning both the women's 200-meter individual medley (2:24.7) and women's 400-meter individual medley (5:08.5). Kolb set new Olympic records in both events in the preliminary heats and the event finals.[1]
During her career Kolb won 25 U.S. national AAU Championships and set 23 world records. In 1967 she was named "World Swimmer of the Year" by Swimming World magazine. In 1975 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[3]
Kolb retired from competition swimming after the Mexico City Olympics. She has coached swimming at clubs in South Bend, Indiana and Santa Clara, California, and college teams at Stanford University and at Pacific University. Her Stanford swimmers won the 1980 AIAW national team championship.
She currently lives in Oregon.
See also
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
- World record progression 100 metres breaststroke
- World record progression 200 metres individual medley
- World record progression 400 metres individual medley
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
References
- ^ a b Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Claudia Kolb. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- ^ Claudia Kolb – Olympic Games results from databaseOlympics.com
- ^ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Claudia Kolb (USA). Retrieved September 7, 2015.
External links
- Claudia Kolb (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame
- 1949 births
- Living people
- American female breaststroke swimmers
- American female medley swimmers
- American swimming coaches
- College swimming coaches in the United States
- Former world record holders in swimming
- International Swimming Hall of Fame inductees
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming
- Olympic swimmers of the United States
- People from Hayward, California
- Sportspeople from California
- Stanford Cardinal coaches
- Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games
- Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Pan American Games gold medalists