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Nikki Dryden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nikki Dryden
Personal information
Full nameNicole Dryden
National teamCanada
Born (1975-04-05) April 5, 1975 (age 49)
Calgary, Alberta
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke, freestyle
ClubManitoba Marlins
College teamUniversity of Florida
Brown University
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Canada
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1991 Havana 100 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 1991 Havana 200 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 1991 Havana 4x200 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Victoria 800 m freestyle

Nicole Dryden (born April 5, 1975) is a former competitive swimmer who represented Canada at two consecutive Summer Olympics.

Early years

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Dryden was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1975.[1]

Swimming career

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At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Dryden reached the finals with the Canadian women's relay teams in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay (eighth) and in the 4x100-metre medley relay (sixth).[1] In the individual women's 100-metre backstroke, Dryden advanced to the consolation final, finishing fourteenth overall; she also participated in qualifying heats of the women's 200-metre freestyle and the women's 200-metre backstroke.[1] Four years later at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Dryden placed fourteenth in the women's 800-metre freestyle.[1]

Dryden accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she was a member of the Florida Gators swimming and diving team from 1993 to 1996.[2] As a Gator swimmer she was a five-time Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion (twice in the 500-yard freestyle, twice in the 800-yard freestyle relay, and once in the 1,650-yard freestyle), and received nine All-American honors.[2] She was also a five-time Ivy League champion as a swimmer for the Brown Bears swimming team of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated from Brown with a bachelor's degree in international relations in 1998.[3]

Life after competition swimming

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Dryden earned her juris doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School in Brooklyn, New York in 2005, and currently works as a human rights and immigration lawyer in the New York City office of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy.[3] Dryden previously served as a visa officer for the Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka and Kenya, and worked for the International Organization for Migration with Somali immigration officials.[3]

Dryden also volunteers as an athlete ambassador for several organizations that work to support the rights of children around the world, including Right To Play and SwimLanka. She is also a celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America, a charitable organization that works with former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nikki Dryden". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Florida Swimming & Diving 2011–12 Media Supplement Archived May 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 62, 64, 76, 79 (2011). Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Fragomen, Our Professionals, Nikki Dryden. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  4. ^ Swim Across America, Olympians, Nikki Dryden. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
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