Soak up the success of Olympic swimmer, Jenny Thompson!
In 1973, a 15-time world record holder was born. From Danvers, Massachusetts, Jenny Thompson was welcomed into the world by her mother, Margrid. She has three brothers: Aaron, Erik and Scott. To allow Thompson to study and practice swimming with a solid team, Margrid moved the family to Dover, New Hampshire, which is where she spent the majority of her young life.
She attended Dover High School prior to earning a scholarship to Stanford University to study human biology. She graduated in 1995 and then proceeded to Columbia University to earn her medical degree in 2006.
Her educational career was quite a success, but so was her time in the pool! At just 14 years old, Jenny Thompson swam the 50-meter freestyle in the 1987 Pan American Games, winning the gold medal. This was her first huge win, propelling her future in swimming professionally.
In 1992, Thompson competed in the Olympic Games in Barcelona for Team USA. She won two gold medals, one for 4×100-meter Freestyle Relay and one for 4×100 meters Medley Relay, a silver medal for the 100-meter Freestyle and placed fifth in the 50-meter freestyle, and then placed 17th in the 200-meter freestyle. This was her first Olympic appearance, and she dove right in, ready to win.
Competing for Team USA in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, she was once again extremely successful in her achievements for the team. Thompson competed in three events: 4×200-meter Freestyle Relay, 4×100-meter Freestyle Relay and the 4×100-meter Medley Relay. She won gold in each!
Four years later, she participated in the next summer Olympic games, held in Sydney, where she competed in five events. In the 100-meter butterfly, she placed fifth. In the 100-meter freestyle, she won the bronze medal. In the 4×100 meters Freestyle relay, 4×100 meters Medley, and the 4×200 meters freestyle relay, she won gold for the U.S.!
In her last Olympic Games, held in 2004 in Athens, she competed in four events. Thompson placed fifth in the 100-meter butterfly and seventh in the 50-meter freestyle. She earned the silver medal in both the 4×100 Freestyle relay and the 4×100-meter medley relay.
After her time in the Olympic water, she focused on her medical career as an anesthesiologist and surgeon in Portland, Maine. In 2012, she and her husband went to the Olympics to cheer on Team USA. She was interviewed, saying, “I’d love to be able to go to the Olympics forever, because it was such an important part of my life.”
Jenny Thompson is the depiction of greatness. She worked hard to achieve her goals in the pool and the operating room. She remains an iconic female in both Olympic and New England history!