Kimberly Vandenberg (born December 13, 1983)[1] is an American competition swimmer and Olympic medalist.

Kim Vandenberg
Personal information
Full nameKimberly Vandenberg
National team United States
Born (1983-12-13) December 13, 1983 (age 40)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight130 lb (59 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesButterfly, Freestyle
College teamUniversity of California, Los Angeles
CoachCyndi Gallagher
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing 4×200 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal – second place 2007 Melbourne 200 m butterfly
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara 200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara 4×200 m freestyle
Universiade
Silver medal – second place 2005 Izmir 200 m butterfly

Vandenberg grew up in Moraga, California, and swam for Campolindo High School and Orinda Aquatics. She was a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team in the women's 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, swimming in the preliminary heats of the relay event. She also won silver medals at the 2005 World University Games, and at the 2007 World Swimming Championships in the women's 200-meter butterfly. Four years later, she won a gold medal in the same event at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara.

Vandenberg attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and swam for the UCLA Bruins women's swimming and diving team. She graduated from UCLA in 2007.[2] Being one of the only U.S. Olympic swimmers to choose to train abroad, she returned to Brooklyn, in 2013[3] and trains with the New York Athletic Club,[4] under head coach Romain Barnier, a former Olympian. "We have a really interesting group of international swimmers who have different experiences and who all learn from each other. It's a unique experience", said Vandenberg in an interview with Gary Hall, Sr.[5]

Vandenberg saw the benefits of training abroad and viewing the world's different training methods.[6][7]

Vandenberg is an ambassador for Room to Read, an organization that focuses on literacy and gender equality in education,[8] and for Up2Us Sports.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kim Vandenberg". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "LinkedIn: Log In or Sign Up". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  3. ^ "How to work out in a pool". Well+Good. July 15, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Kim Vandenberg | CollegeSwimming". www.collegeswimming.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Vandenberg, Kim. Interview by Gary Wayne Hall. The Race Club, 8 March 2011. Web. 22 February 2015. <http://www.theraceclub.com/videos/interview-kim-vandenberg>
  6. ^ "Fitter & Faster." Swim Clinics With Kim Vandenberg. SwimOutlet, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
  7. ^ "Q&A with Olympic Medalist Kim Vandenberg | Asphalt Green". www.asphaltgreen.org. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  8. ^ "Kimberly Vandenberg Announces Philanthropic Commitment to Global Education as Room to Read Ambassador". Business Wire. May 11, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  9. ^ "How My Coaches Helped Me Become an Olympian". UCLA. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2017.

External links edit