Kathleen Elizabeth Hersey (born February 21, 1990) is an American competition swimmer who represented the United States at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2012 Summer Olympics and finished fourth in the 200-meter

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

in 2012.

Early years and education

Hersey was born in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

. Hersey is the daughter of Brian and Regina Hersey, who adopted her when she was three days old. Regina Hersey, a former freelance editor, died in January 2012 after a battle with colon cancer. Hersey says she draws inspiration from her father, a financial consultant who has used a wheelchair since the 1980s after a spinal cord aneurysm, but still maintains an active lifestyle. She is a 2008 graduate of Marist School in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where she set national high school records in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley. Hersey was a public relations major at the

University of Texas 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 ...

, where she swam for the

Texas Longhorns swimming and diving The Texas Longhorns swimming and diving program represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's and women's swimming and diving competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The fir ...

team in 2009 and 2010. During her two years as a Longhorn swimmer, she won eleven

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

championships, and was a seven-time All-American. Hersey left the Lady Longhorns swim team after the 2009–10 school year to train individually under Longhorn Aquatics head coach

Eddie Reese Edwin Charles Reese (born July 23, 1941) is an American college and Olympic swimming coach, and a former college swimmer. Reese serves as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns men's swimming and diving team that represents the University of Texa ...

Career

2007–2008

Hersey competed in 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 C ...

, where she won gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 400-meter individual medley, and 4×100-meter medley relay. Also in 2007, at the U.S. Short Course Nationals, Hersey won the 400-meter individual medley. and placed second in the 200-meter butterfly and 200 individual medley. Hersey qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics by placing second in the 200-meter butterfly, her signature event, at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Additionally, she placed fifth in the final of the 400 m individual medley in Omaha with a career best time of 4:42.07. At the Olympics, Hersey finished eighth in the 200-meter butterfly finals with a time of 2:08.23. She had swum a then career best 2:06.96 in the semi-finals of this event a day earlier. To celebrate her victory, Hersey had a tattoo of Olympic rings inscribed on her shoulder.

2009

At the 2009 USA Swimming National Championships, Hersey won the 200-meter butterfly in a new career best time of 2:06.44, earning a place on the 2009 World Championships roster. Hersey also placed fifth in the 100 m butterfly in 58.36. At the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

in Rome, Hersey placed ninth overall in 2:06.89, barely missing a place in the final.

2010–2011

Hersey won a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly at the

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22. M ...

. In 2011, Hersey won the 200-meter butterfly at the USA Swimming National Championships. She also placed first in the event at the 2011 Duel in the Pool.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Olympics, Hersey made the U.S. Olympic team for the second time by finishing second in the 200-meter butterfly behind Cammile Adams with a time of 2:07.72. Hersey also competed in the 200-meter freestyle but did not advance past the semi-finals, and placed third in the 100-meter butterfly final. To celebrate her victory, Hersey had a tattoo of Olympic rings inscribed on her At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Hersey advanced to the finals of the 200-meter butterfly and swam a career-best time of 2:05.78 to finish in fourth place.

2015 - present

In 2015, Hersey was inducted into the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame. In 2017, swimmer

Madisyn Cox Madisyn Cox (born May 30, 1995) is an American former swimmer specialising in individual medley events. College career For the Texas Longhorns she was named the 2015 and 2017 Big 12 Conference Swimmer of the Year. She is a 10-time All-Americ ...

went 4:01.15 in the 400 IM, making her the 10th fastest USA swimmer ever in the event and besting the record held by Hersey. That conference record had stood at 4:01.91 when Hersey set it back in 2009.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hersey, Kathleen 1990 births Living people American adoptees American female butterfly swimmers American female medley swimmers Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for the United States Swimmers at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Atlanta Marist School (Georgia) alumni Texas Longhorns women's swimmers 21st-century American women