Caitlin Leverenz

Caitlin Leverenz (born February 26, 1991) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and medley events. She won the bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Leverenz was born in Tucson, Arizona. She attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson and was a member of the Sahauro Cougars High School swim team. She was one of the top college swimming recruits in the nation as a high school senior. She also trained with and swam for the El Dorado Aquatics Club in Tucson.

Leverenz received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where she swam for coach Teri McKeever's California Golden Bears swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition. At the NCAA national championships in 2011, she swam the breaststroke legs for the Golden Bears' winning relay teams in the 4x50-yard and 4x100-yard medley relay events; the Bears set a new American and NCAA record time of 1:35.03 in the 4x50 medley. At the 2012 NCAA national championships, she again was a member of the Bears' winning 4x50-yard and 4x100-yard medley relay teams, as well as winning individual national championships in the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke events. She was a key contributor to the Golden Bears winning two NCAA national team championships in three years. She was the recipient of the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer of 2011–12.

Leverenz represented the United States in Brazil for the World Youth Championships and in the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. She won the gold medal and broke the meet record in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2007 Pan American Games. At the United States Swimming National Championships in 2007, she won the U.S. championship in the 400-meter individual medley.

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, she placed fourth in both the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley. She also finished third in the 200-meter breaststroke, just missing out on making the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.

2012 Summer Olympic Games

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Leverenz made the U.S. Olympic team by finishing first in the 200-meter individual medley and second in the 400-meter individual medley. She also competed in the 200-meter breaststroke, but finished in eighth place in the final.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she won her first Olympic medal, a bronze, in the finals of the 200-meter individual medley. She also competed in the 400-meter individual medley, where she tied for sixth in the finals.