Claudia Kolb
Kolb in 1970
Personal information
Full nameClaudia Anne Kolb
National teamUnited States
Born (1949-12-19) December 19, 1949
Hayward, California
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight134 lb (61 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke, individual medley
ClubSanta Clara Swim Club
CoachGeorge Haines
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1968 Mexico City 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 1968 Mexico City 400 m medley
Silver medal – second place 1964 Tokyo 200 m breaststroke
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1967 Winnipeg 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 1967 Winnipeg 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 1967 Winnipeg 200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 1967 Winnipeg 200 m breaststroke

Claudia Anne Kolb (born December 19, 1949), also known by her married name Claudia Thomas, is an American former competition swimmer, swim coach, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events.

Born in Haywood, California, Kolb was a graduate of Santa Clara High school and trained with the Santa Clara Swim Club from the age of ten until the end of her Olympic career.[1]

Olympic swimming

Kolb represented the United States as a 14-year-old at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She competed in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, and received the silver medal for her second-place performance (2:47.6) behind Soviet Galina Prozumenshchikova, who set a new Olympic record (2:46.4).[2][3] She became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the breaststroke.[1]

When Mexico City hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics, Kolb won two gold medals. She dominated her competition in the medley events, winning both the women's 200-meter individual medley (2:24.7) and women's 400-meter individual medley (5:08.5). Kolb set new Olympic records in both events in the preliminary heats and the event finals.[2]

Achievements and honors

During her career. Kolb won 25 U.S. national AAU Championships and set 23 world records. In 1967 she was named "World Swimmer of the Year" by Swimming World magazine. In 1975 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[4] In 1999, she was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.[1]

Coaching

Kolb retired from competitive swimming after the Mexico City Olympics. She has coached swimming at clubs in South Bend, Indiana and Santa Clara, California, and college teams at Stanford University and at Pacific University. Her Stanford swimmers won the 1980 AIAW national team championship. She coached Stanford from 1979-1980, attaining a 7-1 winning record before leaving the team to spend more time with her family.[5] In 2003, she was announced as the head coach of Pacific University's women's swimming program by athletic director Judy Sherman.[6]

She lives in Oregon.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Claudia Kolb.
  1. 1 2 3 "San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, Claudia Kolb". San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Claudia Kolb. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ Claudia Kolb Archived February 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine – Olympic Games results from databaseOlympics.com
  4. ↑ "Claudia Kolb (USA)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Stanford Women Swimming and Diving History". Stanford Women's Swimming and Diving. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Pacific to Renew Women's Swimming", Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, pg. 14, 2 April 2003



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