Nicholas Brewer Thoman (born March 6, 1986) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in the backstroke and is an Olympic gold medalist. He has won two world championships as a member of winning United States medley relay teams at the FINA World Aquatics Championships. From 2009 to 2015 he held the world record in the 100-meter backstroke (short course). Thoman has won a total of ten medals in major international competition, four gold, three silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, Pan American Games, and the Summer Universiade. He was a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, and won gold and silver medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
 Thoman in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Nicholas Brewer Thoman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "Nick" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 6, 1986 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | SwimMAC Carolina and Cincinnati Aquatic Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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On December 6, 2013, at the U.S. national championships in Knoxville Tennessee, Thoman set three American records in one evening. He broke the American record in the 50-yard backstroke (20.69), was part of an American record-breaking 200-yard medley relay (with E. Knight, T. Phillips and C. Jones, 1:23.02) and shattered the American record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 44.07.[2]
Career edit
Thoman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.[3] He swam for Cincinnati Aquatic Club under head coach Benson Spurling from age 8 through high school. He attended Mariemont High School in the suburbs of Cincinnati and was coached by Kevin Maness. At the 2009 Duel in the Pool, a short course meet, Thoman combined with Mark Gangloff, Michael Phelps, and Nathan Adrian in 4×100-meter medley relay to break the world record previously held by Canada. While leading off the relay, Thoman also broke the world record in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 48.94.[4][5]
At the 2010 National Championships, Thoman qualified to swim at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in the 50, 100 and 200-meter backstroke. In the 100-meter backstroke final at the 2010 National Championships, Thoman was out first at the first 50 with a time of 25.80. However, he faded to third place with a time of 53.78, finishing behind David Plummer and Aaron Peirsol.[6] In the 200-meter backstroke final, Thoman finished in 5th place with a time of 1:57.7.[7] At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Thoman won bronze in the 50-meter backstroke.[8]
At the 2010 FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai, Thoman won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay with Mihail Alexandrov, Ryan Lochte, and Garrett Weber-Gale.[9] Thoman also competed in the 50 and 100-meter backstroke in Dubai but finished out of medal contention in both events.
At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China, Thoman placed fourth in the final of the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 53.01. In the 4×100-meter medley relay with Mark Gangloff, Michael Phelps, and Nathan Adrian, Thoman won gold with a time of 3:32.06. Swimming the backstroke leg, Thoman had a time of 53.61.
2012 Summer Olympics edit
At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Olympics, Thoman made the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by finishing second in the 100-meter backstroke in a time of 52.86. Thoman also placed third in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 1:57.06, missing a spot in that event.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Thoman won his inaugural Olympic medal, a silver, in the 100-meter backstroke. In the final, Thoman placed second behind fellow American Matt Grevers with a time of 52.92. He also earned a gold medal swimming the backstroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×100-meter medley relay.
Personal bests edit
- As of December 18, 2010.
| Event | Time | Venue | Date | Note(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m backstroke (long course) | 25.02 | Irvine | August 19, 2010 | |||
| 100 m backstroke (long course) | 52.51 | Federal Way | August 7, 2009 | |||
| 200 m backstroke (long course) | 1:54.59 | Federal Way | August 5, 2009 | |||
| 50 m backstroke (short course) | 23.28 | Dubai | December 18, 2010 | |||
| 100 m backstroke (short course) | 48.94 | Manchester | December 18, 2009 | Former WR | ||
| 200 m backstroke (short course) | 1:50.05 | Manchester | December 18, 2009 | |||
Key: WR = World record
See also edit
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of United States records in swimming
- List of University of Arizona people
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
- List of world records in swimming
- World record progression 100 metres backstroke
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
References edit
- ^ "Nick Thoman". teamusa.org. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nick Thoman". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ "British Gas Duel in the Pool – 4×100 m medley relay (final)" (PDF). Omega Timing. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Lord, Craig (December 19, 2009). "Five more world records fall as bodysuit ban looms". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships – 100 m backstroke results (final)" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved August 13, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships – 200 m backstroke results (final)" (PDF). Omega Timing. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – 50 m backstroke results (final)" (PDF). Omega Timing. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ "2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) - Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay (final)" (PDF). Omega Timing. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
External links edit
- Nick Thoman at World Aquatics
- Nick Thoman at Olympics.com
- Nick Thoman at Olympic.org (archived)
- Nick Thoman at Olympedia
- Nick Thoman at USA Swimming (archived June 2, 2021)
- Nick Thoman at Team USA (archive August 8, 2022)
- Nick Thoman on Twitter
