Kathleen Baker

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Kathleen Baker
Personal information
Full nameKathleen Baker
NicknameThleen[1]
National team United States
Born (1997-02-28) February 28, 1997 (age 27)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke, Freestyle
College teamUniversity of California, Berkeley
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m backstroke

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

See also: Swimming at the 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.

References

  1. ^ Murtagh, Alison (July 18, 2016). "5 Reasons to Cheer for Olympian Kathleen Baker". Swimming World. Retrieved August 27, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Fowler, Scott (July 1, 2016). "For swimmer Kathleen Baker, 19, road to Olympics ran between Winston-Salem, Charlotte". charlotteobserver.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Kathleen Baker Bio". calbears.com. California Golden Bears. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  6. ^ "Kathleen Baker Bio". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  7. ^ "Kathleen Baker: It's a Good Time to Go A Best Time (Video)". swimswam.com. Swim Swam. Retrieved June 29, 2016.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kathleen_Baker&oldid=751123207"