Emily Seebohm
Encyclopedia
Emily Jane Seebohm OAM
(born 5 June 1992 in Adelaide
, South Australia
) is an Australian backstroke
, freestyle
, butterfly and individual medley swimmer
.
. At the World Championships in Melbourne
, Seebohm won a gold medal in the 4x100 m medley relay. She also placed fourth in the final of the 100 m backstroke and 14th in the 50 m backstroke.
Seebohm also won gold in both the 100 m backstroke and 4x100 m medley relay at the 2007 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
.
On 6 March 2008 at the Brisbane Catholic Schoolgirls Championships, Seebohm broke the 50 m backstroke Commonwealth and Australian records with a time 28.10 seconds, missing Li Yang's then world record of 28.09 by one hundredth of a second.
On 22 March 2008, Seebohm broke the world record in the 50 m backstroke in the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Championships, with a time of 27.95s, taking five hundredths of a second off Hayley McGregory
's world record of 28.00 set only 15 days earlier on 7 March 2008. A day later, this record was beaten again, this time by Australian Sophie Edington
in a time of 27.67 seconds in the final of the same event. Seebohm decided not to swim in the final of this event as it is not an Olympic event and instead decided to focus on the semi-final of the 100 m backstroke. Her decision paid off when she became the first Australian woman to break the one-minute barrier in the event, her 59.78 making her the fifth-fastest of all-time. She then lowered the record to 59.58 s in the final, winning the Australian championship and gaining selection for the Olympic Games in Beijing
.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics
, Seebohm placed ninth overall in the 100 m backstroke
, barely missing a spot in the final. Seebohm then swam in both the preliminaries and final of the 4x100 m medley relay, in which Australia won the gold medal.
At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships
in Rome
, Seebohm won the bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke with a time of 58.88. She also won silver in the 4x100 m medley relay, and placed 7th in the 50 m backstroke and 15th in the 200 m IM.
At the 2009 Australian Short Course Championships, Seebohm broke the world record in the 100 m IM in 58.54.
At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
, on the first night she defeated Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin
in the 100 m backstroke, taking gold in championship record time, as well as taking silver in the 50 m butterfly. On the second night, she took silver in the 100 m freestyle in her first attempt at the event at international level. On night 3 she took another silver in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. Final night saw her take the gold in the 200 m individual medley, topping world champion and record holder Ariana Kukors
. Later on in the night she broke the 100 m backstroke championship record in the lead off leg of the 4 × 100 m medley relay, Australia finished with silver. Later on in the year she collected 8 medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Seebohm is being tracked by the BBC as part of their series World Olympic Dreams, which follows her as she prepares for London 2012.
to Brisbane
, Queensland
so her mother could coach swimming. Seebohm attended St John Fisher College, a Catholic school for girls located in Bracken Ridge
, up until the end of 2008, where she completed grade 10, and previously attended St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
.
On 26 January 2009, Seebohm was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 5 June 1992 in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
) is an Australian backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
, freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
, butterfly and individual medley swimmer
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
.
Career
At the age of 14, Seebohm won the 100 m backstroke at the 2007 Australian Championships, the selection meet for the 2007 World Aquatics Championships2007 World Aquatics Championships
The 2007 World Aquatics Championships or the XII FINA World Championships were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007...
. At the World Championships in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Seebohm won a gold medal in the 4x100 m medley relay. She also placed fourth in the final of the 100 m backstroke and 14th in the 50 m backstroke.
Seebohm also won gold in both the 100 m backstroke and 4x100 m medley relay at the 2007 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is a long course swimming event first held in 1985. The meet was initially staged biennially , to allow for an international championship-level meet in the non-Olympic and non-World Championships years...
.
On 6 March 2008 at the Brisbane Catholic Schoolgirls Championships, Seebohm broke the 50 m backstroke Commonwealth and Australian records with a time 28.10 seconds, missing Li Yang's then world record of 28.09 by one hundredth of a second.
On 22 March 2008, Seebohm broke the world record in the 50 m backstroke in the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Championships, with a time of 27.95s, taking five hundredths of a second off Hayley McGregory
Hayley McGregory
Hayley McGregory is an American swimmer. She is a former world-record holder in the 50 and 100-meter backstroke .-Personal life:...
's world record of 28.00 set only 15 days earlier on 7 March 2008. A day later, this record was beaten again, this time by Australian Sophie Edington
Sophie Edington
Sophia Jane Edington is an Australian backstroke and freestyle swimmer.She trained at the Kingscliff ASC club under Greg Salter. After Greg took up an overseas coaching role Sophie moved to Queensland to train under the QAS program from the end of 2008...
in a time of 27.67 seconds in the final of the same event. Seebohm decided not to swim in the final of this event as it is not an Olympic event and instead decided to focus on the semi-final of the 100 m backstroke. Her decision paid off when she became the first Australian woman to break the one-minute barrier in the event, her 59.78 making her the fifth-fastest of all-time. She then lowered the record to 59.58 s in the final, winning the Australian championship and gaining selection for the Olympic Games in Beijing
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, Seebohm placed ninth overall in the 100 m backstroke
Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre backstroke
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.During the two preliminary heats, Kirsty Coventry broke first the existing Olympic Record, then the existing World Record. Thus, prior to the final heat, both records were different than what they had been before the...
, barely missing a spot in the final. Seebohm then swam in both the preliminaries and final of the 4x100 m medley relay, in which Australia won the gold medal.
At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships
2009 World Aquatics Championships
The 2009 World Aquatics Championships or the XIII FINA World Championships were celebrated in Rome, Italy in 2009 from July 17 to August 2. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines: diving, swimming, open water swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo.Rome won...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Seebohm won the bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke with a time of 58.88. She also won silver in the 4x100 m medley relay, and placed 7th in the 50 m backstroke and 15th in the 200 m IM.
At the 2009 Australian Short Course Championships, Seebohm broke the world record in the 100 m IM in 58.54.
At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22....
, on the first night she defeated Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin
Natalie Coughlin
Natalie Anne Coughlin is an American swimmer and eleven-time Olympic medallist.At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Coughlin became the first American female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympics and the first woman ever to win a 100 m backstroke gold in two consecutive...
in the 100 m backstroke, taking gold in championship record time, as well as taking silver in the 50 m butterfly. On the second night, she took silver in the 100 m freestyle in her first attempt at the event at international level. On night 3 she took another silver in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. Final night saw her take the gold in the 200 m individual medley, topping world champion and record holder Ariana Kukors
Ariana Kukors
Ariana Kukors is an American swimmer. She currently holds the world record in the 200-meter individual medley ....
. Later on in the night she broke the 100 m backstroke championship record in the lead off leg of the 4 × 100 m medley relay, Australia finished with silver. Later on in the year she collected 8 medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
Seebohm is being tracked by the BBC as part of their series World Olympic Dreams, which follows her as she prepares for London 2012.
Career Best Times
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Personal
When Seebohm was three she moved with her family from AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
so her mother could coach swimming. Seebohm attended St John Fisher College, a Catholic school for girls located in Bracken Ridge
Bracken Ridge, Queensland
Bracken Ridge is a northern suburb of Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia. Its local government area is the City of Brisbane, in which it has its own ward.-Location:...
, up until the end of 2008, where she completed grade 10, and previously attended St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Ascot, an inner-northern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....
.
On 26 January 2009, Seebohm was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
.
External links
- Swimming Australia athlete profile: Emily Seebohm
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/world_olympic_dreams/8844787.stm