Jordan Matthew Wilimovsky (born April 22, 1994) 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

open water swimming Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics (formerly kno ...

. At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Wilimovsky won the gold medal in the 10 km open water event. Wilimovsky won by a margin of 12.1 seconds over the second-place finisher

Ferry Weertman Ferry Weertman (born 27 June 1992) is a Dutch former competitive swimmer who specialises in long-distance freestyle and open water events. He was the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro ...

of the Netherlands. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, Wilimovsky competed in both pool swimming and

events, becoming the first American to swim in both types of events at one

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Early life and education

Wilimovsky was born April 22, 1994, in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

. At age 9, Wilimovsky failed a swim test required for attendance in a lifeguard camp, which inspired him to become a professional swimmer. He attended

Malibu High School Malibu High School (MHS) is a Public school (government funded), public high school in Malibu, California. The school is one of three high schools in the Santa Monica–Malibu Unified School District and serves students in the city of Malibu and ...

for high school, graduating in 2012.Dornan, Dick (August 29, 2012)
"Malibu grad stars at Junior World Swimming Championships"
'' The Malibu Times''. Retrieved June 19, 2021. Wilimovsky attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, where he swam for the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...

swimming and diving team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) and

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

competition. His coach at Team Santa Monica is Dave Kelsheimer.

Career

2016 Summer Olympics

swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics The swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. The women's open-water marathon was held on August 15, and the men's open water race on August 16 in Fort C ...

, Wilimovsky finished 4th in the men's 1500 m freestyle and 5th in the men's 10 km open water. His swims made him the first American swimmer to qualify, and compete, in both

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

and

events in one

.Ortega, Karl (July 21, 2016)
"Meet The 2016 USA Olympic Swim Team: Jordan Wilimovsky"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

''. Retrieved July 23, 2021.Rosenburg, Benjamin (July 17, 2019)
"Swimming: Jordan Wilimovsky qualifies for second straight Olympic Games"
''

The Daily Northwestern ''The Daily Northwestern'' is the student newspaper at Northwestern University which is published in print on Mondays and Thursdays and online daily during the academic year. Founded in 1881, and printed in Evanston, Illinois, it is staffed prim ...

''. Retrieved July 23, 2021.

2019 World Aquatics Championships

At the

2019 World Aquatics Championships The 2019 World Aquatics Championships were the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships, held in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July 2019. The city had previously hosted the 2015 Summer Universiade aquatics events in the same venues.

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Wilimovsky placed fifth in the 10 kilometer open water swim with a time of 1:48:01.0."18th FINA World Championships: Men's 10km Results"
''

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''Louis Brandt et Fils'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

''. July 17, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2021. This swim

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

Wilimovsky to compete in the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in the marathon 10 kilometer swim, and he became the first man to qualify for the US Olympic Team for the 2020 Olympic Games.Kortemeier, Todd (July 15, 2019)
"Open Water Swimmer Jordan Wilimovsky Becomes First Man To Qualify For 2020 U.S. Olympic Team"
'' TeamUSA.org''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.OlympicTalk (July 15, 2019)
"Jordan Wilimovsky qualifies for Tokyo Olympics in open-water swimming"
''

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

''. Retrieved June 20, 2021. In the 5 kilometer mixed team relay event, Wilimovsky won the bronze medal, finished in third place, with fellow United States relay teammates

Haley Anderson Haley Danita Anderson (born November 20, 1991) is an American competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer who is an Olympic silver medalist. She placed second in the 10-kilometer open water event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Personal Anderson's olde ...

, Ashley Twichell, and Michael Brinegar in a total relay time of 53:59.0."18th FINA World Championships: Mixed 5km Relay Results"
''

''. July 18, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2021."Bringing Home Bronze / Brinegar anchors U.S. Mixed Open Water relay team to third-place finish"
''The Republic''. July 19, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2021.

2021

2020 US Olympic Trials

Wilimovsky competed in two individual events at the 2020 USA Swimming Olympic Trials postponed to June 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the 800 meter freestyle and the 1500 meter freestyle. In the 800 meter freestyle he placed fourth in the final with a time of 7:53.07 and did not qualify for the US Olympic Team in the event."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 800m Freestyle Final Results Summary"
''

''. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 17, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 5 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 17, 2021. During the prelims of the 1500 meter freestyle, Wilimovsky swam a 15:14.67, finishing third overall and advancing to the final."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''

''. June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 19, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 7 Prelims Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 19, 2021. At the final Wilimovsky finished third with a time of 15:05.29 and did not qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 1500m Freestyle Final Results Summary"
''

''. June 20, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 20, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 8 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 20, 2021.

2020 Summer Olympics

Wilimovsky was the only male American swimmer to qualify to swim the 10 kilometer marathon open water swim at the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It was the only event, men's or women's, in swimming at the 2020 Olympics that the United States did not qualify a second swimmer in."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Roster"
''

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overa ...

''. June 21, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021. On August 5, Wilimovsky swam the 10 kilometer marathon swim in a time of 1:51:40.2, which placed him 10th overall.

;

Atos Atos SE is a European multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company with headquarters in Bezons suburb of Paris, France, and offices worldwide. It specialises in hi-tech transactional services, unified communicat ...

(August 5, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Marathon Swimming Men's 10km Results"
. ''

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

''. Retrieved August 5, 2021."Wilimovsky Finishes Tenth in #TokyoOlympics 10K"
''

''. August 5, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.

Awards

* ''

'' Top 100 (Men's): 2021 (#86)Anderson, Jared (January 27, 2021)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2021: Men's #100 — #76"
''

''. Retrieved October 11, 2021.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilimovsky, Jordan 1994 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers American male long-distance swimmers Northwestern Wildcats men's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for the United States People from Malibu, California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California 21st-century American sportsmen