Kristina Ann Kowal (born October 9, 1978) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Kowal represented the United States at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

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, winning the silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. She was the first American woman to win a world championship title in the 100-meter breaststroke. Kowal helped her college team, the

Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving The Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team represents the University of Georgia (UGA) in NCAA men's and women's swimming and diving. Also known as the "Swim Dawgs," the teams compete at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Georgia, USA. The wom ...

team of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(UGA), win two NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. She was the NCAA swimmer of the year in 1999 and 2000. Kowal was the first American woman to break the one-minute barrier in the 100-yard breaststroke. She won eight NCAA titles and 10 U.S. Swimming national titles. During her college career she held 8 American and one world record. In 2000, she was named NCAA Woman of the Year and she was recipient of the

Today's Top VIII Award The Today's Top 10 Award is given each year by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to honor ten former outstanding senior student-athletes. The award was previously known by three different names, each reflecting the number of rec ...

as a member of the Class of 2001, which honors eight senior student-athletes each year. She graduated from UGA in 2002 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Education (B.S.Ed). Kowal became a member of the United States Swimming Team in 1995 at the age of 16. Kowal was an also alternate on the 1996 Olympic team in the 100 meter breaststroke, the 2000 Olympic team in the 100 meter breaststroke, and the 2004 Olympic team in the 200 meter breaststroke. She is now an Elementary School Teacher. She was inducted into the Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame in 2009, the

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field o ...

in 2010, University of Georgia's Circle of Honor in 2012 and the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame in 2013.

References

External links

Official webpage
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National Polish-American Sports HOF profile
1978 births Living people American female breaststroke swimmers American people of Polish descent World record setters in swimming Georgia Bulldogs women's swimmers Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Reading, Pennsylvania Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics {{UGeorgia-stub

See also

References

External links