Micah Sumrall ( Lawrence, born July 20, 1990) is an 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 ...

who specializes in the

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and finished sixth in the world in the 200-meter breaststroke event 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 ...

Early years

Lawrence was born in

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern New ...

, but grew up in

Pflugerville, Texas Pflugerville ( ) is a city in Travis County, Texas, United States, with a small portion in Williamson County. The population was 65,191 at the 2020 census. Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin and part of the Austin–Round Rock–San Mar ...

and swam for Texas Gold. She attended

Pflugerville High School Pflugerville High School is a public high school located in Pflugerville, Texas. In 2017, the school was a Top-10 Finalist in Reader's Digest ''Nicest Places in America'' contest. Athletics List of sports * Baseball * Basketball, Boys * Baske ...

. She was the runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley at the Texas state championships. She grew up in an athletic family; Her two older sisters were college swimmers for

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

and her youngest sister swam for

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

. While still in high school, Lawrence became a national junior team member in 2007. After graduating from high school, she finished 36th in the 100-meter breaststroke and fourteenth in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.

College career

Lawrence received an athletic scholarship to attend

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

in Auburn, Alabama, where she swam for the

Auburn Tigers swimming and diving The Auburn Tigers swimming and diving program is Auburn University's representative in the sport of swimming and diving. The Tigers compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 and are members of the Southeastern Confe ...

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) competition from 2009 to 2011. During her three years as an Auburn swimmer, she won the

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) championship in the 100-yard breaststroke in 2010, and finished second in the same event, by one one-hundredth (0.01) of a second, at the

NCAA national championships Listed below are the colleges or universities with the most NCAA Division I-sanctioned team championships, individual championships, and combined team and individual championships, as documented by information published on official NCAA websites. ...

in 2011. She was also a member of two of Auburn's SEC championship relay teams in the 4x100-yard medley relay. She earned two All-American honors during her college career. Lawrence graduated from Queens University of Charlotte after transferring to the institution and training for the 2012 Olympic Games in the Levine Aquatic Center.

National and international career

Lawrence also competed at the 2009 USA Swimming National Championships, finishing twelfth in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:09.40), and seventeenth in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:29.72). At the 2010 National Swimming Championships, she finished third in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:08.48), and eighth in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:29.70). As a result of her performance at the 2010 nationals, she was selected for the 2010–11 USA Swimming National Team. She represented the United States 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. Me ...

, finishing tenth in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:07.85), ninth in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:25.19), and eighth in the 50-meter breaststroke (32.07). Following her junior year in 2010–11 at Auburn, she decided to take a year off from school and began to train full-time for the 2012 Olympics with former Auburn head coach David Marsh at SwimMAC Carolina. At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Lawrence qualified for the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by placing second in the 200-meter breaststroke behind

Rebecca Soni Rebecca Soni (born March 18, 1987) is an American former competition swimmer and breaststroke specialist who is a six-time Olympic medalist. She is a former world record-holder in the 100-meter breaststroke (short and long course) and the 200- ...

. At the

in London, she finished sixth in the final of the 200-meter breaststroke. At the 2013 World Championships, Lawrence finished 3rd to win the bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke final. Two years later at the 2015 World Championships, she won the silver medal in the 200m breaststroke.

Personal life

Lawrence married Austin Sumrall on January 27, 2017, in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

References

External links