Rhiannon Jeffrey (born October 25, 1986) is a former American swimmer who won a gold medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Swimming career

Jeffrey began swimming at the age of six, and won eight

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

state titles while in high school at

Atlantic Community High School Atlantic Community High School (also known as Atlantic and ATL and formerly called Seacrest High School) is a public high school located in Delray Beach, Florida, United States. It is part of the School District of Palm Beach County. Known for i ...

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...

. She was named state swimmer of the year four years in a row by the

South Florida Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, an ...

. In 2003, for her senior year at Atlantic, she was joined on the swim team by her younger sister Kirstie. Jeffrey's first taste of international success was at the

2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The ninth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2002 in Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, from August 24–29. One world record A world record is usually t ...

where she swam on the U.S. 4x100 freestyle relay team that took a silver medal. While still a senior in high school, she won two gold medals in the

2003 World Aquatics Championships The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming. ...

; swimming as part of the U.S. teams in both the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays. Jeffrey was highly recruited, and chose to go across the country to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Just two weeks before the 2004 United States Olympic Trials, Jeffrey was hospitalized with an abscessed tonsil; she recovered in time to take 4th place in the 200 metre freestyle at the competition, and earn a spot on the 4x200 metre relay team in Athens. In Athens she swam in the preliminary heats of the 4x200 freestyle relay, and when the U.S. team won the final, she was awarded a gold medal.

Justin Wright Grooming Controversy

While training in New Zealand, Jeffrey, who was 24 at the time, entered into a relationship with a teammate named Justin Wright, who was 17. The story generated significant controversy and media attention. Wright's parents withdrew their consent for him to continue to train, including not paying his dues to Swimming New Zealand. Wright, in what local media members consider to be a legal precedent, won permission from a court to become a member of Swimming New Zealand "against his parents' wishes.", and moved out of their house and in with Jeffrey. Their planned wedding was called off a year later.

Retirement

In 2007, Jeffrey left USC and gave up swimming four months before the U.S. Olympic Trials for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. She relocated to

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

, and took a job with

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer ...

. Jeffrey is currently the head swim coach for the Atlantis Aquatics swim team in Portsmouth, NH. https://www.teamunify.com/TabGeneric.jsp?_tabid_=176697&team=necsc

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffrey, Rhi 1986 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Delray Beach, Florida Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics USC Trojans women's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming 21st-century American sportswomen

Swimming career

Justin Wright Grooming Controversy

Retirement

See also

References

External links