Katie Hoff
![]() Katie Hoff at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Kathryn Elise Hoff | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Palo Alto, California, United States | June 3, 1989||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 141 lb (64 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Freestyle, individual medley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kathryn "Katie" Elise Hoff (born June 3, 1989 in Palo Alto, California) is an American swimmer. Hoff is strongest in the 200 and 400 meter individual medley, though she is a very capable swimmer in many events, ranging from the four 200 meter events to the 800 meter freestyle. She competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, in which she captured a silver and two bronze medals.
Competitive career
2004-2005
Hoff qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics at the age of 15; she failed to medal in both of the events in which she competed.
At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Hoff set a championships record for her time of 2:10.41 in the women's 200 m individual medley.[1] Hoff received two more gold medals at the competition, one in the 400 m medley and the other for the 4x200 m freestyle, with teammates Natalie Coughlin, Whitney Myers, and Kaitlin Sandeno.
2007 World Aquatics Championships
Hoff retained her 200 m individual medley title by winning at the 2007 World Championships setting a new championship record of 2:10.13.[2] Hoff's previous experience helped her use her "veteran" status to help the most experienced member of the US team, Natalie Coughlin, prepare for their world-record-setting pace in the 4x200 m freestyle relay.[3]
2008 Summer Olympic Games
Heading into the 2008 Olympics, Hoff was considered a strong contender. Hoff held the American record in the 200 meter individual medley at 2:09.71 and set the world record in the 400 meter individual medley with a time of 4:31.12 set at the 2008 U.S. swim trials. (This time was subsequently bettered by Stephanie Rice in the Olympic finals with a time of 4:29.45).
Hoff’s performances in Beijing produced a decidedly mixed record. NBC commentator and former-Olympian Rowdy Gaines described her results as disappointing (this included finishing second to Great Britain's Rebecca Adlington in the 400 m Freestyle), yet noted that her three medals at one Olympics is a significant achievement and cited the depth of the field in each of her events. Prior to the Olympic Games, Hoff was saddled by the media with the label “the female Michael Phelps” due to the challenging slate of races in which she was competing. Bob Bowman, Phelps’ coach, thought the comparison was unfair.
Hoff set the American record in the 200 freestyle, yet finished fourth in the event; 70 minutes later in the finals of the 200 meter IM Hoff again finished fourth, well behind her time at the U.S. swim trials. These results led to questions as to whether Hoff’s program in Beijing was too aggressive. It was also suggested that Hoff's narrow miss of a gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle created a confidence issue that affected her later races.[4] Following her consecutive fourth place finishes, Hoff's coach, Paul Yetter, held that she was having a good meet and denied she had peaked too early. Yetter also predicted that Hoff could have an “awesome” 800 meter freestyle race to conclude her second Olympic games.[5] However, Hoff dramatically faded over the second half of her preliminary race, finishing in 8:27.78, 8.08 seconds off her personal best time, and failed to advance.[6]
2009
After taking some time off after the 2008 Olympics Hoff did not qualify for the 2009 World Aquatics Championships after an 8th place finish in the 200 m freestyle and a 6th place finish in the 400 m freestyle at the US National Championships. Hoff subsequently withdrew from the 100 m freestyle and 800 m freestyle races, ending her chances of making the team.[7]
Personal life
Hoff was born in Palo Alto, California and moved with her family to Towson, Maryland in 2003.[8] In 2008, she purchased a condominium in the Mount Washington suburb of Baltimore.[8] Her mother, Jeanne Ruark Hoff, played basketball for Stanford University from 1979 to 1983.[9] Hoff's father, John, is a salesman. Both Hoff and her younger brother, Christian, were home schooled.[8] Hoff is currently serving as a volunteer assistant swimming coach at Loyola College.[1]
Major achievements
International events
Year | Meet | Venue | Distance | Event | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 2004 Olympics | Athens, Greece | 200 m | Individual medley | 17th |
2005 | World Championships (LC) | Montreal, Canada | 200 m | Individual medley | 1st |
World Championships | Montreal, Canana | 400 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
2006 | Pan Pacific Championships | Victoria, Canada | 200 m | Freestyle | 1st |
Pan Pacific Championships | Victoria, Canada | 400 m | Freestyle | 2nd | |
Pan Pacific Championships | Victoria, Canada | 200 m | Individual medley | 2nd | |
Pan Pacific Championships | Victoria, Canada | 400 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
2007 | World Championships (LC) | Melbourne, Australia | 200 m | Individual medley | 1st |
World Championships | Melbourne, Australia | 400 m | Individual medley | 1st WR | |
World Championships | Melbourne, Australia | 4x200 m | Free relay | 1st WR | |
2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 200 m | Freestyle | 4th |
Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 400 m | Freestyle | 2nd | |
Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 200 m | Individual medley | 4th | |
Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 400 m | Individual medley | 3rd | |
Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 4x200 m | Free relay | 3rd |
U.S. National Achievements
Year | Meet | Distance | Event | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | US Open | 200 m | Individual medley | 2nd |
US Open | 400 m | Individual medley | 2nd | |
2004 | Spring Nationals | 200 m | Individual medley | 3rd |
Spring Nationals | 400 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
2005 | US Open | 200 m | Freestyle | 1st |
US Open | 100 m | Butterfly | 1st | |
US Open | 200 m | Butterfly | 1st | |
US Open | 200 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
2006 | US Open | 800 m | Freestyle | 1st |
US Open | 200 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
US Open | 400 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
Summer Nationals | 200 m | Freestyle | 2nd | |
Summer Nationals | 400 m | Freestyle | 2nd | |
Summer Nationals | 200 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
Summer Nationals | 400 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
Spring Championships | 50 m | Freestyle | 3rd | |
Spring Championships | 100 m | Freestyle | 1st | |
Spring Championships | 400 m | Freestyle | 1st | |
Spring Championships | 200 m | Butterfly | 2nd | |
Spring Championships | 200 m | Individual medley | 1st | |
Spring Championships | 400 m | Individual medley | 1st |
References
- ^ "Montreal 2005 Results". Archived from the original on 2007-01-28. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
- ^ "12th FINA World Championships". Archived from the original on 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
- ^ U.S. women set record in 4 x 200 - baltimoresun.com
- ^ "Hoff's fortunes determined by hundreds of a second". Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ "Hoff's load too heavy?". Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ "Hoff, Ziegler eliminated in 800-meter freestyle preliminaries". Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ "Hoff fails to qualify for world swim championships". July 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c Candus Thomson (2008-08-08). "Baltimore's other champ". The Baltimore Sun. pp. 1A, 6A.
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(help) - ^ Crouse, Karen (2006-07-13). "Seeking a Path Back to the Top". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
External links
- USA Swimming athlete bio: Katie Hoff
- Katie Hoff at Team USA (archived)
- Katie-Hoff.com - Official fan website
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1989 births
- Living people
- People from Palo Alto, California
- American swimmers
- Medley swimmers
- Freestyle swimmers
- Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic swimmers of the United States
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States
- Former world record holders in swimming
- Loyola University Maryland alumni
- People from Towson, Maryland
- Female medley swimmers
- Olympic medalists in swimming