Neil Scott Walker (born June 25, 1976) is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in multiple events.
Walker swam for the University of Texas under Head Coach Eddie Reese and Associate Coach Kris Kubik. [1]
Walker represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won a silver medal in the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where he also won a bronze in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. He also twice earned gold medals in the 4×100-meter medley relay, after swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats. [2]
At the 2000 Short Course World Championships in Athens, Greece, he set short course world records in the 50-meter backstroke, 100-meter backstroke, and 100-meter individual medley.
Walker retired from competitive swimming after the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. He started a swim school with Olympian and former Longhorn teammate Ian Crocker and U.S. National Champion and former Longhorn teammate James Fike, with locations in Austin and Dallas. He is currently the head coach of Rockwall Aquatics Center of Excellence (RACE) in Rockwall, Texas.
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.
Aaron Wells Peirsol is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist. Individually, he currently holds the world record in the 200-meter backstroke event. In February 2011, Peirsol announced his retirement, saying, "I ended up doing everything I set out to do."
Brendan Joseph Hansen is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in breaststroke events. Hansen is a six-time Olympic medalist, and is also a former world record-holder in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events.
Ian Lowell Crocker is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. During his career, he set world records in the 50- and 100-meter butterfly and the 100-meter freestyle. He has won a total of twenty-one medals in major international competition, spanning the Olympics, the FINA World Aquatics Championships, and the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. He coached for many years at the Western Hills Athletic Club and has helped coach the Longhorns swim camp in 2019 as well as other years. Since Spring of 2022 when the new facility opened, Crocker coaches at the Western Aquatics and Social Club at the Eanes Independent School District Aquatics center.
Richard John Carey is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events. Carey specialized in the backstroke. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won three gold medals. He broke nine world records, five individually, and also was a double world champion. He was named as the Swimmer of the Year in 1983 by Swimming World magazine.
Jon C. Olsen is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Olsen was a successful relay swimmer for the U.S. national team in the late 1980s and 1990s. He has won a total of 27 medals in major international competition, 20 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, Pan Pacific, and the Pan American championships.
Melissa Louise Belote, also known by her current married name Melissa Belote Ripley, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. She represented the United States at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.
Christopher Charles Jacobs is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.
Joshua Clark Davis is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Davis represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics.
Whitney Lynn Hedgepeth is an American former competition swimmer who won a gold and two silver medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Douglas Seneca Gjertsen is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.
Douglas Albert Russell is an American former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three different events.
Garrett Weber-Gale is an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and world record-holder in two events.
Matthew Grevers is a former American competition swimmer who competes in the backstroke and freestyle events, and is a six-time Olympic medalist. He has won a total of thirty-three medals in major international competition, fourteen gold, twelve silver, and seven bronze spanning the Olympics, World Championships, and the Universiade. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Grevers won gold medals as a member of the U.S. teams in the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relays, and a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke. Four years later, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke and the 4×100-meter medley relay, and a silver medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.
Julia Elizabeth Smit is an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in two events. She has won a total of nine medals in major international competition, six golds, two silvers, and one bronze spanning the Olympics and Pan American Games.
David Walters, also known as Dave Walters, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and world record-holder in the 4x200 meter freestyler relay. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Walters earned a gold medal by swimming in the heats of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. As part of the American team, he also formerly held the world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Walters is also a seven-time medalist at the World Aquatics Championships.
Betsy Mitchell is an American competition swimmer who was a world record-holder, world champion, and Olympic gold and silver medalist. She also was a member of the United States' 1994 Rowing World Championship team.
John Peet Conger is an American competition swimmer who specializes in butterfly and freestyle events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the current American record-holder in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:37.35.
Francis Townley Haas is a retired American competitive swimmer who specialized in freestyle events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Haas competed collegiately for the University of Texas at Austin from 2015 to 2019 under head coach Eddie Reese where he was a 10-time NCAA Champion, a 17-time All-American, and a 3-time NCAA team champion. He is the former American record-holder in the 200-yard freestyle (1:29.50) and represented the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League.
Kris Kubik was an All-American competitive swimmer for North Carolina State and Auburn University and the Associate Head swimming coach for the University of Texas under Head Coach Eddie Reese. In his thirty-four year tenure coaching University of Texas at Austin swimming from 1979 to 1981, and 1986 through 2016, he helped lead the Longhorns to 12 NCAA National team Championships, claiming titles in successive years for the 1989-91, 2000-02, and 2015-2016 seasons.