Zoë Baker (born 29 February 1976) is a former world record holder in swimming who represented Great Britain until 2005, when she switched allegiance to New Zealand whilst living there. She later returned to the United Kingdom and she switched her allegiance back to Great Britain in 2011.Zoë Baker's Website
Retrieved 21 June 2013

Swimming career

National titles

Baker won the ASA National British Championships 50 metres breaststroke title eight times (1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003).

1999

At the

1999 European Aquatics Championships The European Long Course Championships 1999 were a swimming competition held in Istanbul, Turkey from Monday 26 July to Sunday 1 August, in the 50 m pool of the Ataköy Olympic Pool Stadium. The 24th edition of the event was organised by the ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Baker swam 31.43 seconds in the semifinal of the 50-m breaststroke to set a European record. She collected a silver medal in the final.

2000

Baker earned the silver medal in the 50-m breaststroke at the 2000 European Aquatics Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, finishing behind

Ágnes Kovács Ágnes Kovács (born 13 July 1981) is a Hungarian swimmer who competed at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. In 2000, she won the 200 m breaststroke and set the Hungary records in the 100 m and 200 m breaststrokes events (1:07.79 and 2:24.03 ...

of Hungary.

2001

Baker won the bronze medal in the 50-m breaststroke at the 2001 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, finishing with a time of 31.40.

2002

Baker represented England at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

in Manchester winning the gold medal in the women's 50 m breaststroke in a time of 30.60 seconds. She also set a world record of 30.57 seconds in the semifinal round of the same event, breaking the previous mark set by

Penny Heyns Penelope ("Penny") Heyns OIS (born 8 November 1974) is a South African former swimmer, who is best known for being the only woman in the history of the Olympic Games to have won both the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events – at the 1996 Atlan ...

of South Africa. In addition, she set a short-course world record with a mark of 30.53 seconds at the South African National Short Championships in Durban, then surpassed that mark later in the same month.

2003

In 2003 Baker collected another medal in the 50-m breaststroke, a bronze at the 2003 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona behind Chinese swimmer Luo Xuejuan.

2006

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne she was 4th in the same event, this time representing New Zealand.''BBC''
"Swimming: 50m breaststroke"
19 March 2006. Retrieved on 14 June 2013.

2012

In January 2012 Baker switched her allegiance back to Great Britain for international swimming competitions.

Coaching career

Baker was the head coach of the Bournemouth Collegiate School Swimming Academy. Baker relocated to Australia in 2022 to take up the head coach role at Peel Aquatic Club, located in Mandurah WA.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Zoe 1976 births Living people English female swimmers New Zealand female swimmers Female breaststroke swimmers Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand World record setters in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming