Swimming is a game that is not just savoured and commanded by men athletes like Michael Phelps but it is aced by women as well. Take Jenny Thompson for example.
Jennifer Beth Thompson is one of the most decorated Olympians in the swimming category and a twelve-time gold medalist. Rousing with indoor swimming, Thompson has played in many tournaments principally converging on the butterfly and freestyle strokes.
As a swimmer, Thompson was able to set her own world records for 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle. She has also joined Team USA and won the 4×100-meter freestyle team relay. She has fifty-three gold medals from all the games she participated in, twenty silver, and eight bronze medals. On top of that, she also received the Honda Sports Award for swimming and diving in the 1994-1995 series. Furthermore, being the decorated swimmer that she is, Thompson can be seen with some luxury swimwear while competing for her endorsement. Overall, Jenny Thompson is an amazing swimmer with a superb career during her time.
Jenny Thompson was born in Danvers, Massachusetts on February 26, 1973. At the age of seven, she started her swimming lessons at a nearby country club swimming pool in Groveland, Massachusetts called Cedardale. Between the age of 8 and 10, she swam at the Danvers YMCA pool and when she was older, between 10 and 12, she swam at the Andover-North Andover YMCA. Her training sessions were guided by her coaches Amy and Mike Parratto.
At fourteen, she started her international career by participating in the 1987 Pan American Games.
She won the 50-meter freestyle category but only landed the third place for the 100-meter freestyle category. In 1991, she finally won her first world championship competition together with the United States national team. A year after, she was able to compete in Barcelona, Spain for the 1992 Olympics. During the tournament, she was able to set a world record for the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle category.
For her degree, she attended Stanford University and has been a part of the Stanford Cardinal swim team. Thompson participated in NCAA competitions as well as in Pacific-10 Conference tournaments.
Things took a different turn for her in the 1996 Olympics. She swam poorly which hindered her from participating in any individual tournament in Atlanta. However, she bounced right back in the team category where she won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle, 4×100-meter medley, and the 4×200-meter freestyle. In August of the same year, she swam alongside the United States Finswimming Team in Hungary for the Eight World Championship. The following years, Thompson continued to build herself a good career by winning eight more titles in the world championship.
Perhaps one of the most unforgettable moments of Thompson’s career is her record-breaking time for the 100-meter butterfly which was 56.56. This was the fourth time that she has broken and set a new world record. Her phenomenal three in a row wins during her time in the university was also a record to beat too by many rising swimmers who wanted to follow her path. Throughout her career, she has set many world records and broke some as well, replacing it with her own amazing time.
And, the ace swimmer has her exposure to female-safety too. A few months before her wedding, two men came at her with the intention of stealing her scooter. Fortunately, she was able to fight off the assault of her attackers.
These days, she is working as an anesthesiologist at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine as a member of the Spectrum Medical Group. She is also a part of the Swim Across America Organization as a volunteer celebrity swimmer.
And whatsoever be her last, and despite not being active in the competitive arena anymore, Jenny Thompson will always linger as one of the leading names when it comes to female swimmers.
