 Runge in 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National team |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 7, 1996 Cochranville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2.5 in (189 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | North Baltimore Aquatic Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of California, Berkeley (2014–2015) University of Wisconsin–Madison (2016–2017) Arizona State University (2018–2020) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Bob Bowman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cierra Runge (born March 7, 1996) is an American competition swimmer.
Runge was born in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, to Scott and Diane Runge. She is a 2014 graduate of Octorara High School. She was on the Jennersville YMCA swim team when she was younger (Now KJAY Swim Team). She attended the University of California, Berkeley her freshman year under Teri McKeever and afterwards took a whole year off to focus her efforts on making the 2016 U.S. Olympic team. Runge came back to collegiate swimming attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she swam for head coach Whitney Hite. For her last two years of NCAA eligibility, she transferred to Arizona State University, where she worked with Bob Bowman. [1]
At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Runge placed 25th in the 100-meter freestyle and 26th in the 50-meter freestyle. [2] [3]
In 2013, she competed at the World Junior Swimming Championships and won four medals including gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
At the 2014 US National Championships, the qualifying meet for both the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, she finished second in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle, and 6th in the 200-meter freestyle. [4] [5] [6]
At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, Runge placed 2nd in the 400-meter freestyle, 4th in the 1500-meter freestyle, and 5th in the 800-meter freestyle. In the 400-meter freestyle, she finished behind teammate Katie Ledecky, who set a world record. [7]
She most recently won a gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay.
Dana Whitney Vollmer is a former American competition swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal as a member of the winning United States team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay that set the world record in the event. Eight years later at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Vollmer set the world record on her way to the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly, and also won golds in the 4×100-meter medley relay and 4×200-meter freestyle relay. She won three medals including a gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Kate Marie Ziegler is an American competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle and long-distance events. Ziegler has won a total of fifteen medals in major international competition, including eight golds, five silvers, and two bronzes spanning the World Aquatics and the Pan Pacific Championships. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and competed in the 800-meter freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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.
Allison Rodgers Schmitt is an American competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle events. She is a four-time Olympian and a ten-time Olympic medalist.
Chloe Elizabeth Sutton Mackey is an American former competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle and long-distance events. Sutton represented the United States at two consecutive Olympic Games. Sutton has won a total of five medals in major international competition, three gold, one silver, and one bronze spanning the Open Water Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, and Pan American Games. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and competed in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Ariana Kukors is an American former competition swimmer and former world record holder in the 200-meter individual medley. Ariana now works in private coaching related to athletic performance. Kukors has won a total of seven medals in major international competition, two golds, three silvers, and two bronze spanning the World and the Pan Pacific Championships. She placed fifth in the 200-meter individual medley event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Melissa Franklin Johnson is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic medalist. She held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke from 2012 to 2019. As a member of the U.S. national swim team, she also held the world records in the 4×100-meter medley relay.
Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky is an American competitive swimmer. She has won nine Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. With 14 medals and 9 gold medals, she is also the most decorated American woman, most decorated female swimmer, the female with the most gold medals and fifth-most decorated athlete in Olympic history. She has won a record 16 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships. Ledecky's eight individual medals at the Olympics and 26 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships are records in women's swimming. Ledecky is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle. She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. She is widely regarded as the greatest female swimmer of all time and one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
Hali Flickinger is a retired American swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. She represents the Cali Condors of the International Swimming League.
The 2016 USA Swimming Olympic trials were held for the third straight quadrennial at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska from June 26 to July 3, 2016. Those qualifying competed for the United States in Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ariarne Elizabeth Titmus is an Australian swimmer. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 400-metre freestyle, having won the event at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics and the world record holder in the long course 200-metre freestyle and 400-metre freestyle events. In 2019 and 2020, she competed representing the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League.
Regan Smith is an American competitive swimmer. She won 3 medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 5 medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She is the current world record holder in the long course 100-meter backstroke, world junior record holder in the women's long course 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter backstroke, and the former world record holder in the 200-meter backstroke.
Zachary "Zach" Douglas Apple is a retired American competitive swimmer who specialized in the sprint freestyle events. He used to swim for DC Trident in the International Swimming League. He won his first Olympic gold medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, swimming in the prelims and the final of the event, and later in the same Olympic Games won a gold medal and helped set a new world record and Olympic record in the 4x100-meter medley relay, swimming the freestyle leg of the relay in the final.
Erica Marie Sullivan is a retired American swimmer. She received a silver medal in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics after placing second and qualifying in the event at the 2020 US Olympic Swimming Trials.
Natalie Anisha Hinds is an American professional swimmer specializing in freestyle and butterfly events. She made her international championships debut at 27 years of age, winning a bronze medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, swimming in both the prelims and the final. In her first final at a World Championships in an individual event, she placed eighth in the 100 meter freestyle at the 2022 World Short Course Championships when she was 29 years old. At the 2022 US National Championships, she won the national title in the 100 meter freestyle. Between the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and the 2022 World Short Course Championships, she won a total of five medals in relay events as a prelims-only relay swimmer.
Kathryn Eileen Grimes is an American competitive swimmer. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, she won silver medals in the 1500 meter freestyle and the 400 meter individual medley. She placed fourth in the 800 meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest member of the US Olympic Team at 15 years of age.
Summer Ann McIntosh is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She is a three-time Olympic champion, four-time World Aquatics champion, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. Noted for her strength in medley and butterfly events, she is the current world record holder in the 400 metre individual medley, and also holds the Olympic and textile records in the 200 metre butterfly event, and the Olympic record in the 200 metre individual medley.
Kayla Han is an American competitive swimmer specializing in freestyle and individual medley events. She is a 800 m freestyle Champion in 2023 World Junior Championships. In 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, she won silver medalist in the 400-meter individual medley. At the 2021 U.S. Open Championships, Han achieved a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley and placed seventh in the 800-meter freestyle. She won the B-final of the 400-meter individual medley in Wave I of the 2020 USA Swimming Olympic Trials where she was the youngest swimmer to compete at 13 years of age. A video of the race posted by NBC Sports on YouTube became the most viewed video from the year's Olympic trials.
Lani Pallister is an Australian competitive swimmer. She is a world record holder in two sports, with a world record in swimming, the short course 4×200-metre freestyle relay, and world records in life saving for the youth age group in the 100-metre rescue medley and 200-metre super lifesaver. She holds the Oceanian, Commonwealth, and Australian records in the short course 1500-metre freestyle and the Australian record in the short course 800-metre freestyle. She is the first female World Short Course champion in the 1500-metre freestyle, winning the inaugural event for women at the 2022 edition. Over the course of the 2022 World Short Course Championships, she won the gold medal in each of the four events she contested.
Erin Gemmell is an American competitive swimmer. She is an American record holder in the short course 4×200 meter freestyle relay. In the 200 metre freestyle, she won the gold medal at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships and placed fourth at the 2022 World Short Course Championships. In the 400 meter freestyle, she won the gold medal at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, the 2022 US National title, and placed sixth at the 2022 World Short Course Championships. For the 4×200 meter freestyle relay, she won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships as well as gold medals at the 2019 World Junior Championships and 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, swimming on the finals relay at each competition. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gemmell, along with Claire Weinstein, Katie Ledecky, and Paige Madden, won the silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
