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-meter breaststroke (short and long course), and is the first woman to swim the 200-meter breaststroke in under 2 minutes 20 seconds. As a member of the U.S. national team, she held the world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay from 2012 to 2017 (long course). Soni has won a total of twenty-two medals in major international competition, fourteen gold, seven silver, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, the

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 ...

, and the Pan Pacific Championships. She burst onto the international scene at the 2008 Summer Olympics where she won two silver medals and one gold. In the 200-meter breaststroke at the Olympics, she set the world record en route to winning gold, shocking Australian favorite

Leisel Jones Leisel Marie Jones, OAM (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold-medal ...

. Four years later at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Soni successfully defended her Olympic title in the 200-meter breaststroke in world record time, becoming the first woman to do so in the event. She was named ''

Swimming World ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...

s World Swimmer of the Year award in 2010 and 2011, and the American Swimmer of the Year award in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Early and Personal life

Soni was born in

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, U.S. Her father Peter is of

Hungarian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

descent;https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/54/ART2/392/517.html his family and him emigrated from Cluj-Napoca, Transilvania (now in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

), from which their families had been deported during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Her

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

paternal grandfather Poli Schoenberg survived the Auschwitz concentration camp, whereas his parents lost their lives in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. Her father's first marriage was to an American woman, whom he met during his studies, they resided together in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, but eventually had a divorce. Her mother Kinga is her father's second marriage. She also has distant relatives in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Soni is a 2005 graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey. She held many school records and leads the school and state in many swimming strokes. In July 2006 she had a cardiac ablation. In August 2010, Soni became a spokeswoman for the

United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, ...

's Girl Up campaign. The organization focuses on improving the lives of the world's adolescent girls.

Career

At USC, Soni was a six-time

NCAA 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 ...

Champion, having won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2006 through 2009 and the 100-yard breaststroke in 2008 and 2009.

Early career

As a 17-year-old at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Soni finished 15th overall in the 100-meter breaststroke and 11th overall in the 200-meter breaststroke. The following year, at the 2005 World Championship Trials, Soni just missed a spot on the 2005 World Aquatic team after finishing third in the 200-meter breaststroke behind

Tara Kirk Tara Kirk Sell (born July 12, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and breaststroke specialist who is an Olympic silver medalist. She is a former world record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke (short course). She has won a tot ...

and Kristen Caverly. Soni also placed fourth in the 100-meter breaststroke. At the 2005 Summer Universiade, Soni earned her first international medals by winning silver in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke and gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay. At the 2006 World Short Course Championships, Soni finished in 4th place in the 200-meter breaststroke. Just a few weeks before the 2006 National Championships, Soni underwent a procedure called

radiofrequency ablation Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), also called fulguration, is a medical procedure in which part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, tumor or other dysfunctional tissue is ablated using the heat generated from medium frequency alternati ...

to help regulate her heartbeat. Although it was not health-threatening, Soni would sometimes experience a high

heart rate Heart rate (or pulse rate) is the frequency of the heartbeat measured by the number of contractions (beats) of the heart per minute (bpm). The heart rate can vary according to the body's physical needs, including the need to absorb oxygen and excr ...

which sometimes interfered with her training. At the 2006 National Championships, the selection meet for the

2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six world records A world record is usually the best global and mo ...

and the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Soni finished tenth overall in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke.

2008

2008 Olympic Trials

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Soni competed in two events, the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni finished fourth in a time of 1:07.80. Usually, the top two finishers would qualify for the Olympics. However, after second-place finisher Jessica Hardy withdrew from the team due to a doping violation and third-place finisher

missed the entry deadline, Soni was chosen to swim the event. Soni earned her berth by being the swimmer already on the team with the fastest time in the event since January 1, 2006. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni won with a time of 2:22.60, the third-fastest finish as of that date.

2008 Summer Olympics

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Soni won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, finishing behind world record holder

of Australia 1:06.73 to 1:05.17. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni upset the heavily favored Jones, winning the gold medal and breaking Jones's world record with a time of 2:20.22. Jones finished second with a time of 2:22.05. After the race, Soni said, "It's been a long road to get here, I can't believe what just happened." Soni then combined with

Natalie Coughlin Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall (born August 23, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, she became the first woman ever to swim the 100-meter backstro ...

, Christine Magnuson, and

Dara Torres Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967) is an American former competitive swimmer, who is a 12-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events. Torres is the first swimmer to represent the United States in five Olympic Gam ...

in the 4×100-meter medley relay to finish second behind Australia. Soni had the second best split time in the field (1:05.95) behind Jones (1:04.58).

2009

2009 National Championships

At the 2009 National Championships Soni competed in two events, the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni easily won with a time of 1:05.34. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni again exhibited dominance by finishing first with a time of 2:20.38, just off her world record pace.

2009 World Aquatics Championships

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 ...

, held in Rome, Soni set a meet record in the heats of the 100-meter breaststroke, with a time of 1:05.66. In the semi-final, Soni recorded a time of 1:04.84 to set a new world record and become the first female to finish under 1:05 for the event. In the final of the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni won the gold with a time of 1:04.93. Despite being the favorite in the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni went out too fast in the first half of the race and faded in the final meters, ultimately placing fourth. In the 50-meter breaststroke, Soni was narrowly beaten for the gold and the world record by two one-hundredths (0.02) of a second by

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

swimmer Yuliya Yefimova. For her performance at the World Championships, she was named the American Swimmer of the Year by '' Swimming World Magazine''.

2009 Duel in the Pool

Soni then competed at the 2009 Duel in the Pool, a short course meet held in December at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni broke Leisel Jones' world record with a time of 2:14.57. One day later, Soni swam a 1:02.70 in the 100-meter breaststroke to break Jones' world record of 1:03.00.

2010

2010 National Championships

At the 2010 National Championships, Soni qualified to compete 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 the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni won in a time of 1:05.73. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni easily won with a time of 2:21.60, almost five seconds ahead of second-place finisher

Amanda Beard Amanda Ray Beard (born October 29, 1981), also known by her married name Amanda Brown, is an American swimmer and a seven-time Olympic medalist (two gold, four silver, one bronze). She is a former world record holder in the 200-meter breaststro ...

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Soni won a total of three gold medals. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni recorded the third fastest time in history and the fastest time recorded in a textile suit with a 1:04.93 to win the gold medal ahead of Australians Leisel Jones and Sarah Katsoulis. Her time was also the fastest ever recorded in a textile swimsuit. Two days after the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni then competed in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 4×100-meter medley relay. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni dominated the field with a time of 2:20.69. Leisel Jones came in second in 2:23.23 and world record holder Annamay Pierse came in third with a time of 2:23.65. Less than an hour after the event, Soni competed in the 4×100-meter medley relay with

, Dana Vollmer and Jessica Hardy. Performing the breaststroke leg, Soni recorded a time of 1:05.35, the fastest in the field; the American team went on to win the gold in a time of 3:55.23. For her performance at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Soni was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by ''Swimming World Magazine''.

2010 Short Course World Championships

At the end of 2010, Soni competed at the 2010 World Short Course Championships in Dubai, where she won three gold medals and one silver. Soni swept all the breaststroke events and individually set four championship records.

2011

2011 World Aquatics Championships

Soni won her first gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. After posting the top times in the heats (1:05.54) and semi-finals (1:04.91), Soni recorded a time of 1:05.05 in the final for the win. Her winning time was over a second ahead of second-place finisher

. In her second event, the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni won with a time of 2:21.47, her first gold medal in the event at a long course World Championships. However, her time in the final was slightly slower than her semi-final time of 2:21.03. In the 4×100-meter medley relay, Soni won gold with

, Dana Vollmer, and Missy Franklin with a time of 3:52.36, over three seconds ahead of second-place finisher China. Swimming the breaststroke leg, Soni had a split of 1:04.71. The final time of 3:52.36 for the medley relay was the second-fastest effort of all time, just behind the Chinese-owned world record of 3:52.19. In her last event, the 50-meter breaststroke, Soni finished in third place behind Jessica Hardy and Yuliya Yefimova. At the year's end, Soni was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by ''

'', and defended her titles from 2010.

2012

2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Soni won her inaugural medal, a silver, in the 100-meter breaststroke, finishing 0.08 seconds behind 15-year-old Lithuanian Rūta Meilutytė and repeating her result from the 2008 Olympics. After topping the heats of the 200-metre breaststroke with a time of 2:21.40, and breaking Annamay Pierse's

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 semi-finals with a time of 2:20.00, Soni won a gold medal in the final of the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:19.59, breaking her own world record and becoming the first woman ever to break 2 minutes 20 seconds in the event.Crouse, Karen (August 2, 2012)
"Soni Sets World Record to Win 200 Breaststroke"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Retrieved September 5, 2022. With her win, Soni became the first female to successfully defend her title in the event. In her final event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, she won gold with Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer and Allison Schmitt. Swimming the breaststroke leg, she recorded a time of 1:04.82, and the U.S. team went on to set a new world record with a time of 3:52.05, bettering the previous Chinese-owned record of 3:52.19 set in 2009.

2013

Soni took the year off to recover from a back injury, but returned to the 2013 World Aquatics Championships as a spectator.

2021

On October 9, 2021, Soni was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the s ...

. Originally scheduled to be inducted into the Class of 2020, her induction was delayed from April 24–25, 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The week of her being announced as a future inductee, ''

'' ranked the announcement and her as future induction as number five for their "The Week That Was" honor, three spots behind fellow breaststroker

Meghan Dressel Caeleb Remel Dressel (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He swims representing the Cali Condors as part of the International Swimming League. He won ...

getting engaged to

Caeleb Dressel Caeleb Remel Dressel (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He swims representing the Cali Condors as part of the International Swimming League. He won ...

.Ross, Andy (December 3, 2019)
"The Week That Was: Andrei Minakov Commits to Stanford, Caeleb Dressel, Meghan Haila Announce Engagement"
''

''. Retrieved November 3, 2021.

Personal bests

World records

: Record set in a short course pool. : Short course record with

, Dana Vollmer, and Missy Franklin. : The first woman to swim in under 2 minutes 20 seconds in the event. : Record set with Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer, and Allison Schmitt.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soni, Rebecca 1987 births American Ashkenazi Jews American female breaststroke swimmers American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Living people Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming People from Freehold Borough, New Jersey People from Plainsboro Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers from New Jersey Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade silver medalists for the United States USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism alumni USC Trojans women's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World record holders in swimming