Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Joel Ladd Thomas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Pasadena, California | December 13, 1966|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 229 lb (104 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Fort Lauderdale Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of California, Berkeley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach |
Nort Thornton (U. Cal. Berkeley) Jack Nelson (Fort Lauderdale Swim Club) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Joel Ladd Thomas (born December 13, 1966) is an American former competition swimmer and Water Polo player for the University of California at Berkeley and a 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.
Thomas attended John Muir High School. He was honored with a selection as a second team All-League Water Polo player while competing for John Muir in January 1983. [1] In the Pacific League finals in May 1984, swimming for John Muir, Thomas set a league record in the 100-yard freestyle of 47.47. He would lower his times and remain an accomplished sprinter throughout his swimming career. [2]
Thomas attended and swam for U Cal Berkeley, where he also played water polo as he had at John Muir High School. He helped the team win 1987 and 1988 NCAA Water Polo titles. [3] Swimming for Cal Berkeley, Thomas won the 100 freestyle competition at the Pacific 10 Conference Championships in the Spring of both 1988, and in March 1989, where he swam a 43.68 in Long Beach, California, leading Berkeley to a third-place finish behind powerful Stanford, and second place UCLA. [4]
Thomas tried out for the U.S. Olympic team at the 1988 Olympic Trials in Austin, Texas. Swimming in the 100-meter freestyle, he set a time of 50.69 in the preliminaries, finishing in 12th place and did not make the finals, as the top finishers were swimming under 50 seconds. [5] He also tried out for the 50-meter freestyle event, but swam a 23.74, placing 44th. [6]
Thomas swam for the U.S. National team between 1987-1992. [7] His singularly most impressive achievement in swimming is likely his win in the US Open on December 2, 1990 against Matt Biondi in the 100-meter freestyle, where he set a time of 50.46. Thomas was training with Coach Jack Nelson's Fort Lauderdale Swim Club in Fort Lauderdale at the time. [3] [8] In December, 1990, while swimming the 200-yard freestyle event, Thomas also set a new 100-yard freestyle record of 43.77 at the Hall of Fame Trophy Meet in Fort Lauderdale, breaking the 15-year old record of Andy Coan set in 1975. [9] In 1990, Thomas led the U.S. National Team in a meet against University of Tennessee in Knoxville winning the 100-yard freestyle in 50.89, though it was not his fastest time that year, anchoring the winning 400-meter medley relay team, and leading off the winning 400-meter freestyle relay team. [10] In 1992, Thomas again swam in the U.S. Open placing third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.59. [11]
At the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, Thomas won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Individually, he also received a silver medal for finishing second in the 100-meter freestyle event. In the 1987 Universiade in Zagreb, he won a gold medal swimming on the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team. [3]
Thomas represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. [12] He received a gold medal for swimming for the first-place U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay. [13] The combined time for the U.S. 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay team in the preliminary round 1 , heat 1, in which Thomas swam was 3:18.50, with a Final time, in which Thomas did not swim of 3:16.74, taking the gold and finishing ahead of the Combined Team of five former Soviet Republics, including Russia, which finished 1.2 seconds behind the American team. [3]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Joel Ladd Thomas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Pasadena, California | December 13, 1966|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 229 lb (104 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Fort Lauderdale Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of California, Berkeley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach |
Nort Thornton (U. Cal. Berkeley) Jack Nelson (Fort Lauderdale Swim Club) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Joel Ladd Thomas (born December 13, 1966) is an American former competition swimmer and Water Polo player for the University of California at Berkeley and a 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.
Thomas attended John Muir High School. He was honored with a selection as a second team All-League Water Polo player while competing for John Muir in January 1983. [1] In the Pacific League finals in May 1984, swimming for John Muir, Thomas set a league record in the 100-yard freestyle of 47.47. He would lower his times and remain an accomplished sprinter throughout his swimming career. [2]
Thomas attended and swam for U Cal Berkeley, where he also played water polo as he had at John Muir High School. He helped the team win 1987 and 1988 NCAA Water Polo titles. [3] Swimming for Cal Berkeley, Thomas won the 100 freestyle competition at the Pacific 10 Conference Championships in the Spring of both 1988, and in March 1989, where he swam a 43.68 in Long Beach, California, leading Berkeley to a third-place finish behind powerful Stanford, and second place UCLA. [4]
Thomas tried out for the U.S. Olympic team at the 1988 Olympic Trials in Austin, Texas. Swimming in the 100-meter freestyle, he set a time of 50.69 in the preliminaries, finishing in 12th place and did not make the finals, as the top finishers were swimming under 50 seconds. [5] He also tried out for the 50-meter freestyle event, but swam a 23.74, placing 44th. [6]
Thomas swam for the U.S. National team between 1987-1992. [7] His singularly most impressive achievement in swimming is likely his win in the US Open on December 2, 1990 against Matt Biondi in the 100-meter freestyle, where he set a time of 50.46. Thomas was training with Coach Jack Nelson's Fort Lauderdale Swim Club in Fort Lauderdale at the time. [3] [8] In December, 1990, while swimming the 200-yard freestyle event, Thomas also set a new 100-yard freestyle record of 43.77 at the Hall of Fame Trophy Meet in Fort Lauderdale, breaking the 15-year old record of Andy Coan set in 1975. [9] In 1990, Thomas led the U.S. National Team in a meet against University of Tennessee in Knoxville winning the 100-yard freestyle in 50.89, though it was not his fastest time that year, anchoring the winning 400-meter medley relay team, and leading off the winning 400-meter freestyle relay team. [10] In 1992, Thomas again swam in the U.S. Open placing third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.59. [11]
At the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, Thomas won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Individually, he also received a silver medal for finishing second in the 100-meter freestyle event. In the 1987 Universiade in Zagreb, he won a gold medal swimming on the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team. [3]
Thomas represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. [12] He received a gold medal for swimming for the first-place U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay. [13] The combined time for the U.S. 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay team in the preliminary round 1 , heat 1, in which Thomas swam was 3:18.50, with a Final time, in which Thomas did not swim of 3:16.74, taking the gold and finishing ahead of the Combined Team of five former Soviet Republics, including Russia, which finished 1.2 seconds behind the American team. [3]