Jessica Antiles (born December 25, 1996) is an American swimmer. Antiles was one of 24 swimmers who swam for Team USA at the

2017 Maccabiah Games The 2017 Maccabiah Games (), also referred to as the 20th Maccabiah Games (), were the 20th edition of the Maccabiah Games. They took place from 4 to 17 July 2017, in Israel. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world ...

, where she won two medals.

Personal life

Antiles grew up in

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, is the daughter of Seth and Janette Antiles, and is Jewish. She is a member of the Maplewood Jewish Center, where her father is president. Her mother Janette competed in the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

herself, in tennis, representing

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. Antiles graduated from

Golda Och Academy Golda Och Academy is a private Jewish day school in West Orange, New Jersey. It educates Jewish students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade at two campuses. Previously known as Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, the curren ...

in 2015. She continued her education at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where she majored in psychology and competed on the varsity swimming team, graduating in 2019. In 2017, Antiles received an honorable mention by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as recognition for Scholar All-America.

Swimming career

Antiles has been competitively swimming since childhood, including competing for her hometown swim team, the South Orange Dolphins.

High school

In 2013 as a high school sophomore, she tied the prep championships record for the 200-yard individual medley with a 2:08.88 finish. The following year as a junior, Antiles broke the record in the event that had stood for 35 years with a time of 2:03.50. As a senior in 2015, Antiles once again broke the record, with a time of 2:02.63. In addition, at the 2015 championships, Antiles broke the 100-yard butterfly record with a time of 00:56.01, breaking the previous record of 00:56.85. These records were added to her other previous prep championships record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.91. She also holds the Essex County meet record in the 200 IM with 2:02.62, along with the 100 freestyle with 51.47, and was the New Jersey record holder in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.84, from March 2014 until December 2015.

Olympic trials

In 2014, at the CeraVe Invitational, Antiles qualified for the Olympic trials, finishing in second place in the 400-meter long course individual medley with a time of 26.93. Prior to her official qualifiers however, Antiles required surgery due to a

sinus infection Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include production of thick nasal mucus, nasal congestion, facial congestion, facial pain, facial pressure, ...

, which left her unable to swim for 75 days, impacting her training and resulting in her failure to qualify.

2017 Maccabiah Games

Representing Team USA at the

, Antiles won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:58.27 and a bronze medal in the 200 Individual Medley. She also had a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:20.89 and 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:13.59. She also finished in 20th place in the 200-meter butterfly. When asked about the experience Antiles stated: "this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was such an honor and such a special opportunity to be able to compete in Israel among some of the greatest Jewish athletes in the word."

Israeli National Championship

In 2014, while living in Israel, Antiles won four gold medals during the Israeli National Championship. She won in all four events she competed in, which were the 200-meter individual medley, the 400-meter individual medley, the 800-meter freestyle, and the 400-meter freestyle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antiles, Jessica Living people Jewish American swimmers Maccabiah Games medalists in swimming Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games bronze medalists for the United States Competitors at the 2017 Maccabiah Games Columbia College (New York) alumni Golda Och Academy alumni Sportspeople from South Orange, New Jersey Swimmers from New Jersey 1996 births Columbia Lions women's swimmers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American sportswomen American female medley swimmers