Bowe Becker is a

swim Swim or SWIM may refer to: Movement and sport * Swim, a fad dance * Aquatic locomotion, the act of biologically propelled motion through a liquid medium * Human swimming, the useful or recreational activity of movement through water * Swimming ( ...

coach and former American professional swimmer. He won an Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

as part of the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, swimming in the prelims and the final.Krajewski, Jim (July 26, 2021)
"NBC Nightly News to feature Reno's Becker after winning gold with US Men's swim relay team"
'' Reno Gazette Journal''. Retrieved July 26, 2021. He swims in the International Swimming League on the team Tokyo Frog Kings.

Early life and education

Becker graduated from Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas.

Career

2019 NCAA Championships

At the

2019 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships The 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested from March 27–30, 2019 at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center at University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas at the 96th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet ...

in Austin, Texas in March, Becker placed second in the 100-yard freestyle representing the Minnesota Golden Gophers with a time of 40.83 seconds as a senior, finishing three hundredths of a second behind Dean Farris of Harvard University.Anderson, Jared (March 30, 2019)
"2019 Men's NCAA Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...

''. Retrieved October 18, 2021.Ross, Andy (March 30, 2019)
"2019 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming Championships: Texas Wins Three Events, Cal Wins Team Title"
'' Swimming World''. Retrieved October 18, 2021. His swim moved him to the fourth fastest performer in the event in the NCAA behind Caeleb Dressel of the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

, Vladimir Morozov of the USC Trojans, and Farris.

2020: First retirement

Becker took a six month retirement from swimming in 2020 in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and instead chose to wait tables at a lodge in Reno, Nevada.Forde, Pat (July 26, 2021)
"U.S. Swimmer Bowe Becker Goes From Retired and Waiting Tables to Olympic Gold"
'' Sports Illustrated''. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

2021

2020 US Olympic Trials

Becker placed fifth in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials with a time of 48.22, which qualified him for the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 100m Freestyle Final Results"
''

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''La Generale Watch Co.'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

''. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021. In the final of the 50-meter freestyle on June 20, he swam a 21.78 and ranked fourth overall, finishing five hundredths of a second after third place finisher Nathan Adrian. USA Swimming (June 20, 2021)
"2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 50m Freestyle Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved August 4, 2021.

2020 Summer Olympics

Becker raced in the prelims of the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the

in Tokyo,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

alongside Zach Apple,

Brooks Curry Brooks Curry (born January 22, 2001) is an American competitive swimmer. He is an Olympian and a gold medalist in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, he won the NCAA title in the 50-yar ...

, and Blake Pieroni, finishing second overall and advancing to the final."Bowe Becker Wins Gold in Tokyo"
'' Minnesota Golden Gophers''. July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021. In the final, Caeleb Dressel substituted in for Curry and the relay finished first with a time of 3:08.97 and won the gold medal, with Becker splitting a 47.44.Souhan, Jim (July 26, 2021)
"Former Gopher Bowe Becker wins swimming gold in 4x100 freestyle relay"
''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

''. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

; Atos (August 1, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Swimming Results Book"
. '' International Olympic Committee''. Retrieved August 4, 2021. The relay's final time was the third fastest swim in the event in history. Becker was the seventh University of Minnesota Golden Gopher to win a medal at an Olympic Games. For his success on the finals relay, Becker was nominated along with his finals relay teammates only, Curry was not included in the nomination, for the 2021 Golden Goggle Award for "Relay Performance of the Year", which was an honor bestowed upon him and his finals relay teammates by the USA Swimming Foundation."Olympic Stars Headline USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards Nominees"
'' USA Swimming''. October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.D'Addona, Dan (October 13, 2021)
"Golden Goggle Award Nominees Announced by USA Swimming, led by Dressel, Ledecky, Jacoby, Finke"
'' Swimming World''. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

International Swimming League

For the

2021 International Swimming League The 2021 International Swimming League was the third edition of the International Swimming League, a professional swimming league, established in 2019. It comprised ten teams composed of both women and men. The league, due to COVID-19 pandemic tr ...

, Becker was selected to the roster of team Tokyo Frog Kings.Penland, Spencer (August 1, 2021)
"ISL Season 3: Free Agency Period Closed July 30th, Season Begins August 24th"
''

''. Retrieved August 4, 2021. As of the end of the 2021 season, Becker had amassed 48.5

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, MVP, points over the entire existence of competition in the International Swimming League, since 2019, and ranked as number 319 out of 488 swimmers in terms of total number of MVP points earned in the history of the league.Keith, Braden (December 13, 2021)
"Sarah Sjostrom Becomes ISL's First-Ever Swimmer To Clear 1000 MVP Points"
''

''. Retrieved February 4, 2022.

2022: Transition to coaching

Becker started serving as a volunteer swim coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers swim team following the 2020 Summer Olympics, and in January 2022 he swam a 19.58 in the 50-yard freestyle and a 43.10 in the 100-yard freestyle at a triple dual meet swimming in exhibition.Keith, Braden (February 4, 2022)
"Bowe Becker Swims First Races Since August In Minnesota Tribune Meet"
''

''. Retrieved February 4, 2022. In early March, he placed seventh in the final of the 100 meter freestyle with a time of 50.26 seconds at the 2022 Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, Illinois.Lohn, John (March 3, 2022)
"TYR Pro Series: Lilly King, Michael Andrew Storm to 100 Breaststroke Wins; Katie Ledecky Dazzles in 400 Freestyle"
'' Swimming World''. Retrieved March 3, 2022. For the 50 meter freestyle prelims heats, he ranked sixth with a 22.51, which was 0.53 seconds behind first-ranked swimmer Michael Andrew and 0.08 seconds ahead of seventh-ranked Caeleb Dressel.Gibbs, Robert (March 5, 2022)
"2020 Pro Swim Series – Westmont: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved March 5, 2022. In the final, he lowered his time to a 22.43 and placed sixth overall.Hy-Tek (March 5, 2022)
"2022 TYR Pro Swim Series - Westmont: Meet Results"
''swmeets.com''. Retrieved March 5, 2022. On April 1, he ranked eighth in the prelims heats of the 50 meter freestyle at the Pro Swim Series stop at

Northside Swim Center Northside Swim Center is a swimming pool complex located in San Antonio, Texas, United States. The center opened in 2013 and serves the local community as well as hosting larger, national, and international scale events. In addition to outdoor ...

in San Antonio, Texas with a time of 22.71 seconds, which was 0.58 seconds slower than first-ranked David Curtiss.Hamann, Michael (April 1, 2022)
"Pro Swim Series- San Antonio: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved April 1, 2022. In the final, he equalled his prelims time of 22.71 seconds to place eighth.Lohn, John (April 1, 2022)
"TYR Pro Series: Michael Andrew Clips Caeleb Dressel in 50 Freestyle; Leon Marchand and Chase Kalisz Shine"
'' Swimming World''. Retrieved April 1, 2022. The following day he ranked 25th in the prelims heats of the 100 meter freestyle with a 51.30.Hy-Tek (April 2, 2022)
"2022 TYR Pro Swim Series - San Antonio"
''swmeets.com''. Retrieved April 2, 2022.

2022 International Team Trials

On day one of the 2022 US International Team Trials in Greensboro, North Carolina, Becker tied for 19th-place in the 100 meter freestyle preliminary heats with a time of 49.69 seconds and did not advance to the evening final. USA Swimming (April 26, 2022)
"Phillips 66 International Team Trials: Men's 100m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''

''. Retrieved April 26, 2022. For his second and final event of the Trials, the 50 meter freestyle on the fifth and final day, he qualified for the b-final from the morning prelims heats with an overall tenth-rank and a time of 22.22 seconds. USA Swimming (April 30, 2022)
"Phillips 66 International Team Trials: Men's 50m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''

''. Retrieved April 30, 2022. He withdrew from and did not compete in the evening b-final. USA Swimming (April 30, 2022)
"Phillips 66 International Team Trials: Men's 50m Freestyle Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved April 30, 2022.

Second retirement

The following month, '' Swimming World'' and ''

'' published Becker had permanently retired from competitive swimming again.De George, Matthew (May 11, 2022)
"Olympic Gold Medalist Bowe Becker Announces Retirement"
'' Swimming World''. Retrieved July 25, 2022.

Personal best times

Long course meters (50 m pool)

Short course meters (25 m pool)

Awards and honors

* Golden Goggle Award nominee, Relay Performance of the Year: 2021 ( 4x100 meter freestyle relay)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Bowe 1997 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic swimmers of the United States Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Minnesota Golden Gophers men's swimmers 21st-century American people 20th-century American people