Claudia Maria Franco Solana (born 21 July 1975), also known as Claudia Franco Walsh, is a 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 represented Spain at two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Early years

Franco was born in Madrid, Spain.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports
Claudia Franco
Retrieved April 14, 2012. She is the younger sister of Olympic swimmer Barbara Franco. Both sisters attended

Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive education, comprehensive State school, public secondary education in the United States, high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unif ...

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

, where they swam for the Mission Viejo high school swim team.

College career

Franco attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for the Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition in 1993 and 1994.
Florida Swimming & Diving 2011–12 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2011). Retrieved April 14, 2012. During her two years as a Gator, she won four Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships as a member of the Gators winning relay teams, and received six All-American honors. She subsequently transferred to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in Palo Alto, California, where she won five NCAA championships as a member of Stanford's national championship team in 1996.

International career

At the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, Spain, Franco competed in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. She finished twenty-first in the world in both individual events, and the Spanish women's team finished thirteenth in the relay. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta, Georgia, she was again a member of the Spanish Olympic team, and finished eleventh in the 50-meter freestyle, and twenty-first in the 100-meter freestyle, and was a member of the Spanish relay teams that finished fourteenth in the 4x100-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter medley relay events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Claudia 1975 births Living people European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Spanish female freestyle swimmers Florida Gators women's swimmers Olympic swimmers for Spain Swimmers from Madrid Stanford Cardinal women's swimmers Spanish expatriate swimmers in the United States Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1997 Mediterranean Games 20th-century Spanish women

Early years

College career

International career

See also

References