Sean Killion
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sean Thomas Killion (born October 24, 1967) 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 ...
for the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
, and a 1991 Havana
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 ...
gold medalist, who represented the United States at the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...
in the 400 and 1500-meter freestyle. While a student at U.C. Berkeley on July 27, 1987, Killion set a 15 year standing American record in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 7:52.49. After his swimming career, he moved to the San Francisco Bay area in the 90's, where he worked in sales for Federal Express and Indeed Inc., later coaching swimming.


Early swimming

Killion was born in
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
, on October 24, 1967 to Tom and Ann Killion, but the family moved to Old Orchard, New Jersey the year Sean was born. At an early age, Killion began early swim training during summers with the nearby Old Orchard Otters. By seven, he started year-round training and age-group competition with Mount Laurel's Jersey Wahoos under long serving Coach John Carroll, a Middle Atlantic Coach of the Year in 1987, and 1992. While swimming for the Wahoos, Killion helped lead the team to top ten finishes in the National Championships in both the Junior and Senior divisions.Callahan, Kevin, "Star Swimmer Killion Now Rides Ocean Waves", ''Courier Post'', Camden, New Jersey, 24 October 2007, pg. 20 Growing up in New Jersey's
Cherry Hill Cherry Hill often refers to: * Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a township in Camden County, New Jersey * Cherry Hill, Prince William County, Virginia, a census-designated place Cherry Hill may also refer to: Places Canada * Cherry Hill, Nova Scotia, a ...
, he swam for Cherry Hill High School East under Coach Ira Kosloff, setting
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...
records that have stood for as long as 30 years. A 1986 graduate of Cherry Hill, in his Senior year, Killion set records in state competition in the 200 freestyle of 1:39.71 and set a very longstanding record in the 500 freestyle of 4:24.04. During High School, he won the 500 freestyle four consecutive years at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association State Championships, and took first in the 200 freestyle as a Senior, Junior and Sophomore. With his consistent record of performance, he was a four-time recipient of All South-Jersey honors. An all-round athlete, he participated in baseball, basketball and soccer besides excelling in swimming.


U. California at Berkeley

Killion received a scholarship to the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
of the PAC-10 conference, and swam for the team from around 1987-1991, where he was a 13-time Division 1 All-American under Hall of Fame Head Coach Nort Thornton. He graduated Berkeley in 1991."Olympian Killian Hired by Rutgers", ''The Star-Ledger'', Newark, New Jersey, 30 September 1992, pg. 75 While still a Berkeley student, at the U.S. Long Course Senior National Championships in Fresno, California, Killion set the American record in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 7:52.49, retaining the record from July 27, 1987, to August 25, 2002. He was only two seconds off the World Record set by the Soviet Union's
Vladimir Salnikov Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov (; born 21 May 1960) is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 metre events. Nicknamed the "Tsar of the Pool", "Monster of the Waves" and "Leningrad Express", he was the ...
, and meet officials considered his time the second fastest ever swam in the event. Killion believed he did not perform up to his ability in his Freshman swimming season at University of California. In a somewhat disappointing year, a case of pneumonia disrupted his training, and he was unable to make the American Olympic team or attend the 1988 Olympic trials."A 15-year Old Placentia Girl Tops Oldest Mark", ''The Peninsula Times Tribune'', Palo Alto, California, 28 July 1987, pg. 22


International competition

Not long after High School graduation, he was a surprise medalist in the July,
1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Luzhniki Stadium, Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Sov ...
, defeating world record and Olympic gold medalist
Vladimir Salnikov Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov (; born 21 May 1960) is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 metre events. Nicknamed the "Tsar of the Pool", "Monster of the Waves" and "Leningrad Express", he was the ...
, out touching him at the wall, winning two gold medals and a bronze. Killion won three silver medals at the 1990 Goodwill Games. He claimed the gold medal at the
1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Havana 1991 (), were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organi ...
in Havana in the men's 400-meter freestyle event.


1992 Olympics

At the 1992 Olympic Trials, in a career high point, Killion won the 1,500 freestyle with a personal best time of 15:07.61. After the trials, he trained for Olympic Competition at Team Foxcatcher in Philadelphia's Newton Square, where he averaged over sixty hours in weekly training. Killion represented the United States at the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...
in Barcelona, Spain. He competed in the B Final of the men's 400-meter freestyle, and finished with the eleventh-best overall time of 3:52.76. He also recorded a time of 15:27.49 in the preliminary heats of the men's 1,500-meter freestyle, but did not advance. His time was about 15 seconds behind the bronze medalist from Germany who made the finals. Australians took first and second place in the event, with no Americans in medal contention.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Sean Killion
Retrieved October 30, 2012.


Later work life and coaching

After retiring from high level competitive swimming around 1992, Killion worked as an Assistant swim coach at
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
, near his home town, but after a year decided he had a greater passion for sales. At Rutgers, he worked under Hall of Fame Head Coach Frank Elm. Around 1997, he settled in the Bay Area of California, where he pursued surfing as a hobby, often riding the waves found off Half Moon Bay, twenty-five miles South of San Francisco. In September 2005, he married his wife Regan B. Stuart, a former sprint track athlete at
Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
who worked as a pediatric physician at Stanford University. The couple had two daughters who participated in swimming as children."From Cherry Hill to Barcelona to the real world", ''Courier-Post'', Camden, New Jersey, 28 September 2005, pg. 74 Continuing to swim and compete for health and fitness, Killion participated in United States Masters Swimming, particularly in 1998-99, focusing on his specialty distance freestyle events. While in the Bay Area, he began work as a sales manager for Federal Express at least through 2005. From around 2012-2023, Killion worked with the Enterprise Sales Team at Indeed Inc. in the San Francisco area, finding professionals jobs, often meeting with large corporations to help in their need to recruit staff. In 2023, in one of his first head coaching assignments, he took a position as the Coach of the Mavericks Swimming Association Club in California's Half Moon Bay. In 2024, the San Francisco area's
Olympic Club The Olympic Club is an sports club, athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club", it is the oldest sports club, athletic club in the United States. Established ...
announced Killion to be their new Junior Swim Team Head Coach, where Killion worked with Bobby Savulich coaching student athletes.


Honors

In his High School Senior year in 1986, he was named a Swimmer of the Year. He is a member of the Camden County (NJ) Hall of Fame, and was part of the inaugural class of the Cherry Hill East Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.Cabnet, Bob, "Cherry Hill Swimmer Pursues Dream", ''Courier-Post'', Camden, New Jersey, 23 July 1992, pg. 69 He was also inducted into the New Jersey Interscholastic Swimming Association Hall of Fame.


See also

*
List of University of California, Berkeley alumni This page lists notable alumni and students of the University of California, Berkeley. Alumni who also served as faculty are listed in bold font, with degree and year. Notable faculty members are in the article List of University of California, B ...


External links


Olympedia Olympic Biography, Sean Killion

SwimSwam, The Olympic Club Names 1992 Olympian Sean Killion Junior Team Head Coach

Overend, Riley, SwimSwam, August 2023, U.S. Olympian Sean Killion Takes First Coaching Job at Mavericks Swimming

Olympedia, 1992 Barcelona Olympic Results, 1,500 Meters Freestyle Finals, Men


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Killion, Sean 1967 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers American swimming coaches College swimming coaches in the United States Rutgers Scarlet Knights coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights swimming and diving California Golden Bears men's swimmers Olympic swimmers for the United States Sportspeople from Camden, New Jersey Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill High School East alumni Swimmers from New Jersey Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Swimmers at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming 20th-century American sportsmen