Allison Rodgers Schmitt (born June 7, 1990) is an American competitionswimmer who specializes infreestyle events. She is a four-timeOlympian and a ten-timeOlympic medalist.
Schmitt was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1990 to Ralph and Gail Schmitt. Raised as one of five siblings in what is still her hometown ofCanton, Michigan (a suburb ofDetroit), she went to Canton Charter Academy for elementary and middle school. Schmitt's father is afinancial analyst and her mother is asystem project manager. Schmitt considers her parents to have been the most influential and helpful people in her life. "They are so supportive of my dreams and ambitions," she said in 2008, adding, "they have given me so many opportunities to excel in life and have set a good example for me to follow."[10]
She started swimming at age eight, saying she followed her older sister, Kirsten, into it. "I thought about quitting," Schmitt said, "but stayed one more season and loved it." Prior to settling on swimming, she said she triedsoccer,dance,basketball,volleyball,softball; and though she said she had the equipment for hockey, she decided to swim instead.[11]
From ages 10 through 13, Schmitt swam with the Ann Arbor Swim Club (AASC) inAnn Arbor, Michigan (which, in 2006, merged into Club Wolverine).[17] In an interview during the 2012 Summer Olympics, Josh Morgan, her then-AASC coach, said there was no indication in those years just how fast she would one day become. He said she started to show real potential, later, in the spring of her junior year in high school when she went to a 2007 Junior National Team competition. Calling it "her first real breakout swim," he said she went "from pretty fast to really fast," dropping four to five seconds off her 200-meter freestyle short course time of normally around a minute fifty-two seconds, down to around a minute forty-seven, thereby putting Schmitt in what Morgan called "elite company."[18]
Schmitt went toCanton High School inCanton Township, Michigan, from which she graduated in the spring of 2008. During her senior year, as she continued to swim at what had, by then, become Club Wolverine on theUniversity of Michigan campus in nearby Ann Arbor, she began training alongside OlympianMichael Phelps under the guidance of Phelps's long-time coach,Michigan Wolverines head coachBob Bowman.[19] Before the Summer Olympics in Beijing, having ended his tenure at University of Michigan, Bowman moved toBaltimore in anticipation of being named the head coach andCEO of the prestigiousNorth Baltimore Aquatic Club the following September.[20] Both Phelps and Schmitt followed, with Schmitt moving to Baltimore[21] just after her spring 2008 high school graduation in order to train full-time with Phelps and Bowman during the weeks leading-up to the 2008 Olympics (at which Schmitt won her first Olympic medal, a bronze in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay).[4]
After the Summer Olympics, in the fall of 2008, Schmitt moved toAthens to become a freshman at the University of Georgia, majoring in psychology, and minoring in childhood and family development.[22] She joined coachJack Bauerle'sGeorgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team, following her competition in the Summer Olympics under Bauerle, who was the women's swimming head coach.[23] She participated in NCAA competition during her freshman, sophomore and junior years,[24] ultimately becoming a four-time NCAA national champion by winning the 500-yard freestyle in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and the 200-yard freestyle in 2010.[25] While at college in Athens, Schmitt also became involved in Athens Bulldog Swim Club (ABSC) competitions[26] on the University of Georgia campus.[27]
During her first three years at the university, she trained with Phelps and Bowman in Baltimore only during summers.[4] However, in preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she took the 2011–2012 school year (her senior year) off and moved to Baltimore to train full-time with Bowman and Phelps at the NBAC;[28] which consisted of at least four hours in the pool and one hour on dry land six days a week.[22]
After the 2012 Summer Olympics, Schmitt returned to the University of Georgia to complete her senior year of college,[28] She was the recipient of theHonda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer of 2012–13.[29] Following her return from London, Schmitt started suffering fromdepression, finding the increased public attention to be overwhelming. Her anguish led to bad swimming results, leading her to not qualify for various international competitions. After sharing her feelings with Phelps and Bowman in January 2015, Schmitt decided to attend therapy sessions but did not disclose her depression to her family. Once Schmitt's cousin April Bocian took her own life in May, she opted to reveal herself to her family and also make her emotional issues public, feeling it would help others in the same situation.[30][31]
Schmitt wrote on the bio form for herUSA Swimming organization membership that she enjoysscrapbooking, photography, playing outdoor sports and board games; and that her ultimate way to relax is watching a movie or getting a massage.[11] Whenever she returns home to Canton she likes to visit the local youth swim clubs and high school swim teams, as a role model and mentor by swimming and talking with the young swimmers.[18] "I love motivating these kids when they're just starting to pave their own paths in life," she said.[22]
About it all, Schmitt has said: "I didn't start swimming competitively until I was 10 and didn't really focus on it until I was 12, yet it's such a huge part of my life and I can't imagine my life without it. It's been an amazing journey, but more than that, it's shaped who I am as a person. The best part is all the friends I have made. I believe that I literally have the best friends anyone could ever imagine hoping for, and I met almost all of them because of swimming. Taking in all the memories with these amazing people, I feel pretty lucky with the paths I have crossed, and the people I have met because of swimming."[21]
Schmitt is a good friend of Michael Phelps.[32][33][34]
At the2008 Summer Olympics, Schmitt won a bronze medal in the4×200-meter freestyle relay withNatalie Coughlin,Caroline Burckle andKatie Hoff. Swimming the lead-off leg, Schmitt recorded a split time of 1:57.71 and the American team finished with a time of 7:46.33, an American record. Schmitt also competed in the 200-meter freestyle, but did not advance past the semifinals, finishing in ninth place with a time of 1:58.01.
At the2009 World Championships in Rome, Schmitt competed in three events, the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle, and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Schmitt recorded the second best time in the heats with a time of 4:02.80.[35] However, in the final she placed 4th with a time of 4:02.51.[36] In her second event, the 200-meter freestyle, she won a silver medal finishing behind world record holderFederica Pellegrini by 1.98 seconds. Schmitt's time of 1:54.96 was good enough for theAmerican record.[37] In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, she swam the final leg in 1:54.21 as the American team placed second toChina. The final time of 7:42.56 was just behind China's time of 7:42.08, but was good enough for the American record.[38]
At the2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, Schmitt won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay withMissy Franklin,Dagny Knutson, andKatie Hoff, with the team finishing ahead of Australia and China. As the anchor leg, Schmitt had a 1:56.49 split. Schmitt also competed in the individual 200-meter freestyle and finished sixth in the final (1:56.98).
At the2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S. qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Schmitt made the U.S. Olympic team by finishing first in the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle, and third in the 100-meter freestyle.[39][40][41] In the 200-meter freestyle final, Schmitt broke her ownAmerican record of 1:54.96 with a time of 1:54.40.
At the2012 Summer Olympics in London, Schmitt won a total of five medals: three gold, one silver, and one bronze.[42] In her first event, the4×100-meter freestyle relay, Schmitt won bronze withMissy Franklin,Jessica Hardy andLia Neal, with the U.S. team finishing third behind the women's relay teams from Australia and the Netherlands. Swimming the anchor leg, Schmitt had a split of 53.54 seconds and the team finished with a total time of 3:34.24, anAmerican record. Schmitt won the first individual Olympic medal of her career, a silver, in the400-meter freestyle, and in doing so, set the American record for the event.[43] Her time of 4:01.77 was just 0.32 seconds behind winnerCamille Muffat. In her second and last individual event, the200-meter freestyle, Schmitt won gold while setting a new Olympic record of 1:53.61, which was also a new American record. In the race, Schmitt won by a margin of 1.97 seconds over Muffat. In the4×200-meter freestyle relay, Schmitt earned her second gold after passing AustralianAlicia Coutts and topping the field with a split of 1:54.09 as the anchor leg. Also on the winning 4×200-meter relay team were Missy Franklin,Dana Vollmer andShannon Vreeland. In her final event, the4×100-meter medley relay, Schmitt won gold with Missy Franklin,Rebecca Soni, and Dana Vollmer. Swimming the freestyle leg, Schmitt recorded a time of 53.25, and the American team went on to set theworld record with a time of 3:52.05, bettering the Chinese-owned record of 3:52.19 set in 2009.
The2016 United States Olympic Trials saw Schmitt finishing fourth at the 200m (1:56.72), qualifying her to the relay team. Schmitt became the ninth American female swimmer to appear in three Olympics, and only she andElizabeth Beisel were members of each team since 2008.[48] She was named one of the captains of the U.S. Olympic Swim Team, alongside Phelps, Beisel,Nathan Adrian,Anthony Ervin, andCammile Adams.[49] Schmitt earned her seventh Olympic medal by taking part in the qualifying heat of the4 × 100 m freestyle relay, and during the finals the U.S. team won the silver.[50] Schmitt earned her fourth gold medal, and eighth Olympic medal, by swimming in the finals of the4 × 200 m freestyle relay withLeah Smith,Maya DiRado, andKatie Ledecky.[51]
Schmitt(left) and Michael Phelps (right) in Rio 2016
On day three of the2020 USA Swimming Olympic Trials, the 15th of June 2021, Schmitt swam in the prelims of the 200-meter freestyle, ranking 3rd for all prelims heats with a time of 1:57.84.[54] Later in the same day, Schmitt competed in the semifinals of the same event swimming a 1:57.53, ranking 4th, and advancing to the final.[55][56] During the finals on day four, she placed 2nd in the 200m freestyle with a 1:56.79, once again securing a spot on the Olympic team.[57][58] Schmitt's swimqualified her for the2020 Summer Olympics in both the200-meter freestyle individual event and4x200-meter freestyle relay.[59] This was the fourth Olympic Team Schmitt qualified for.[60]
On day five of competition, Schmitt swam in the morning prelims of the 100-meter freestyle finishing with a time of 54.78, ranking 11th, and qualifying for the semifinals.[61][62] In the semifinals, Schmitt placed 6th swimming a 54.08 and qualifying for the final.[63] She swam a 54.12 in the final, finishing in sixth place, and giving her the potential of swimming on the4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics for Team USA.[64][65]
Schmitt was selected to serve as a USA swim team captain at the2020 Summer Olympics, making it the second time she had been selected to serve as an Olympic team captain and making her the only second-time American swim team captain at the 2020 Olympics.[6][66]
On day one of competition at the Olympic Games, Schmitt swam in the prelims of the4x100-meter freestyle relay, helping the relay finish fifth overall and advance to the final.[67] In the final, the relay finished third and Schmitt won a bronze medal for her efforts on the relay in the prelims.[7]
In the prelims of the200-meter freestyle on July 26, Schmitt qualified in 12th place for the semifinals with her time of 1:57.10.[68][69] The next day, Schmitt finished tenth overall with a time of 1:56.87 in the semifinals and did not qualify for the final.[66]
On day six of competition, Schmitt swam the first leg of the4x200-meter freestyle relay in the final of the event and helped the relay set a newAmericas record of 7:40.73 and win the silver medal.[8][70] Schmitt's employment of a slow lead-offtactic, that is purposefully swimming a slower first leg of a relay to motivate the second, third, and fourth swimmers to split faster times than the first swimmer, caught the attention ofPeople magazine who made her one of the headliners in an article published about the race as well as theUSA Swimming Foundation who nominated her for aGolden Goggle Award for "Relay Performance of the Year" as part of the relay team.[8][71]
Legend:AM –Americas record;NR –American record; Records not set in finals:h – heat;sf – semifinal;r – relay 1st leg;rh – relay heat 1st leg;b – B final;† – en route to final mark;tt – time trial
^"Women's Ice Hockey".2011–2012 Team Roster. Ohio State University Buckeyes Official Athletic Site. Archived fromthe original on May 19, 2017. RetrievedAugust 2, 2012.
