Erin Ashley Phenix (born March 1, 1981) 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 won a gold medal at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
.
Early life
Phenix was raised in
Greenhills, Ohio
Greenhills is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,615 at the 2010 census. A planned community, it was established by the United States government during the Great Depression. Most of the village is a National ...
, a suburb of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, by her mother, Laurie.
She swam for the
Cincinnati Marlins
The Cincinnati Marlins are a non-profit, USA Swimming–affiliated swim team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States serving Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Founded in 1961, the team competes at the elementary school, high school, and college ...
. At
Ursuline Academy, she won the state championship as part of the 200 yard freestyle relay team.
The next year, she earned individual state championships in both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, while participating in the championships relay teams at both 200 and 400 yard distances.
[ In her final year at Ursuline, she would repeat as champion in those four races, and be named the GGCL swimmer of the year, and '']The Cincinnati Enquirer
''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alth ...
'' "swimmer of the year".[
]
Texas and the Olympics
In 1999, Phenix enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
on an athletic scholarship.[ At the ]U.S. Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading i ...
on August 14, 2000, she placed sixth in the 100-meter freestyle, earning a spot on the 4×100 metre relay squad in Sydney. Her mother, Laurie, was working two jobs at the time, and could not afford the trip to Australia, so her friends and neighbours worked together to raise the $3,500 for her to go to Sydney.[ Their efforts were rewarded, as in Sydney, Phenix swam in the preliminary heat, and when the U.S. team won the finals, she was awarded a gold medal.
The next year, Phenix won two silver medals at the ]2001 World Aquatics Championships
right
The 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001.
The opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the swimming and synchronised swimming events, ...
in Fukuoka, in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and swimming the anchor freestyle leg in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Though she would swim at the Olympic Trials again in 2004, she failed to qualify for the Athens games, effectively ending her swimming career in international competitions.
See also
* List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
This is the complete list of women's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Current program
50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
20 ...
* List of University of Texas at Austin alumni
This list of University of Texas at Austin alumni includes notable graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of the University of Texas at Austin. The institution is a major research university in Downtown Austin, Texas, US and ...
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phenix, Erin
1981 births
Living people
American female freestyle swimmers
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Swimmers from Cincinnati
Texas Longhorns women's swimmers
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics