Jay Litherland

Last updated

Jay Litherland
OLY
Jay Litherland after winning after winning 200 free and 400 IM (cropped).jpg
Litherland at 2015 Gwangju
Personal information
National teamUnited States
Born (1995-08-24) August 24, 1995 (age 29)
Amagasaki, Japan [1]
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight176 lb (80 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Medley
Club DC Trident [2]
Dynamo Swim Club
College team University of Georgia
Coach Rich Murphy, Franz Ressigue, Jason Turcotte, Jack Bauerle, Ian Murray
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2020 Tokyo 400 m medley
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Gwangju 400 m medley
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Budapest 4x200 m freestyle
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Santiago 400 m medley
Summer Universiade
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Gwangju 400 m Medley
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2013 Dubai 4 × 200 m freestyle
Representing the Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Athletics logo.svg
Event1st2nd3rd
NCAA Championships 001
Total001
NCAA Championships
NCAA logo.svg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2016 Atlanta 400 y medley

Jay Litherland (born August 24, 1995) is an American competition swimmer. He represents DC Trident which is part of the International Swimming League. He won the silver medal in the Men's 400 Individual Medley at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a time of 4:10.28. He was a World University Games gold medalist at the 2015 Summer Universiade and a bronze medalist at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships. Litherland competed for the University of Georgia in American collegiate swimming.

Contents

Early life

Litherland was born in Amagasaki, Japan as a triplet, along with brothers Mick and Kevin. His father, Andrew Litherland, is a chef from New Zealand, and his mother, Chizuko, is from Japan. [3] He grew up speaking Japanese at home. [4] The family settled in Johns Creek, Georgia, and Litherland was named an All-American in swimming while he was a student at Chattahoochee High School. [4] Litherland and his brothers grew up swimming at Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta, and each attended and competed as swimmers at the University of Georgia. [5]

Litherland received U.S. citizenship in high school. As a triple citizen of Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, he had the option of competing for any of those three countries at the Olympics. He originally contacted the New Zealand swimming federation with interest in competing for them for the 2016 Olympics, but he had already competed for the U.S. at an international event, meaning he would have required special permission to switch to New Zealand. His brothers decided to participate in the New Zealand Olympic trials instead of the U.S. trials, which left Litherland "kind of bummed that I'm not representing New Zealand with them, but I'm really excited for them." [3] His brothers ended up not making the New Zealand team, so all three competed in the U.S. trials together. [6]

He is fluent in Japanese. [7]

College Career: University of Georgia

International career

2015 World University Games

At the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, Litherland won gold in the 400-meter IM, out-splitting compatriot Josh Prenot by 3 seconds on the freestyle leg to overtake him with a time of 4:12.43.

2016 U.S. Olympic Trials

At the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, Litherland qualified for his first Olympic team by placing second in the 400-meter IM behind his Georgia teammate Chase Kalisz in a time of 4:11.02.

2016 Rio Olympics

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Litherland placed 5th in the 400-meter IM with a time of 4:11.68.

2017 National Championships/World Championship Trials

At the 2017 USA Swimming Championships, Litherland placed 2nd in the 400-meter IM with a time of 4:09.31, qualifying him to swim the event at that year's World Championships. He also finished 5th in the 200-meter IM, 9th in the 400-meter freestyle, and 7th in the 200-meter freestyle.

2017 World Championships

At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, Litherland placed 5th in the 400-meter IM in a time of 4:12.05. He also swam in the heats of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, and earned his first World Championship medal, a bronze, when the US team placed 3rd in the final.

2018 U.S. National Championships

At the 2018 USA Swimming Championships, Litherland swam a time of 4:10.21 in the 400-meter IM to placed 2nd. He also finished 6th in the 200-meter IM and 7th in the 200-meter freestyle.

2019 World Championships

Jay's only event at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships was on the final day. With Teammate Chase Kalisz failing to make the final, Jay Litherland was the only American in the 400 IM Final. [8] Sitting 3.34 Seconds behind the leader Daiya Seto at the 300 mark, Litherland closed the gap to 0.27, placing 2nd and gaining him his first individual World Championship medal. [9] [10]

ISL – DC Trident

2020 Tokyo Olympics

In the 400 meter individual medley Litherland closed strongly to win the silver medal in a time of 4:10.28. He outtouched bronze medalist Brendon Smith by one-tenth of a second. [11]

Career best times

Long course (50-meter pool)

EventTimeVenueDate
400 m IM4:09.22 South Korea July 28, 2019

[12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oussama Mellouli</span> Tunisian swimmer (born 1984)

Oussama "Ous" Mellouli is a Tunisian swimmer who competes in the freestyle and medley events. He is a three-time Olympic medalist, is an African record holder, and trains with the USC Trojans team based at the University of Southern California, where he studied as a computer science undergraduate and swam collegiately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosuke Hagino</span> Japanese swimmer (born 1994)

Kosuke Hagino is a Japanese former competitive swimmer who specialized in the individual medley and 200 m freestyle. He is a four-time Olympic medalist, most notably winning gold in the 400 m individual medley at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daiya Seto</span> Japanese swimmer (born 1994)

Daiya Seto is a Japanese professional swimmer who specializes in individual medley, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle events. He holds the world record in the short course 400-metre individual medley and formerly held the world record in the short course 200-metre butterfly. He won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022 world short course championships, as well as at the 2013, 2015, and 2019 world long course championships.

Stephen Thomas Schmuhl is an American competitive swimmer who competes in medley events, and was a member of the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships team and the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chase Kalisz</span> American swimmer (born 1994)

Chase Tyler Kalisz is an American swimmer who specializes in individual medley events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, an Olympic silver medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and a two-time World Aquatics Championships gold medalist.

Melanie Margalis is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in the freestyle, breaststroke and individual medley events. Margalis represented the Cali Condors which was part of the International Swimming League. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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 men's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 6 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caeleb Dressel</span> American swimmer (born 1996)

Caeleb Remel Dressel is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He swims representing the Cali Condors as part of the International Swimming League. He won a record seven gold medals at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, nine medals, six of which were gold, at the 2018 World Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, and eight medals, including six gold, at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju. Dressel is a nine-time Olympic gold medalist and holds world records in the 100 meter butterfly, 50 meter freestyle, and 100 meter individual medley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Andrew (swimmer)</span> American swimmer (born 1999)

Michael Charles Andrew is an American competitive swimmer and an Olympic gold medalist. He was the 2016 world champion in the 100 meter individual medley. At his first Olympic Games, the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal and set a world record as part of the 4x100 meter medley relay, placed fourth in the 100 meter breaststroke, fourth in the 50 meter freestyle, and fifth in the 200 meter individual medley. Andrew's swims in 2021 at the 2020 Olympics made him the first swimmer to represent the United States at an Olympic Games in an individual breaststroke event as well as another individual event other than an individual medley in the then-125-year-history of swimming at the Summer Olympics. He has won 78 medals at Swimming World Cup circuits.

Andrew Hammond Seliskar is a retired American competitive swimmer. He won the gold medal in the 200 meter butterfly at the 2013 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai, breaking the Championships record.

Blake John Pieroni is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming. He is a two time Olympian and gold medalist in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics. On the relay in 2016, he swam in the prelims of the race, on the 2020 Olympics 4×100-meter freestyle relay he swam in both the prelims and the final. He also won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay at the 2020 Olympic Games, swimming the freestyle leg of the relay in the prelims.

The men's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 24 and 25 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. It was the event's fifteenth consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Apple</span> American swimmer (born 1997)

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.

Kieran Smith is an American swimmer specializing in freestyle and individual medley events. He currently co-holds short course world records in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and the 4×100-meter medley relay. He is the Americas record holder in the long course 400-meter freestyle and the American record holder in the 500-yard freestyle. In the 400-meter freestyle, he won the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the gold medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships. Following a fourth-place finish in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals in the event at the 2021 World Short Course Championships, 2022 World Aquatics Championships, and the 2022 World Short Course Championships.

Brendon Smith is an Australian swimmer. He won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympics and has competed in the Summer Universiade and the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials. Smith and Rob Woodhouse are the only Australian men to have won an Olympic medal in an individual medley event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Grimes</span> American 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.

Shaine Casas is an American professional swimmer. He is an Americas record holder in the short course 4×50 meter medley relay, swimming the butterfly leg of the relay. At the 2021 World Short Course Championships, he won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke, a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke, and placed seventh in the 50-meter backstroke. In 2022, at the year's World Aquatics Championships, he won the bronze medal in the 200-metre backstroke. Later in the year, at the 2022 World Short Course Championships, he won the silver medal in the 200-metre backstroke and placed fourth in the finals of the 100-meter individual medley and 200-meter individual medley.

Trenton Jeffrey Julian is an American competitive swimmer. He is a world record holder in the short course 4×200 meter freestyle relay and 4×100 meter medley relay. He won a gold medal in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay at the 2019 World University Games. He followed up with gold medals in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay at the 2021 World Short Course Championships, 2022 World Aquatic Championships, and 2022 World Short Course Championships. In the 4×100 meter medley relay, he won a world title and gold medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships, swimming butterfly on each the prelims and finals relay.

Gianluca Urlando is an American competitive swimmer. He is the American record holder in the men's 100 yard backstroke and a world junior record holder in the men's 4×200 meter freestyle relay and the 4×100 meter mixed freestyle relay. As a sophomore in the NCAA for the Georgia Bulldogs at the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships, he became the first person to swim the 100 yard backstroke and 100 yard butterfly each in less than 44 seconds. At the 2019 World Junior Championships, he won gold medals in the 200 meter freestyle, 200 meter butterfly, 4×100 meter freestyle relay, 4×200 meter freestyle relay, and 4×100 meter mixed freestyle relay.

References

  1. ↑ "兵庫・尼崎出身の米国代表リザーランド選手　競泳４００個メドレー５位入賞". Sankei Shimbun. August 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ Gibbs, Robert (June 11, 2019). "natalie-coughlin-to-return-to-competition-with-the-dc-tridentfor-2019-international-swimming-league-finale". SwimSwam.
  3. 1 2 Johannsen, Dana (March 26, 2016). "Swimming: With triplets, two out of three ain't bad". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Jay Litherland". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Jay Litherland". Team USA. May 22, 2020. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Kevin Litherland". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  7. ↑ Jay Litherland USA Swimming Media Guide - 2019 FINA World Championships. July 9, 2029.
  8. ↑ Chase Kalisz misses 400m individual medley final at swim worlds https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2019/07/27/chase-kalisz-swim-worlds/ Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  9. ↑ Daiya Seto Holds Off Fast-Charging Jay Litherland for 400 IM Crown https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/daiya-seto-holds-off-fast-chargin-jay-litherland-for-400-im-crown/ Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  10. ↑ Jay Litherland sets a personal best time in men's 400m IM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34YIdCtIWYo&t=544s&ab_channel=NBCSports Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Men's 400 IM Results". The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  12. ↑ "2019 World Championships results". FINA. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.