 Vaziri at 2007 world championships | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leila Vaziri | |||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Lei" | |||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1985-06-06)June 6, 1985 (age 40) | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Coral Springs Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||
| College team | Indiana University | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Leila Vaziri (Persian:لیلا وزیری, born June 6, 1985) is an American competitionswimmer, the 2007 world champion, and a former world record-holder in the 50-meter backstroke.
Vaziri attendedIndiana University, where she majored in communication and culture, and competed for theIndiana Hoosiers swimming and diving team. She was 2005 Big Ten Champion in the 100-yard backstroke and the 2007 NCAA bronze medalist in the 100-yard backstroke. Vaziri earned 15 All-America certificates during her Hoosier career, the most in school history, and was the 2007 Indiana University Female Athlete of the Year.[1]
Leila won the 100-meter backstroke at the US National Championships in 2006, earning a spot at the Pan Pacific Championships inVictoria, British Columbia. After turning in the second-fastest time in the nation, she earning a spot on the U.S. World Championship Team.
At the2007 World Aquatics Championships held inMelbourne, Vaziri won a gold medal in the50-meter backstroke and earned a silver medal by swimming the backstroke leg in the heats of the4×100-meter medley relay. Going into the final of the 50 m backstroke, Vaziri was the clear favorite for gold. In the heats of the 50 m backstroke, Vaziri brokeNatalie Coughlin's Championship record of 28.30 with a time of 28.25 establishing a new American Record.[2] In the semifinals of the 50 m backstroke, she brokeJanine Pietsch's world record of 28.19 with a time of 28.16.[3][4] In the final of the 50 m backstroke, she equalled her own world record en route to winning gold.[5][6]
Vaziri came short of making the 2008 USA Olympic Swimming Team when she finished in 7th place in the final of the 100 m backstroke at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.[7]
She has anIranian father and a mother ofGerman ancestry.[8]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women's 50-meter backstroke world record-holder (long course) March 28, 2007 – October 19, 2007 | Succeeded by |
