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| Full name | Kate Marie Ziegler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1988-06-27)June 27, 1988 (age 36) Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 161 lb (73 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | FISH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kate Marie Ziegler (born June 27, 1988) is an American competitionswimmer who specializes infreestyle andlong-distance events. Ziegler has won a total of fifteen medals in major international competition, including eight golds, five silvers, and two bronzes spanning theWorld Aquatics and thePan Pacific Championships. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and competed in the 800-meter freestyle event at the2012 Summer Olympics.
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Ziegler was born in 1988 inFairfax, Virginia, the daughter of Don and Cathy Ziegler. She was a part of a local swim team, FISH, where she was coached under Ray Benecki. She attended Forestville Elementary School in Great Falls, Virginia andBishop Denis J. O'Connell High School inArlington County, Virginia. At O'Connell, she excelled throughout her four years, earningWashington Post All-Met honors four straight years, including being named Swimmer of the Year on more than one occasion.[citation needed]
As a freshman, she finished third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.59) and won the 500-yard freestyle (4:47.78) at the 2003 Metros Swimming and Diving Championships, breaking the 15-year-old record in the 500 held by Pam Minthorn. She also anchored O'Connell's 200-yard freestyle relay (24.51 split) and 400-yard freestyle relay (53.65 split) to seventh and sixth-place finishes, respectively. As a sophomore the following year, she won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:46.15) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:41.91) in record time, and anchored the winning 200-yard freestyle relay (24.14 split) and third place 400-yard freestyle relay (51.63 split). Her times continued to drop rapidly, and as a junior she again won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.43) and 500-yard freestyle (4:37.67) in record time, the latter being an independent national high school record.[citation needed]
As a senior, she continued to excel, tying the national high school record in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.49) and breaking theAmerican record held byJanet Evans in the 500-yard freestyle (4:35.35).[citation needed]
Ziegler initially attendedGeorge Mason University, and later transferred toChapman University in 2011.[citation needed]
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At the2004 Short Course Worlds, she finished second to Japan'sSachiko Yamada in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:20.55. Her 400-meter split would have placed fourth in the event at the meet.[1]
In February 2005, at theFINA World Cup stop in New York, Ziegler won the 800-meter freestyle in 8:16.32, breakingCynthia Woodhead's 25-year-oldAmerican record, which at the time was the oldest American record on the books.
In 2005, Ziegler won the 800-meter freestyle (8:25.31) and 1,500-meter freestyle (16:00.41) at theWorld Championships in Montreal. The latter time made her the third-fastest woman (and second-fastest American) in the history of the event, following only world-record holderJanet Evans's 15:52.10 and GermanHannah Stockbauer's 16:00.18. She qualified for Worlds after winning the 800-meter freestyle at World Trials in Indianapolis with a time of 8:34.83. She failed to qualify in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing third in a time of 4:12.09.
At the2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, she swam the 1,500-meter freestyle in 15:55.01, making her the second fastest swimmer of all time in that event and only the second person to break the sixteen-minute mark. The third person wasHayley Peirsol who finished the event just two seconds later.
In 2007, at an in-season meet, Ziegler broke Janet Evans's longstanding world record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:42.54. It stood for six years untilKatie Ledecky broke the record in 2013.
At the2007 World Championships, she won the 800-meter freestyle[2] and 1,500-meter freestyle,[2] to defend the titles she had won in2005.[3]
In 2008, Ziegler qualified for the Olympic Games by placing second toKatie Hoff in both the 400-meter (4:03.92) and 800-meter (8:25.38) freestyle events. At the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, however, Ziegler failed to qualify for the finals in either event. Notably, her best time in the 800-meter would have netted her a silver medal.[4]
At the2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Ziegler made the U.S. Olympic team for the second time by placing second behindKatie Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:21.87.[5] She also competed in the 400-meter freestyle and finished seventh in the final (4:09.17).[6]
At the2012 Summer Olympics in London, Ziegler swam in the fastest qualifying heat of800-meter freestyle and posted a time of 8:37.38, behindRebecca Adlington of the United Kingdom andLauren Boyle of New Zealand. Only the top eight swimmers of all five qualifying heats advanced to the 800-meter finals (with 8:27.15 as the slowest times of those eight), and Ziegler did not advance.[4]
In May, Ziegler returned to competition after a two-year break.[7]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women's 1,500-meter freestyle world record-holder (long course) June 17, 2007 – July 30, 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Women's 800-meter freestyle world record-holder (short course) October 12, 2007 – December 12, 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Laure Manaudou | Women's 1,500-meter freestyle world record-holder (short course) October 12, 2007 – November 29, 2009 | Succeeded by |
