Ella Eastin

Last updated

Ella Eastin
Ella Eastin in winning 400 IM (42769913371).jpg
Eastin in 2018
Personal information
National teamFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Born (1997-03-28) March 28, 1997 (age 28)
Height5 ft 9 in (175.3 cm) [1]
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Individual medley, Butterfly
ClubSOCAL Aquatics
College team Stanford University
Coach Greg Meehan
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Event1st2nd3rd
World Championships (SC) 020
World University Games 130
Total150
World Championships (SC)
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2016 Windsor 200 m medley
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2016 Windsor 400 m medley
World University Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Taipei 200 m butterfly
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2017 Taipei200 m medley
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2017 Taipei 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Naples 200 m medley
Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2014 Maui 200 m medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2014 Maui400 m medley
Representing the Stanford Cardinal
Stanford Cardinal logo.svg
Event1st2nd3rd
NCAA Championships 1241
Total1241
By race
Event1st2nd3rd
200 y butterfly220
200 y medley220
400 y medley400
4×100 y freestyle101
4×200 y freestyle300
Total1241
NCAA Championships
NCAA logo.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Atlanta 200 y medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2016 Atlanta400 y medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Indianapolis 200 y butterfly
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2017 Indianapolis400 y medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2017 Indianapolis4×200 y freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2018 Columbus 200 y butterfly
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 Columbus200 y medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 Columbus400 y medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 Columbus4×100 y freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 Columbus4×200 y freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Austin 400 y medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2019 Austin4×200 y freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2016 Atlanta200 y butterfly
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2017 Indianapolis200 y medley
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2019 Austin200 y butterfly
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2019 Austin200 y medley
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2019 Austin4×100 y freestyle

Ella Eastin (born March 28, 1997). She is an American medley specialist in Orange County California. [2] She is now a retired swimmer specializing in the individual medley and butterfly events.

Contents

Personal life

At 6 years old, Eastin and her little sister were trained by coach Todd Larsen. Eastin claims that he was her main inspiration for swimming. [3] When Eastin was 12 years old, Larson was get diagnosed with leukemia. He would pass away 13 months later at the age of 44 due to complications from a bone marrow transplant. [4]

Swimming career

College career

Eastin swam for the Stanford Cardinal, and is a twelve-time NCAA champion. [5]

During her freshman season, she set an American record in the 200-yard individual medley. [6] At the 2016 NCAA Championships, she won the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medleys, and placed second behind Kelsi Worrell in the 200-yard butterfly. [7]

During the first day of the 2017 NCAA Championships, Eastin, along with her teammates Simone Manuel, Lia Neal, and Katie Ledecky, set a record of 6:45.91 in the 800-yard freestyle relay. She lost the 200-yard individual medley to Kathleen Baker, but successfully defended her 400-yard individual medley title by breaking teammate Katie Ledecky's American record. She also added a win in the 200-yard butterfly.

In the 2018 NCAA Championships, Eastin set new NCAA and American records in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:50.67, and she shattered Katie Ledecky's American record in the 400-yard individual medley by almost two seconds, with a time of 3:54.60. She also won the 200-yard butterfly, and she was a member of the winning relay teams in the 400-yard and 800-yard relays. Eastin was named Swimmer of the Meet. [8]

In the 2019 NCAA Championships, Eastin won the 400-yard individual medley, and in so doing became the only woman to win four consecutive national titles in the event. She finished second in the 200-yard individual medley and in the 200-yard butterfly. She and her teammates Grace Zhao, Amalie Fackenthal, and Anya Goeders won the 200-yard medley relay. She and her teammates Katie Drabot, Taylor Ruck, and Brooke Forde took silver in the 800-yard freestyle relay. [9]

International career

2016

She won silver in the women's 400 metre individual medley at the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m). [10] She had originally finished 3rd, but was elevated to silver, along with teammate Madisyn Cox being elevated to bronze, when Anh Vien Nguyen was disqualified from second place. [11]

2017

During the 2017 Phillips 66 National Championships, Eastin grabbed second place behind Leah Smith in the 400 metre individual medley, technically qualifying her for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, but was disqualified for the Lochte rule.

She was named a team captain for the 2017 World University Games in Taipei.

She announced her retirement from competitive swimming in 2021 due to a diagnosis of dysautonomia, which she has linked to possible Long COVID complications. [12] Eastin could return to swimming if her condition continues to improve. [4]

Current Career

Ella Eastin founded Dysunderstood Inc., a non-profit campaign that raises awareness and educates people on complex and infection associated chronic conditions. The platform offers community, education, media awareness, and patient empowerment. Dysunderstood also hosts community events and has a podcast to further educate and empower the community. [13]

References

  1. "Ella Eastin". USA Swimming .
  2. "About". Ella Eastin. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  3. "Ella Eastin Bio". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Swimmer Ella Eastin's path to the Olympics instead became a medical mystery journey". NBC Sports. June 18, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  5. "#4 Brooke Forde Verbally Commits to Stanford". Swimswam.com. October 10, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  6. "Stanford Freshman Ella Eastin Emerging As Leader On a New Stage - Swimming World News". Swimmingworldmagazine.com. March 18, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  7. "National Runner-Up". Stanford Athletics. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  8. "Stanford repeats as women's swimming and diving champions". Stanford Athletics. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  9. "2019 NCAA DI Women's Swimming & Diving Champs - 20-Mar-19 to 23-Mar-19s" (PDF). Swimmingworldmagazine.com. March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  10. "2016 Short Course Worlds: Team USA Leads Day 1 Medal Table". Swimswam.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  11. "Vietnamese swimming star's DQ erases historic finish - CBC Sports - Aquatics". Cbc.ca. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  12. Ross, Andy (May 18, 2021). "NCAA Champion Ella Eastin Announces Retirement After Dysautonomia Diagnosis". Swimming World. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  13. "About". DYSUNDERSTOOD. Retrieved November 6, 2025.