Omar Pinzón
Encyclopedia
Omar Andrés Pinzón García (born June 17, 1989) is a Colombia
n international swimmer
. He competed at the 2004 Olympics
in Athens, Greece and 2008 Olympics
in Beijing, China. Pinzón attended college in the United States
, where he swam for the University of Florida
.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens, Pinzón finished in thirty-fifth place in the men's 200-meter backstroke
. Pinzón competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing in the 100 and 200-meter backstroke, the 200 and 400-meter individual medley, and the 200-meter butterfly. His best 2008 Olympic performance was in the 200-meter backstroke, where he placed seventeenth with a time of 1:59.11.
Pinzón was born in Bogotá
, Distrito Capital, Colombia. He attended the Bolles School
in Jacksonville, Florida
, and graduated from Gimnasio Britanico high school in Bogotá in 2005. Pinzón received an athletic scholarship
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he swam for coach Gregg Troy
's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) competition from 2006 to 2010. In his four-year Gator swimming career, Pinzón received twelve All-American honors.
Pinzón won his first gold medal at a Swimming World Cup in Singapore
in 2011 in the 200m backstroke
. Pinzón then won gold medals in Shanghai
and Tokyo
in the 200m backstroke
.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n international 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...
. He competed at the 2004 Olympics
Colombia at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Colombia competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The Colombian Olympic Committee sent a 53-member delegation to Greece.Although most of the athletes had uneventful participations, weightlifter Mabel Mosquera won the bronze medal for Colombia, while cyclist María Luisa Calle...
in Athens, Greece and 2008 Olympics
Colombia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Colombia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The country sent 68 athletes to compete in 15 sports , making this Colombia's biggest ever delegation to the Olympics.-Medalists:- Archery:Colombia sent archers to the Olympics for...
in Beijing, China. Pinzón attended college in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he swam for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens, Pinzón finished in thirty-fifth place in the men's 200-meter 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...
. Pinzón competed 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...
in Beijing in the 100 and 200-meter backstroke, the 200 and 400-meter individual medley, and the 200-meter butterfly. His best 2008 Olympic performance was in the 200-meter backstroke, where he placed seventeenth with a time of 1:59.11.
Pinzón was born in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Distrito Capital, Colombia. He attended the Bolles School
Bolles School
The Bolles School is a private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It has a lower school , a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jacksonville area, and enrolls about 1,800 students a year. The school was founded in 1933 as...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, and graduated from Gimnasio Britanico high school in Bogotá in 2005. Pinzón received an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he swam for coach Gregg Troy
Gregg Troy
Gregg Troy is an American college and Olympic swimming coach. He is the current head coach of the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams of the University of Florida; the Florida Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southeastern Conference . ...
's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) competition from 2006 to 2010. In his four-year Gator swimming career, Pinzón received twelve All-American honors.
Pinzón won his first gold medal at a Swimming World Cup in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 2011 in the 200m 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...
. Pinzón then won gold medals in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in the 200m 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...
.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Olympians