Rachel Kristine Bootsma (born December 15, 1993) is an American 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 ...

who specializes in the

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 ...

, and is an Olympic gold medalist. Bootsma earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, and also competed in the 100-meter backstroke.

Career

At the 2010 National Championships, the selection meet for both the

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22. M ...

and the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming ...

, Bootsma placed third in the 100-meter backstroke. At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Bootsma earned a bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke, tying with Emily Thomas of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and Fabiola Molina of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. On November 20, 2010, Bootsma set the national high school record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.53, bettering Cindy Tran's record of 51.85 (Bootsma's record has been since bettered). On October 16, 2011 at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, she broke the games' record in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:00.37. Bootsma, known for her front speed, clocked a 29.56 on the way out before closing out the win with a 30.81 final 50 meters. The previous record was held by

Elizabeth Pelton Elizabeth Anne Pelton (born November 26, 1993) is a former American competitive swimmer, multi FINA world champion, multi NCCA Champion, and 4x former American Record holder. Pelton also secured NCAA Swimmer of the Year, NCAA Swimmer of the Meet ...

. Bootsma graduated from

Eden Prairie High School Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) is a four-year public high school in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States established in 1923. The present high school opened in 1981 and was significantly added to in 1990, 1994 and 1997. It was named a Blue R ...

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It had a population of 64,198 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-largest city in Minnesota. The city is adjacent to the north bank of the Minnesota River, upstream fro ...

in 2012. She currently attends the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where she swims for

Teri McKeever Terisa "Teri" J. McKeever (born November 6, 1961) is an American former college and Olympic swimming coach. She was the head coach of the California Golden Bears women's swimming team at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1993 until ...

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

women's swimming team. In 2013 and 2015, she was NCAA national champion in the 100-yard backstroke.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Olympics, Bootsma earned a place on the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by finishing second behind

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (née Franklin; born May 10, 1995) is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course) from 2012 to 2019. As a member of the ...

in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 59.49. In the heats and semi-finals, Bootsma posted times of 59.69 and 59.10, placing behind Franklin both times. In placing second, she defeated her childhood idol,

Natalie Coughlin Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall (born August 23, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, she became the first woman ever to swim the World record progre ...

, who finished third. At the

in London, Bootsma posted a time of 1.00.03 in the heats for the 100-meter backstroke, finishing in eleventh place overall and qualifying for a place in the semifinals. She then finished in sixth place of semi-final 2 with a time of 1.00.04, failing to gain a place in the final. Bootsma earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay. She swam the backstroke leg in the preliminary races, helping the U.S. team win a spot in the final.Bootsma earns gold for getting teammates to finals
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Personal bests

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bootsma, Rachel 1993 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers California Golden Bears women's swimmers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Eden Prairie, Minnesota Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming 21st-century American sportswomen

Career

2012 Summer Olympics

Personal bests

See also

References

External links