Nicholas Brewer Thoman (born March 6, 1986) 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

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

and is an Olympic gold medalist. He has won two world championships as a member of winning United States medley relay teams at the

FINA World Aquatics Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: Swimming (sport), swimming, Diving (sport), diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run b ...

. From 2009 to 2015 he held the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in the 100-meter backstroke (short course). Thoman has won a total of ten medals in major international competition, four gold, three silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships,

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 ...

, and the

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

. He was a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, and won gold and silver medals 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 ...

. On December 6, 2013, at the U.S. national championships in Knoxville Tennessee, Thoman set three American records in one evening. He broke the American record in the 50-yard backstroke (20.69), was part of an American record-breaking 200-yard medley relay (with E. Knight, T. Phillips and C. Jones, 1:23.02) and shattered the American record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 44.07.

Career

Thoman was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio 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 ...

. He swam for Cincinnati Aquatic Club under head coach Benson Spurling from age 8 through high school. He attended

Mariemont High School Mariemont High School is a public high school located in Mariemont, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Mariemont City School District. Mariemont High School is known for its high academic standards, and it has been n ...

in the suburbs of Cincinnati and was coached by Kevin Maness. At the 2009 Duel in the Pool, a short course meet, Thoman combined with

Mark Gangloff Mark Daniel Gangloff (born June 8, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and former world record-holder. Gangloff represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Su ...

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

, and

Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...

in 4×100-meter medley relay to break the world record previously held by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. While leading off the relay, Thoman also broke the world record in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 48.94. At the 2010 National Championships, Thoman qualified to swim 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 ...

in the 50, 100 and 200-meter backstroke. In the 100-meter backstroke final at the 2010 National Championships, Thoman was out first at the first 50 with a time of 25.80. However, he faded to third place with a time of 53.78, finishing behind David Plummer and

Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...

. In the 200-meter backstroke final, Thoman finished in 5th place with a time of 1:57.7. At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Thoman won bronze in the 50-meter backstroke. At the

2010 FINA Short Course World Championships The 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 15–19 December 2010. This swimming-only championships took place in the Dubai Sports Complex; all events were swum in a 25-meter ( short-course) ...

in Dubai, Thoman won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay with

Mihail Alexandrov Mihail Alexandrov ( bg, Михаил Александров) (born April 9, 1985) is an Olympic swimmer from Bulgaria. He swam for Bulgaria at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Alexandrov has been swimming for the USA since 2009. Alexandrov, who has ...

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

Garrett Weber-Gale Garrett Weber-Gale (born August 6, 1985) is an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and world record-holder in two events. Early life Weber-Gale is Jewish, and was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He graduated from Nic ...

. Thoman also competed in the 50 and 100-meter backstroke in Dubai but finished out of medal contention in both events. 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, Thoman placed fourth in the final of the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 53.01. In the 4×100-meter medley relay with

, and

, Thoman won gold with a time of 3:32.06. Swimming the backstroke leg, Thoman had a time of 53.61.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Olympics, Thoman made the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by finishing second in the 100-meter backstroke in a time of 52.86. Thoman also placed third in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 1:57.06, missing a spot in that event. At the

in London, Thoman won his inaugural Olympic medal, a silver, in the 100-meter backstroke. In the final, Thoman placed second behind fellow American

Matt Grevers Matthew Grevers (born March 26, 1985) is an American competition swimmer who competes in the backstroke and freestyle events, and is a six-time Olympic medalist. He has won a total of thirty-three medals in major international competition, fou ...

with a time of 52.92. He also earned a gold medal swimming the backstroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×100-meter medley relay.

Personal bests

. Key: WR = World record

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoman, Nick 1986 births Living people American male backstroke swimmers Arizona Wildcats men's swimmers Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Cincinnati Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World record setters in swimming Swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade silver medalists for the United States Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2007 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 20th-century American people 21st-century American people

Career

2012 Summer Olympics

Personal bests

See also

References

External links