Beth Anne Botsford (born May 21, 1981) is an American former competition

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 ...

and

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), 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 disa ...

specialist who won two gold medals as a fifteen-year-old at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta, Georgia. She did so in the individual 100-meter backstroke, and as a member of the women's relay team in 4×100-meter medley.

Personal

Botsford grew up in

Timonium, Maryland Timonium is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a population of 10,458. Prior to 2010 the area was part of the Luth ...

.Beth Botsford Bio - UWBadgers.com - The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers
Retrieved 2014-10-24. She started her swimming journey at the age of 9 for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club in Baltimore, Maryland. Over the next 5 years, Beth held every national age group record in the backstroke events for the ages 9–10 year olds, 11-12 year olds, and 13-14 year olds. In 1996 at the age of 14, and already with 2 National Championships under her belt, Beth placed first in the 200m backstroke at the US Olympic Trials and second in the 100m backstroke, earning her a spot as one of the youngest members on the United States Olympic Team. That summer in Atlanta, Georgia, Beth swam to a gold medal finish in the 100m Backstroke at the XXVI Olympic Games and swam the backstroke leg of the gold medal winning 4 × 100 m Medley Relay. Throughout the next ten years, Beth won a total 6 National Championships, broke the American and US Open records in the 200m Backstroke, was an NCAA Champion and 16 time All-American for the University of Arizona, was voted the PAC-10 Newcomer of the Year, received the Ruby Award for "Outstanding Female Student Athlete" at the University of Arizona, has served as the honorary head coach for the Special Olympics of Maryland, and has been inducted into the Maryland Swimming Hall of Fame and the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. She has traveled all around the world including Paris, Japan, Korea, Paris, Barbados, Mexico, Canada, and Australia representing the United States as gold, silver and bronze medals earning member of the Pan American Games Team, Pan Pacific Games Team, World Championships Team and the World University Games Team (which she was also voted team captain for the USA). Beth has been requested anywhere from Alaska to Virginia to Japan for her Stroke Clinics. Beth was the owner of the Golden Guppies Swim School in Madison, Wisconsin, and coached the Waunakee Wave Swim Team. In 2017, Beth Botsford returned to the college where she was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the University of Arizona, this time however, as a coach. Beth was an assistant coach under new head coach Augie Busch (son of Frank Busch) for Arizona, adding to the deep-rooted Arizona coaching staff, including another former swimmer for the Wildcats, NCAA champion Cory Chitwood.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Botsford, Beth 1981 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers Arizona Wildcats women's swimmers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming People from Timonium, Maryland Sportspeople from Baltimore County, Maryland Swimmers from Baltimore Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2003 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Swimmers at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Garrison Forest School people 20th-century American sportswomen

Personal

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