Rhiannon Jeffrey (born October 25, 1986) is a former American swimmer who won a gold medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Swimming career

Jeffrey began swimming at the age of six, and won eight

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

state titles while in high school at

Atlantic Community High School Atlantic Community High School (also known as Atlantic and ATL and formerly called Seacrest High School) is a public high school located in Delray Beach, Florida, United States. It is part of the School District of Palm Beach County. Known for ...

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles ...

. She was named state swimmer of the year four years in a row by the

South Florida Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...

. In 2003, for her senior year at Atlantic, she was joined on the swim team by her younger sister Kirstie. Jeffrey's first taste of international success was at the

2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The ninth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2002 in Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, from August 24–29. One world record A world record is usually th ...

where she swam on the U.S. 4x100 freestyle relay team that took a silver medal. While still a senior in high school, she won two gold medals in the

2003 World Aquatics Championships The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming. C ...

; swimming as part of the U.S. teams in both the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays. Jeffrey was highly recruited, and chose to go across the country to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Just two weeks before the 2004

United States 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. These events include: * United States Olympic Trials (curling) * United States Olympic Trials (d ...

, Jeffrey was hospitalized with an abscessed tonsil; she recovered in time to take 4th place in the 200 metre freestyle at the competition, and earn a spot on the 4x200 metre relay team in Athens. In Athens she swam in the preliminary heats of the 4x200 freestyle relay, and when the U.S. team won the final, she was awarded a gold medal.

Retirement

In 2007, Jeffrey left USC and gave up swimming four months before 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 ...

for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. She relocated to

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, and took a job with

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

. Jeffrey is currently the head swim coach for the Atlantis Aquatics swim team in Portsmouth, NH. https://www.teamunify.com/TabGeneric.jsp?_tabid_=176697&team=necsc

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffrey, Rhi 1986 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Delray Beach, Florida Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics USC Trojans women's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming

Swimming career

Retirement

See also

References

External links