Kevin Cordes ( ; born August 13, 1993) is an American competitive

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

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, 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 ...

events. He currently represents the

Cali Condors The Cali Condors are a professional swimming club and one of the original eight clubs of the International Swimming League. The team is based in San Francisco led by general manager Jason Lezak and head coach Gregg Troy. Assistant Coaches for the ...

which is part of the

International Swimming League The International Swimming League (ISL) is an annual professional Swimming (sport), swimming league, established in 2019. It features a team-based competition format with fast-paced race sessions. In 2019, the regular season started in October an ...

. Cordes was a member of the 2016 U.S. Men's Olympic Swimming Team. He won gold in the 4×100 m medley relay as a member of the preliminary relay, and took 4th place in the Men's 100m Breaststroke at the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. He is the former American record holder in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke (long course).

Early life and education

Cordes was born in

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

in 1993, the son of Bill and Kristin Cordes. He is a 2011 graduate of

Neuqua Valley High School Neuqua Valley High School (NVHS) is a public four-year high school located near the corner of Illinois Route 59 and 95th Street in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Neuqua Valley is the counterpar ...

and he graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

, where he was majoring in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...

. Swimming for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college foot ...

, he was a six-time NCAA individual national champion, winning the 100-yard breaststroke four years in a row and the 200-yard breaststroke in 2013 and 2014. Cordes was the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Swimmer of the Year.

Career

2012

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, Cordes missed qualifying for the Olympic team, finishing third in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:00.58) and twelfth in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:13.26). At the 2012 FINA Istanbul Short Course World Championships, his first major international competition, Cordes won a team gold medal and an individual bronze medal. The gold medal came his way in the 4×100 m medley relay, swimming the breaststroke leg in 57.15 (the fastest in the field). In the 100 m breaststroke, Cordes won a bronze medal with a time of 57.83.

2013

At the 2013 U.S. Summer Nationals, Cordes finished first in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke, and finished second behind

teammate Kevin Steel in the 50-meter breaststroke. Cordes qualified to compete in the individual 50-, 100- and 200-meter breaststroke, and the 4×100-meter medley relay at the

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2014 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, from 21 to 25 August 2014. Qualifying ...

, Cordes won gold as a member of the 4x100-meter medley relay with the team finishing with a time of 3:29.94. Swimming the breaststroke leg, Cordes recorded a split of 58.64. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Cordes was disqualified for taking off his goggles midway through the race after they filled with water. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Cordes scratched from the final after posting a time of 2:10.01 in the heats in order to concentrate on the medley relay.

2015

In preparation for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Cordes moved to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

to train with former Bolles swimming head coach, Sergio López.

2016

At the 2016 US Olympic Swimming Trials, Cordes placed first in the 100m breaststroke, qualifying him for the Olympic Team. Subsequently, at the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, he placed 4th in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 59.22, and 8th in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:08.34.

Personal bests

Personal life

Cordes has two siblings, Caroline and Jack. His father Bill played football for the University of Arizona. His sister Caroline played volleyball for the University of Arizona. His brother Jack played basketball for

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

.Hillsdale College Chargers. Men's basketball. Jack Cordes.
Retrieved February 25, 2019

References

External links

* * * * *
Kevin Cordes
– University of Arizona athlete profile at ArizonaWildcats.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordes, Kevin 1993 births Living people American male breaststroke swimmers Arizona Wildcats men's swimmers Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Sportspeople from Naperville, Illinois Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2019 Pan American Games World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World record holders in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in swimming Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games