Amy Bilquist (born August 11, 1997) is an American competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who specializes in the

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 swimme ...

and

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

events. She represented

LA Current The LA Current is a professional swimming club and one of the original eight clubs of the International Swimming League. The team is based in Los Angeles, CA led by general manager Lenny Krayzelburg and head coach David Marsh. During the inaug ...

in the 2019 season of the

International Swimming League The International Swimming League (ISL) is an annual professional swimming league, established in 2019. It features a team-based competition format with fast-paced race sessions. In 2019, the regular season started in October and the Final Match ...

and will represent

DC Trident DC Trident is a professional swimming team based in Washington, D.C. DC Trident competes in the International Swimming League (ISL), which is a global, professional swimming league consisting of ten teams: the DC Trident, the New York Breakers, ...

in the 2020 season.

Early life

Amy Bilquist was born August 11, 1997 in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, as the daughter of Brent and Julie Bilquist. Bilquist attended and swam for Carmel High School in

Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county ...

under head coach Chris Plumb. She was the Indiana state record-holder in the 50 and 100-yard

, 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard and 400-yard

relays. Bilquist swam collegiately at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

from 2015 to 2019.

College career

As a freshman for the Bears, Bilquist won the 200-yard

at the 2016 Pac-12 Championship Meet, third in the 100-yard

, and seventh in the 50-yard

. At the 2016 Women's NCAA Division I Championships, Bilquist finished fourth in the 100-yard

, fifth in the 200-yard

and was part of the 200-yard

relay that took home the victory. At the Pac-12 Championships of the following year, Bilquist finished fourth in the 200-yard

(1:51.22), fifth in the 100-yard

(51.29) and eighth in the 50-yard

(22.13). At the 2017 Women's NCAA Division I Championships, Bilquist finished ninth in the 100-yard

(50.86), 14th in the 200-yard

(1:52.03) and 17th in the 50-yard

(22.00). She was also part of Cal's gold medal in the 200-yard

relay, as well as a member on the runner-up 800-yard and third place 400-yard

relay teams. As a junior, Bilquist finished third in the 50-yard

and 100-yard

, and fourth in the 200-yard

at the 2018 Pac-12 Championships. She was a member of all three

relays as well as of the 200-yard medley relay that won Pac-12 titles. At 2018 Women's NCAA Division I Championships she finished eight in the 100-yard

, ninth in the 50-yard

and 10th in the 100-yard

. She also contributed to the second-place finish of the 200 and 400-yard

relays, and 200-yard medley relays, as well as third-place finish of the 800-yard

relay. At her final 2019 Pac-12 Championships, Bilquist won the 100-yard

, while she was runner-up in the 50 and 100-yard

. She also contributed to four winning relays - 200, 400 and 800-yard

and 400-yard medley relay. At the 2019 Women's NCAA Division I Championships she placed second in the 100-yard

, and finished sixth in both the 50 and 100-yard

. She was a member of three winning relay teams at the meet: 200 and 400-yard

relay, and 400-yard medley relay.

International career

2014 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

Bilquist was named to the USA Junior National Team after qualifying for the

2014 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships were held from 27 to 31 August 2014 in Maui, Hawaii, United States.

, where she won gold in the 50m

and 100m

. She was also part of the 400m medley and

relays which were two new Junior World Records.

2014 World Championships (25m)

Bilquist competed at the

2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) were held in Doha, Qatar on 3–7 December 2014. The Hamad Aquatic Centre in the Aspire Zone hosted the event. Host selection On 14 December 2010, FINA announced that Catania, Italy would host the ...

Doha, Qatar Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the cou ...

and went home with three medals: two silvers in the women's 4×50 m freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle relays and a gold in the 4×50 m mixed freestyle relay.

2016 Olympic Trials

She placed third in the 100m

and fourth in the 200m

, just missing out the Olympic team by one and two spots.

International Swimming League

Bilquist was a member of the inaugural

(ISL) representing

. She competed at the first match of the second block of the ISL held in

Lewisville, Texas Lewisville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, predominantly within Denton County with a small part lying within Dallas County. As a suburban community within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the 2020 census tabulated a population of 1 ...

, as well as in the Budapest match and American Derby held in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best know ...

. LA Current qualified for the final match in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

and finished fourth. Bilquist will represent

in the 2020-2021 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilquist, Amy 1997 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers American female backstroke swimmers California Golden Bears women's swimmers Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women