Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Annamay Pierse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | "Anners", "Anna” | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Toronto, Ontario | December 5, 1983||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 58 kg (128 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Breaststroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Pacific Dolphins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of British Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Annamay Pierse (born December 5, 1983) is a former competitive swimmer who represented Canada in major international swimming championships including the Summer Olympics, FINA World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.
Pierse grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is the oldest of five sisters – all competitive swimmers – with one older and one younger brother.
Pierse was a breaststroke specialist and the holder of several Canadian records both long course and short course. She was formerly the world record-holder in the 200-metre long course breaststroke until Rebecca Soni beat her time by 12 hundredths of a second during the 200-metre semifinals at the 2012 Summer Olympics. [1]
On April 2, 2008, she placed first at the Canadian Olympic Trials in 100-metre breaststroke thereby qualifying her for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she finished in sixth in the final of the 200-metre breaststroke. She was also a member of the Canadian team that finished seventh in the women's 4×100-metre medley relay.
She is married to Olympic paddler, Mark Oldershaw.
Pierse represented Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics and competed in the following events:
Event | Results |
---|---|
100 meter breaststroke | 10th, 1:08.27 |
200 meter breaststroke | 6th, 2:23.77 |
4×100 meter medley relay | 7th, 4:01.35 (2:08.26) |
On March 14, 2009, at the University of Toronto pool, Pierse broke the world short course record in the 200 m breaststroke. Posting a time of 2:17.50. The Previous record was 2:17.75 belonging to Leisel Jones.
She was awarded a new Pontiac Car from a local dealer sponsoring the event who promised a new car to any athlete breaking a world record. A local Speedo dealer also awarded her $2,500 for the feat.
Thanks to this achievement, Pierse also won the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) female athlete of the year award for 2008–09.
Pierse set a new world mark in the 200 m long course breaststroke at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, with a time of 2:20.12 in the semi-finals. 1/10 of a second faster than the previous world record, Rebecca Soni set at the Beijing Olympics. However, in the finals, she faded down the final 50m and placed second (2:21.84) to the surprise victor Nadja Higl of Serbia.
Pierse brought home a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke from these Championships; Being behind Rebecca Soni, and Leisel Jones. Pierse said that this Pan Pac Bronze medal was more memorable than winning her World Championship medal. She had a rough year due to an illness and missed months of training.
Jodie Clare Henry, OAM is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist and former world-record holder.
Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, she became the first woman ever to swim the 100-meter backstroke in less than one minute—ten days before her 20th birthday in 2002. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became the first U.S. female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympiad, and the first woman ever to win a 100-meter backstroke gold in two consecutive Olympics. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.
Leisel Marie Jones, OAM is an Australian former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold-medal-winning Australian team in the women's 4×100-metre medley relay at the Athens Games in 2004 and a gold medallist for 100-metre breaststroke in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Brooke Louise Hanson, OAM is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, and former world record-holder.
Jessicah Lee Schipper is an Australian former competition swimmer and former world record holder for 200 metres butterfly. Specialising in the 100 and 200 metres butterfly, she won several gold medals at the Olympic Games and the World Championships between 2004 and 2009.
Megan M. Jendrick is an American former competition swimmer, former world record-holder, and fitness columnist. She won two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Jendrick set 27 American records and four world records in her swimming career. She is a 13-time national champion, ten-time U.S. Open champion, seven-time masters world record-holder, and fifteen-time U.S. Masters national record-holder. Jendrick is married to American author Nathan Jendrick.
Tarnee Renee White, OAM, also known by her married name Tarnee Southwell, is an Australian breaststroke swimmer who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre medley relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
QI Hui is an Olympic and former world record holding breaststroke swimmer from China.
Mireia Belmonte García is a Spanish Olympic, world, and European champion swimmer. She is the world record holder in the short course 200 metre butterfly and 400 metre individual medley. Formerly, she held the world record in the short course 400 metre freestyle, 800 metre freestyle, and 1500 metre freestyle. She was the first Spanish woman to win a gold medal in swimming at an Olympic Games and is widely considered to be the greatest Spanish swimmer of all time.
Audrey Lacroix is a retired Canadian competitive swimmer from Montreal, Quebec. She is the Canadian record-holder in the 200-metre butterfly. She is a former world record-holder in the short-course 4x100-metre medley relay along with teammates Katy Murdoch, Annamay Pierse and Victoria Poon. She was a member of the Canadian team that finished 8th in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay and in 7th place in the 4x100-metre medley relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal in 200-metre butterfly at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. and a bronze in the women's 4x100-metre medley relay. She also swam in the 100-metre butterfly final, finishing seventh with a time of 58.78.
Yuliya Andreyevna Yefimova is a Russian competitive swimmer. She is the Russian record holder in the 200 metre individual medley, 50 metre breaststroke, 100 metre breaststroke, and 200 metre breaststroke. After making her Olympic debut in 2008, she went on to win the bronze medal in the 200 metre breaststroke in 2012, and silver medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre breaststroke in 2016. She is a six-time World Champion, winning the 50 metre breaststroke in 2009 and 2013, the 100 metre breaststroke in 2015, and the 200 metre breaststroke in 2013, 2017, and 2019. In 2019, she became the first woman to win the 200 metre breaststroke at a FINA World Aquatics Championships three times. She is a former world record holder in the long course 50 metre breaststroke. She has won 109 medals, including 48 gold medals, at Swimming World Cups.
Emily Jane Seebohm, OAM is an Australian swimmer and television personality. She has appeared at four Olympic Games between 2008 and 2021; and won three Olympic gold medals, five world championship gold medals and seven Commonwealth Games gold medals.
Jessica Adele Hardy Meichtry is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and freestyle events. Hardy earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle and a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relays at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Brenton Scott Rickard is a retired breaststroke swimmer from Australia. He emerged at the international level in 2006, swimming at the Commonwealth games. He has captured multiple Olympic and World Championship medals, as well as world and Commonwealth records. During this period he was coached by Vince Raleigh.
Rebecca Soni is an American former competition swimmer and breaststroke specialist who is a six-time Olympic medalist. She is a former world record-holder in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter breaststroke, and is the first woman to swim the 200-meter breaststroke in under 2 minutes 20 seconds. As a member of the U.S. national team, she held the world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay from 2012 to 2017.
The women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15 and 17 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.
The women's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 13–15 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.
Melanie Renée Schlanger, OAM, also known by her married name Melanie Wright, is an Australian freestyle swimmer. Melanie first represented Australia at the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and her career spanned ten years, ending after the 2015 World Championships. She represented Australia at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics winning five Olympic medals.
Jeong Da-rae is a South Korean former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. She is a gold medalist in the 200 m breaststroke at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
The women's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 1–2 August 2012 at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.