Conor James Dwyer (born January 10, 1989) is a former American 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 ...

and Olympic gold medalist. He competed in

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

and

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

events, and won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. 4×200-meter freestyle relay team 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 ...

. In total, he has won seventeen medals in major international competitions: nine gold, six silver, and two bronze spanning the

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 ...

, the FINA World Championships, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. Dwyer placed second at the 2016 US Olympic Swimming Trials in the 400m freestyle. On 11 October 2019 it was announced by the United States Anti-Doping Agency that Dwyer had failed a series of anti-doping tests in late 2018. It had been found that he had banned anabolic steroids, namely testosterone in the form of pellets, surgically inserted into his body. Dwyer was banned for 20 months and was expected to miss the 2020 Summer Olympics before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He announced his retirement from competitive swimming shortly after the suspension was announced.

Early years

Dwyer was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Patrick and Jeanne Dwyer.GatorZone.com, Men's Swimming & Diving, 2010–11 Roster
Conor Dwyer
. Retrieved July 9, 2012. His mother was an All-American swimmer for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

swimming team and continues to teach swimming lessons to this day.USA Swimming, National Team Bios
Conor Dwyer
. Retrieved July 9, 2012. Dwyer is the second oldest of five children in his family, including PJ, Pati, Brendan, and his twin brother Spencer. Spencer is a personal trainer who has trained the likes of Chance the Rapper. He grew up in Winnetka, Illinois, and attended

Loyola Academy Loyola Academy is a private, Catholic, co-educational college preparatory high school run by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago ...

, a Catholic high school in Wilmette, Illinois, where he swam for the Loyola Academy Ramblers high school swim team for four years. As a senior team captain, he was the league champion in the 200-yard freestyle (1:44.03) and runner-up in 500-yard freestyle (4:45.15), received all-section and all-league honors, and was his team's most valuable swimmer. In addition to swimming, he played baseball, lacrosse and water polo. In water polo, he earned third-team all-state and first-team all-section, all-region and all-league honors. He graduated from Loyola in 2007.

Swimming career

Collegiate

Dwyer first attended the University of Iowa and swam for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Big Ten Conference competition during the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. After his second year, he transferred to the University of Florida, where he swam for coach Gregg Troy's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in NCAA and Southeastern Conference (SEC) competition during the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons.
Florida Swimming & Diving 2011–12 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 59, 61, 63, 67, 69, 72, 74, 77, 78, 80 (2011). Retrieved July 9, 2012. In 2010, he won individual titles at the NCAA national championships in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle, and was honored as the NCAA Swimmer of the Year in 2010 and 2011. Dwyer was named SEC Swimmer of the Year in both 2010 and 2011. Dwyer finished his college career with twelve All-American honors and three NCAA titles (two individual and one relay). He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2011.

2010–11

At the 2010 ConocoPhillips United States National Championships in Irvine, California, Dwyer qualified for the U.S. national team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay by finishing fifth in the 200-meter freestyle. Dwyer also placed fifth in the 200-meter individual medley and sixth in the 400-meter freestyle. At the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synchro ...

in Shanghai, China, Dwyer swam in the heats of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and earned a gold medal when the United States won in the final. Teaming with David Walters,

Ricky Berens Richard "Ricky" Berens (born April 21, 1988) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and current world record-holder. As a member of the U.S. national team, he holds the world record in the 4× ...

, and Peter Vanderkaay, Dwyers swam the second leg and recorded a time of 1:47.31. At the 2011 ConocoPhillips United States National Championships in Palo Alto, California, Dwyer won the 200-meter individual medley and placed second in the 400-meter individual medley. Shortly after the 2011 National Championships, Dwyer competed at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

held in Guadalajara, Mexico. At the competition, he won four medals (one gold, three silver) which included two individual silver medals.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying meet for the Olympics, Dwyer made the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by finishing second behind Peter Vanderkaay in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:47.83. During the last 100 meters of the 400-meter freestyle, he split a 56.81 seconds that helped him edge out Michael Klueh and Charlie Houchin for the second spot. Dwyer also qualified for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay by finishing fourth in the 200-meter freestyle behind Michael Phelps,

Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by to ...

and

. Dwyer capped the trials with a third-place finish in the 200-meter individual medley finishing again behind Phelps and Lochte. During the 2012 Olympic Trials, Dwyer achieved personal bests in all of the events in which he competed. At the

in London, Dwyer swam his first race in the men's 400-meter freestyle. In the heats of the 400-meter freestyle, Dwyer achieved a personal best of 3:46.24 (with his prior being 3:47.83) to qualify for the final. In the final of the 400-meter freestyle, Dwyer placed fifth with a time of 3:46.39, slightly slower than the time he posted in the heats. In his second and last event, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Dwyer earned a gold medal when the U.S. team placed first in the final with a time of 6:59.70. Teaming with

and Michael Phelps, Dwyer swam the second leg in a time of 1:45.23.

2013 World Championships

At the

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.4×100-meter freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg in the heats, Dwyer recorded a time of 48.36. In his first individual event, the 200-meter freestyle, Dwyer won silver behind Frenchman Yannick Agnel, recording a personal best time of 1:45.32. At the 150-meter mark, Dwyer was in fifth place, but had a final 50 split of 26.59 to grab the second spot. His final 50 was the fastest among the field. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Dwyer combined with

, Charlie Houchin, and

, with the team finishing in first place. Swimming the lead-off, Dwyer recorded a split of 1:45.76, and the team finished with a final time of 7:01.72.

2016 Olympics

At the

Olympic trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Dwyer placed second in both the 200m and 400m freestyle, qualifying him for the Olympic team in both those individual events. At the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

, Dwyer started off the program coming 4th in the 400 freestyle missing out in a medal despite qualifying fastest from the heats. Dwyer was again part of the US 4 × 200 m freestyle team that won gold, leading off the relay in the final to teammates Townley Haas,

and Michael Phelps. Dwyer also won a bronze medal in the 200 m freestyle individual event after a late surge, behind

Sun Yang Sun Yang (; ; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic swimming gold medal. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Ol ...

and Chad le Clos.

2019 Swimming ban and retirement

In October 2019, Dwyer was handed a 20-month competitive ban after testing positive for an anabolic agent by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The American Arbitration Association found that Dwyer consulted on health issues with his trainer Reardon and obstetrician-gynecologist Dana Russo, and the latter concluded his testosterone levels were in the 5th percentile. Thereafter, Dwyer was using a

hormone therapy Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also be referred to as hormonal therapy or antihormone therapy. The most general classes of hormone therapy are oncologic horm ...

product BioTe, plant-derived testosterone, that were implanted as pellets beneath the skin in October 2018. Russo told the arbitration panel that she had asked someone on the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee if the treatment was allowed, but the person could not be identified. Months after commencing the hormone treatment in October 2018, Dwyer was informed that he had tested positive for an anabolic agent in 3 out-of-competition drug tests. He announced his retirement from swimming shortly after the 20-month suspension was announced by the USADA in October 2019, after the arbitration panel concluded the results.

Personal bests (long course)

Personal bests (short course)

Modeling career

In addition to swimming professionally, Dwyer is also an internationally signed model. In 2019, Dwyer was the face of Philippine-based international clothing brand BENCH's men's wear campaign in the United States and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

References

External links

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archived
* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwyer, Conor 1989 births Living people American male freestyle swimmers American male medley swimmers Florida Gators men's swimmers Iowa Hawkeyes men's swimmers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States People from Winnetka, Illinois Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century American people