Shannon Vreeland (born November 15, 1991) is an American former competition swimmer specializing in freestyle and Olympic gold medallist. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the

2012 London 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 ...

. Vreeland had won a total of nineteen medals in major international competitions, including thirteen gold medals, three silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics,

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, Pan Pacific Championships, and

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 ...

. Vreeland retired after the 2016 Olympic Trials and began attending law school at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in the fall of 2016.

Personal life

Vreeland was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

to Connie and Daniel Vreeland, and has a twin sister, Michelle. She grew up in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As ...

, and attended

Blue Valley West High School Blue Valley West High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, and one of five high schools by Blue Valley USD 229 school district, and has a current enrollment of approximately 1,280 studen ...

, graduating in 2010. Vreeland attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, majoring in international affairs and economics, and graduated Omicron Delta Kappa and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

. In the fall of 2016, Vreeland began attending law school at

, and graduated in May, 2019. After law school, she served as a legal clerk for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for the Honorable Judge

Duane Benton William Duane Benton (born September 8, 1950), known professionally as Duane Benton, is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Education Benton graduated from Northwestern University with a ...

, and now works as an Environmental, Land Use, and Natural Resources associate at Alston & Bird LLP.

Swimming career

College Swimming

Vreeland swam for coach Jack Bauerle's Georgia Bulldogs. She has been a member of three of the Bulldogs' NCAA national champion relay teams in the 4x200-yard relay event and one national champion relay team in the 4x100 freestyle relay, along with the NCAA team titles in 2013 and 2014. She earned NCAA All American honors 8 times throughout her college career.

2012 London Olympics

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, she placed fifth in the 200-meter freestyle event with a time of 1:57.90, thus qualifying as a member of the U.S. relay team in the 4×200-meter freestyle. Vreeland also placed thirteenth overall in the 100-meter freestyle race with a time of 54.87 seconds. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, she earned a spot on the finals lineup for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay after swimming the fastest split in the team in the morning prelims, 1:57.04. She earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. relay team in the relay, together with

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (born May 10, 1995) is an American former competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She formerly held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course). As a member of the U.S. national swim team ...

Dana Vollmer Dana Whitney Vollmer (born November 13, 1987) is a former American competition swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal as a member of the winning United States ...

and Allison Schmitt. She split 1:56.85 on the third leg of the relay. The first-place Americans set a new

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

for the event of 7:42.92.

2013 World Aquatics Championships

Vreeland qualified to swim 5 events at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

: 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, 4x100-meter freestyle relay, 4x200-meter freestyle relay, and 4x100-meter medley relay. In her individual events, Vreeland finished 7th in the 200-meter freestyle and 8th in the 100-meter freestyle. Vreeland won three gold medals in all three relays. In the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, Vreeland won gold alongside Missy Franklin,

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 ...

, and Megan Romano. The relay team narrowly out touched Australia at 3:32.31, a new American record. This was the first time the U.S. women had won the 4x100-meter freestyle relay since 2003. Vreeland split a 1:56.97 on her leg in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, in which the U.S. team of Vreeland, Franklin, Katie Ledecky, and Karlee Bispo touched first at 7:45.14, nearly two seconds ahead of second-place team Australia. Vreeland ended her meet by swimming the freestyle leg in the morning heats of the 4x100-meter medley relay. She received a gold medal when the finals lineup of Franklin, Jessica Hardy, Vollmer, and Romano won.

2014 Pan Pacific Championships

Vreeland won a medal of each color at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, Australia. She earned a bronze medal in the individual 200-meter freestyle with a 1:57.38, out-touching fourth-place finisher Melanie Schlanger by one-hundredth of a second. Alongside Simone Manuel, Missy Franklin, and

Abbey Weitzeil Abbigail "Abbey" Weitzeil (born December 3, 1996) is an American competition swimmer specializing in sprint freestyle. A multiple time Olympic medalist, she won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay for swimming in the preliminary heat ...

, Vreeland earned a silver medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. Additionally, Vreeland earned a gold medal leading off the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. With Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie Ledecky, the relay team touched first at 7:46.40, a new championship record.

2016 Olympic Trials

After battling an agonizing shoulder injury for several months, Vreeland swam her final races at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Rio Olympics. She swam three events, the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter freestyle events. She qualified for the semifinals for both the 100- and 200-meter freestyles, but finished 13th in the 100-meter freestyle and 15th in the 200-meter freestyle. Since she didn't qualify for the Olympic team, Vreeland decided to retire and prepare for law school in the coming fall.

Personal best times

References

External links

* * * * * *
Shannon Vreeland
– University of Georgia athlete profile at GeorgiaDogs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Vreeland, Shannon 1991 births Living people American female freestyle swimmers Georgia Bulldogs women'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 Sportspeople from Overland Park, Kansas Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Twin sportspeople American twins World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade silver medalists for the United States Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade