Caroline Stilwell Axel Burckle (born June 24, 1986) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

ist.

Early years

Burckle was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. She attended Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, and graduated in 2004.GatorZone.com, Women's Swimming & Diving, 2007–08 Roster
Caroline Burckle
Retrieved April 13, 2012.

College career

Burckle accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for coach

Gregg Troy Gregg Troy (born December 19, 1950) is an American professional and Olympic swimming coach. As of April 2021, he is the head coach for the Cali Condors, which is part of the International Swimming League. Until 2018, he was the head coach of the ...

Florida Gators swimming and diving The Florida Gators swimming and diving program represents the University of Florida in the aquatics sports of swimming and diving. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Colle ...

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) and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) competition from 2005 to 2008.
Florida Swimming & Diving 2011–12 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 61, 62, 63, 67, 72, 73, 75–76, 79 (2011). Retrieved April 13, 2012. She won two NCAA individual championships in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle event in 2008, and was named the 2008 NCAA Female Swimmer of the Year by virtue of winning two NCAA national championships and breaking the oldest-standing women's NCAA swimming record by swimming a 4:33.60 in the 500-yard freestyle. She also won SEC individual championships in the 200-yard freestyle (2005), the 500-yard freestyle (2005, 2008), the 100-yard breaststroke (2007), and the 200-yard breaststroke (2008), and three more SEC titles as a member of the Gators' winning relay teams in the 4x100-yard medley relay (2005), the 4x200-yard freestyle relay (2005), and the 4x50-yard medley relay (2008). During her four-year college career, she received twenty-three All-American honors. She was the 2007–08 recipient of the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer. She graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2009. Burckle's younger brother

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

also swam for Florida, but transferred to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

before his senior year, and was an individual NCAA champion in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2010.

International career

In 2005, Burckle was selected to compete at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Montreal. She swam in the preliminaries of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay for the gold-medal-winning U.S. team. At the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Burckle won the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle. At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Burckle placed fourth in the 200-meter freestyle, earning a place on the Olympic swim team for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Burckle also placed fourth in the 400-meter freestyle and fifth in the 800-meter freestyle in Omaha. At the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, Burckle earned a bronze medal swimming in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Burckle swam the lead-off leg in the preliminary heats in 1:57.86, and was selected to swim in the final. She swam the third leg of the final in 1:56.70. At the 2009 National Championships, Burckle placed third in the 400-meter freestyle, barely missing the chance to compete at the 2009 World Championships. Burckle was, however, named to the 2009–2010 U.S. National Team. In the fall of 2009, Burckle moved to

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

to train with the FAST Swim Team under coach Sean Hutchison. She retired from competition swimming in 2010.

Personal bests

Life after competition swimming

After her move to Southern California in 2009, Burckle enrolled at the

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) is a private college in downtown Los Angeles. It offers degree programs in majors including fashion, entertainment, beauty, interior design, and graphic design. The college was founded in 19 ...

. She completed a degree in merchandise product development in 2010. In 2011, Burckle briefly relocated to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

to work for Montiel USA, a start-up women's "active wear" line. In late 2011, Burckle returned to Louisville to begin Stilwellness, a health and wellness coaching business. Burckle is a member of the International Coaching Federation and Ohio Valley Professional Coaching Alliance, and is pursuing a degree from Wellcoaches School.Biography
Stilwellness, Retrieved June 16, 2012.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burckle, Caroline 1986 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers Florida Gators women's swimmers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Sacred Heart Academy (Louisville) alumni Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky Swimmers at the 2007 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games