Breeja Larson (born April 16, 1992) is an American former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who specializes in the

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

, and is an Olympic gold medalist. She earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Larson was born in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

, one of seven sisters. She later moved to Boise, Idaho, where she attended Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho for three years and graduated from Mountain View High School in Mesa in 2010. She swam for the Centennial Patriot and Mountain View Toros high school swim teams. As a senior, she was the state runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke. She also lettered in softball and track and field. She attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, where she swam for the Texas A&M Aggies swimming and diving team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) competition from 2011 to 2014. As a freshman, she finished second in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke at the 2011

NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships is an annual college athletics, college championship in the United States. The meet is typically held on the second-to-last weekend (Thursday-Saturday) in March, and consists of indivi ...

; as a sophomore in 2012, she was the NCAA national champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, and finished third in the 200-yard event. She was a senior during the 2013–14 school year. She also graduated from

Titans of Investing Titans of Investing, commonly referred to as Titans, is a collegiate program founded and led by investor Britt Harris. The program consists of a semester course, a professional fraternity, and a think tank. It is modeled on Benjamin Franklin ...

, A&M Class 19. At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Larson made the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by winning the 100-meter breaststroke in a time of 1:05.92, ahead of favorite Rebecca Soni. At the

in London, she earned a gold medal by swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×100-meter medley relay. At the final 100-meter breaststroke, Larson false started. However, it was determined there was a technical issue and she was allowed to compete. She finished in sixth place.

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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Breeja 1992 births Living people American female breaststroke swimmers Latter Day Saints from Texas Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Texas A&M Aggies women's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Latter Day Saints from Arizona Latter Day Saints from Idaho

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