Elizabeth Lyon Beisel (born August 18, 1992) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

and

individual medley Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles—backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle—into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay. Individual m ...

events. Beisel placed second in the 400m individual medley at the 2016 US Olympic Swimming Trials, qualifying for her third Olympic team. She has won a total of nine medals in major international competition, four gold, one silver, and four bronze spanning the Olympics,

World Aquatics FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

, and the Pan Pacific championships. Beisel competed in the 200-meter backstroke and 400-meter individual medley events at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, placing fifth and fourth, respectively, in the world. She won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley and bronze in the 200-meter backstroke at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. On September 25, 2021, she became the first woman to ever swim to

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingto ...

. The 20 km swim raised funds for cancer research and clinical trials. In August 2020, SPIRE Institute and Academy signed Biesel to become a swimming ambassador. She will be joining

Caeleb Dressel Caeleb Remel Dressel (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He swims representing the Cali Condors as part of the International Swimming League. He won ...

in representing the school. The goal of the partnership with SPIRE and the ambassadors is to emphasize the development of peak performance in athletics, academics, character and life.

Early life

Beisel was born in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, in 1992,U.S. Olympic Committee, Swimming, Athletes
Elizabeth Beisel
Retrieved August 7, 2010. the daughter of Ted and Joan Beisel. She graduated from

North Kingstown High School North Kingstown Senior High School (North Kingstown High School) is a public secondary school located in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The school, which serves grades 9–12, is attended by residents of both North Kingstown and Jamestown. As o ...

North Kingstown, Rhode Island North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 census. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of American portraitist Gilb ...

in 2010. From the age of 12 through high school, she competed for the Bluefish Swim Club while training under coach Chuck Batchelor. Beisel became a member of the U.S. national swim team when she was 13 years old. Beisel's great uncle, Warren William Krech, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was called the "King of Pre-code Hollywood." He was also one of the original fourteen members of the Screen Actors Guild.

College career

Beisel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in ...

, where she swam for coach Gregg Troy's

Florida Gators swimming and diving The Florida Gators swimming and diving program represents the University of Florida in the aquatics sports of swimming and diving. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Coll ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) competition from 2011 to 2014.GatorZone.com, Women's Swimming & Diving, 2011–12 Roster
Elizabeth Beisel
. Retrieved July 7, 2012. She won nine

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) individual championships, and was honored as the SEC Female Swimmer of the Year in 2012. Beisel also won the NCAA individual championships in the 200-yard backstroke in 2012, and the 400-yard individual medley in 2013, leading the Lady Gators to a seventh, tenth, sixth and sixth-place team finishes at the NCAA national championships. She received eighteen All-American honors and earned first-team Academic All-America recognition.

International career

2007 World Championships

At the age of 14, Beisel competed in the 2007 World Championships. She advanced to the semi-finals and placed twelfth overall in the 200-meter backstroke.

2008 Summer Olympics

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Beisel finished second to

Katie Hoff Kathryn Elise Hoff (born June 3, 1989) is a former American competitive swimmer, she is an Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoff was known for her success in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley. She represented the Un ...

in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:32.87. Hoff went on to set the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in that race. In the 200-meter backstroke, Beisel finished second to Margaret Hoelzer, who also set the world record. As a 15-year-old, Beisel was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic swim team at the

in Beijing, China. Beisel clocked the best time in the preliminaries of the 400-meter individual medley, and finished fourth in the final with a time of 4:34.24. She had the second fastest time in the semi-finals of the 200-meter backstroke, and finished fifth in the final.

2009 World Championships

At the 2009 National Championships, Beisel competed in four individual events and qualified to swim in two finals. In the 400-meter individual medley, Beisel edged Julia Smit with a time of 4:36.31. In the 200-meter backstroke, Beisel finished first with a time of 2:08.80. Margaret Hoelzer, the Olympic silver medalist in Beijing, finished third. In her first event at the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplin ...

, the 200-meter backstroke, Beisel finished third in the final with a time of 2:06.39, just missing Hoelzer's American record of 2:06.09. In the 400-meter individual medley final, Beisel placed fifth.

2010 Pan Pacific Championships

At the 2010 National Championships, Beisel competed in two events. In the 400-meter individual medley, the defending national champion slipped to fourth place. In the 200-meter backstroke, Beisel successfully defended her national title, finishing first with a time of 2:08.50. At the

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22. M ...

, Beisel won two gold medals. Her first gold medal came in the 400-meter individual medley, in which she finished first with a time of 4:34.69. It was three seconds faster than the second-place finisher and was Beisel's first international gold medal. In the 200-meter backstroke, Beisel won her second gold medal with a time of 2:07.83.

2011 World Aquatics Championships

At the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synch ...

in Shanghai, China, Beisel competed in two events, the 200-meter backstroke and the 400-meter individual medley. After qualifying third in both the heats (2:08.40) and semi-finals (2:07.82) of the 200-meter backstroke, Beisel finished in fifth place in the final with a time of 2:08.16. In her second and final event the 400-meter individual medley, Beisel won the gold in a time of 4:31.78. In the heats, Beisel posted the top qualifying time with a 4:34.95. Her nearest competitor,

Hannah Miley Hannah Louise Miley (born 8 August 1989) is a Scottish former competitive swimmer who specialised in the Individual Medley. Miley trained when she was younger at Inverurie Swimming Centre. She has represented Great Britain at three Olympic G ...

, was over two seconds behind. This was Beisel's first individual title at a World Aquatics Championships.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

, Beisel qualified for the U.S. Olympic team by placing first in the women's 400-meter individual medley. In the final, Beisel posted a personal best time of 4:31.74, finishing more than two seconds ahead of teammate

Caitlin Leverenz Caitlin Leverenz Smith (born February 26, 1991) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and medley events. She won the bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Early years Le ...

. She also qualified in the 200-meter backstroke by placing second, behind

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (born May 10, 1995) is an American former competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She formerly held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course). As a member of the U.S. national swim team ...

, with a time of 2:07.58. In her third event, the 400-meter freestyle, Beisel placed fifth in a time of 4:07.29. At the

in London, Beisel posted a time of 4:31.68 in the preliminaries of the 400-meter individual medley. She was seeded first going into the finals, and received a silver medal for finishing second behind China's

Ye Shiwen Ye Shiwen (; ; born 1 March 1996) is a Chinese swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in the 400 metres and 200 metres individual medley, breaking the world record in the 400 m event and the Olympic record in the 200 m event ...

with a time of 4:31.27 to Ye's 4:28.46. She also won a bronze medal by placing third in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:06.55, behind American

and Russian Anastasia Zuyeva.

2016 Summer Olympics

At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials held in Omaha, Nebraska, Beisel qualified for her 3rd Olympic team in the women's 400-meter individual medley. In the finals, Beisel swam a 4:36.81 for 2nd place behind

Maya Dirado Madeline Jane "Maya" DiRado - Andrews (born April 5, 1993) is a retired American competitive swimmer who specialized in freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley events.

, who won the event with a 4:33.73. In

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Beisel finished sixth in the final of the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:34.98.

2020 coaching career

In August 2020, SPIRE Institute and Academy signed Biesel to become a swimming ambassador. As an ambassador she will lead and instruct select classes.

''Survivor''

Beisel competed on '' Survivor: Island of the Idols'', the 39th season of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

series '' Survivor''. She was the third Olympian to be a contestant on the show. She placed ninth after a blindside on Day 30. As a member of the jury at the Final Tribal Council, she voted for Dean Kowalski to win, though Tommy Sheehan would end up winning the season.

Personal bests (long course)

Involvement in LEAD Sports Summit

Since retiring from her swimming career, Elizabeth has become extremely involved in the LEAD Sports Summit. She has been a part of this organization since 2017 and is currently active. LEAD is a yearly summit that connects young female athletes with Olympic champions and experts through an all-inclusive, 4-day event.

Bibliography

* Beisel, Elizabeth with Beth Fehr. ''Silver Lining''. United States, Nico 11 Publishing & Design, January 22, 2020. .

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beisel, Elizabeth 1992 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers American female medley swimmers Florida Gators women's swimmers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming People from North Kingstown, Rhode Island Sportspeople from Washington County, Rhode Island Survivor (American TV series) contestants Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming 21st-century American women