Rebecca Soni (born March 18, 1987) 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 (short and long course) and the 200-meter breaststroke (short and long course), 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 (long course).
Soni has won a total of twenty-two medals in major international competition, fourteen gold, seven silver, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, the Universiade, and the Pan Pacific Championships. She burst onto the international scene at the 2008 Summer Olympics where she won two silver medals and one gold. In the 200-meter breaststroke at the Olympics, she set the world record en route to winning gold, shocking Australian favorite Leisel Jones. [1] Four years later at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Soni successfully defended her Olympic title in the 200-meter breaststroke in world record time, becoming the first woman to do so in the event.
She was named Swimming World's World Swimmer of the Year award in 2010 and 2011, and the American Swimmer of the Year award in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Soni was born in Freehold, New Jersey, U.S. Her father Peter is of Hungarian-Jewish descent; [2] he and his family emigrated from Cluj-Napoca, Transilvania (now in Romania), from which their families had been deported during World War II. [2] [3] [4] Her Jewish paternal grandfather Poli Schoenberg survived the Auschwitz concentration camp, whereas his parents lost their lives in the Holocaust. [2] [4] Her father's first marriage was to an American woman, whom he met during his studies, they resided together in the United States, but eventually had a divorce. [2] Her mother Kinga is her father's second marriage. [2] She also has distant relatives in Israel. [2]
Soni is a 2005 graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey. She held many school records and leads the school and state in many swimming strokes. [5] In July 2006 she had a cardiac ablation. [6]
In August 2010, Soni became a spokeswoman for the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up campaign. The organization focuses on improving the lives of the world's adolescent girls. [7]
At USC, Soni was a six-time NCAA Champion, having won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2006 through 2009 and the 100-yard breaststroke in 2008 and 2009. [8] [9]
As a 17-year-old at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Soni finished 15th overall in the 100-meter breaststroke and 11th overall in the 200-meter breaststroke. [10] [11] The following year, at the 2005 World Championship Trials, Soni just missed a spot on the 2005 World Aquatic team after finishing third in the 200-meter breaststroke behind Tara Kirk and Kristen Caverly. [12] Soni also placed fourth in the 100-meter breaststroke. [13] At the 2005 Summer Universiade, Soni earned her first international medals by winning silver in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke and gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay. [14] At the 2006 World Short Course Championships, Soni finished in 4th place in the 200-meter breaststroke. [15] Just a few weeks before the 2006 National Championships, Soni underwent a procedure called radiofrequency ablation to help regulate her heartbeat. Although it was not health-threatening, Soni would sometimes experience a high heart rate which sometimes interfered with her training. [16] [17] At the 2006 National Championships, the selection meet for the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Soni finished tenth overall in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. [18] [19]
At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Soni competed in two events, the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni finished fourth in a time of 1:07.80. [20] Usually, the top two finishers would qualify for the Olympics. However, after second-place finisher Jessica Hardy withdrew from the team due to a doping violation and third-place finisher Tara Kirk missed the entry deadline, Soni was chosen to swim the event. [21] [22] Soni earned her berth by being the swimmer already on the team with the fastest time in the event since January 1, 2006. [23] In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni won with a time of 2:22.60, the third-fastest finish as of that date. [24]
2008 Olympics | ||
---|---|---|
2008 Beijing | 200 m breaststroke | |
2008 Beijing | 100 m breaststroke | |
2008 Beijing | 4x100 m medley relay |
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Soni won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, finishing behind world record holder Leisel Jones of Australia 1:06.73 to 1:05.17. [25] [26] [27] In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni upset the heavily favored Jones, winning the gold medal and breaking Jones's world record with a time of 2:20.22. Jones finished second with a time of 2:22.05. [28] After the race, Soni said, "It's been a long road to get here, I can't believe what just happened." [16] Soni then combined with Natalie Coughlin, Christine Magnuson, and Dara Torres in the 4×100-meter medley relay to finish second behind Australia. Soni had the second best split time in the field (1:05.95) behind Jones (1:04.58). [29] [30]
At the 2009 National Championships Soni competed in two events, the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni easily won with a time of 1:05.34. [31] In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni again exhibited dominance by finishing first with a time of 2:20.38, just off her world record pace. [32]
At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, held in Rome, Soni set a meet record in the heats of the 100-meter breaststroke, with a time of 1:05.66. [33] In the semi-final, Soni recorded a time of 1:04.84 to set a new world record and become the first female to finish under 1:05 for the event. [34] [35] In the final of the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni won the gold with a time of 1:04.93. [36] [37] Despite being the favorite in the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni went out too fast in the first half of the race and faded in the final meters, ultimately placing fourth. [38] In the 50-meter breaststroke, Soni was narrowly beaten for the gold and the world record by two one-hundredths (0.02) of a second by Russian swimmer Yuliya Yefimova. [39]
For her performance at the World Championships, she was named the American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine . [40]
Soni then competed at the 2009 Duel in the Pool, a short course meet held in December at Manchester. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni broke Leisel Jones' world record with a time of 2:14.57. [41] One day later, Soni swam a 1:02.70 in the 100-meter breaststroke to break Jones' world record of 1:03.00. [42]
At the 2010 National Championships, Soni qualified to compete at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni won in a time of 1:05.73. [43] [44] In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni easily won with a time of 2:21.60, almost five seconds ahead of second-place finisher Amanda Beard. [45]
At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Soni won a total of three gold medals. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni recorded the third fastest time in history and the fastest time recorded in a textile suit with a 1:04.93 to win the gold medal ahead of Australians Leisel Jones and Sarah Katsoulis. Her time was also the fastest ever recorded in a textile swimsuit. [46] Two days after the 100-meter breaststroke, Soni then competed in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 4×100-meter medley relay. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni dominated the field with a time of 2:20.69. Leisel Jones came in second in 2:23.23 and world record holder Annamay Pierse came in third with a time of 2:23.65. [47] Less than an hour after the event, Soni competed in the 4×100-meter medley relay with Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer and Jessica Hardy. Performing the breaststroke leg, Soni recorded a time of 1:05.35, the fastest in the field; the American team went on to win the gold in a time of 3:55.23. [48]
For her performance at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Soni was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine. [49]
At the end of 2010, Soni competed at the 2010 World Short Course Championships in Dubai, where she won three gold medals and one silver. Soni swept all the breaststroke events and individually set four championship records. [50]
Soni won her first gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. After posting the top times in the heats (1:05.54) and semi-finals (1:04.91), Soni recorded a time of 1:05.05 in the final for the win. Her winning time was over a second ahead of second-place finisher Leisel Jones. [51] In her second event, the 200-meter breaststroke, Soni won with a time of 2:21.47, her first gold medal in the event at a long course World Championships. However, her time in the final was slightly slower than her semi-final time of 2:21.03. [52] In the 4×100-meter medley relay, Soni won gold with Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer, and Missy Franklin with a time of 3:52.36, over three seconds ahead of second-place finisher China. Swimming the breaststroke leg, Soni had a split of 1:04.71. The final time of 3:52.36 for the medley relay was the second-fastest effort of all time, just behind the Chinese-owned world record of 3:52.19. [53] In her last event, the 50-meter breaststroke, Soni finished in third place behind Jessica Hardy and Yuliya Yefimova. [54]
At the year's end, Soni was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World , and defended her titles from 2010. [55]
2012 Olympics | ||
---|---|---|
2012 London | 200 m breaststroke | |
2012 London | 4x100 m medley relay | |
2012 London | 100 m breaststroke |
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Soni won her inaugural medal, a silver, in the 100-meter breaststroke, finishing 0.08 seconds behind 15-year-old Lithuanian Rūta Meilutytė and repeating her result from the 2008 Olympics. [56] After topping the heats of the 200-metre breaststroke with a time of 2:21.40, and breaking Annamay Pierse's world record in the semi-finals with a time of 2:20.00, Soni won a gold medal in the final of the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:19.59, breaking her own world record and becoming the first woman ever to break 2 minutes 20 seconds in the event. [57] [58] With her win, Soni became the first female to successfully defend her title in the event. In her final event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, she won gold with Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer and Allison Schmitt. Swimming the breaststroke leg, she recorded a time of 1:04.82, and the U.S. team went on to set a new world record with a time of 3:52.05, bettering the previous Chinese-owned record of 3:52.19 set in 2009. [59]
Soni took the year off to recover from a back injury, but returned to the 2013 World Aquatics Championships as a spectator. [60] [61]
On October 9, 2021, [62] Soni was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Originally scheduled to be inducted into the Class of 2020, [63] her induction was delayed from April 24–25, 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [64] The week of her being announced as a future inductee, Swimming World ranked the announcement and her as future induction as number five for their "The Week That Was" honor, three spots behind fellow breaststroker Meghan Dressel getting engaged to Caeleb Dressel. [65]
|
|
External videos | |
---|---|
Rebecca Soni Breaks World Record - 200m Breaststroke | London 2012 Olympics |
No. | Distance | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Age |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 200 m | Breaststroke | 2:20.22 | 2008 Summer Olympics | Beijing, CHN | August 15, 2008 | 21 |
2 | 100 m | Breaststroke | 1:04.84 | 2009 World Aquatics Championships | Rome, ITA | July 27, 2009 | 22 |
3 | 200 m | Breaststroke (sc) [a] | 2:14.57 | 2009 Duel in the Pool | Manchester, UK | December 18, 2009 | 22 |
4 | 100 m | Breaststroke (sc) [a] | 1:02.70 | 2009 Duel in the Pool | Manchester, UK | December 19, 2009 | 22 |
5 | 4×100 m | Medley relay (sc) [b] | 3:45.56 | 2011 Duel in the Pool | Atlanta, Georgia, US | December 16, 2011 | 24 |
6 | 200 m | Breaststroke | 2:20.00 | 2012 Summer Olympics | London, UK | August 1, 2012 | 25 |
7 | 200 m | Breaststroke [c] | 2:19.59 | 2012 Summer Olympics | London, UK | August 2, 2012 | 25 |
8 | 4×100 m | Medley relay [d] | 3:52.05 | 2012 Summer Olympics | London, UK | August 4, 2012 | 25 |
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. 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."
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.
Ryan Steven Lochte is an American former competition swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. He is the third-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by total number of medals, behind only Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. Lochte's seven individual Olympic medals rank second in history in men's swimming, tied for second among all Olympic swimmers. He currently holds the world records in the 200-meter individual medley, and, as part of the American team, in the 4×200-meter freestyle.
Thiago Machado Vilela Pereira is a retired Brazilian international competition swimmer. One of the greatest swimmers in the history of Brazil, Pereira won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, beating the then-current Olympic champion Michael Phelps. He also broke a world record in the short course 200-meter individual medley, and broke several South American and Brazilian records. During his career, he competed with swimming legends Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
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.
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.
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.
Scott Tyler Clary is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. In his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Clary won gold in the 200-meter backstroke in Olympic record time. In total, he won sixteen medals in major international competitions: three gold, eight silver, and five bronze spanning the Summer Olympics, the FINA World Championships, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Pan American Games.
Melissa Franklin Johnson is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold 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.
Rikke Møller Pedersen is a Danish competitive swimmer specialising in breaststroke and from 2013 to 2021 world record holder in the 200 m breaststroke (2:19.11).
Breeja Larson was an American former competition swimmer for Texas A&M University who specialized in the breaststroke, and earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Micah Sumrall is an American competition swimmer who specializes in the breaststroke. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and finished sixth in the world in the 200-meter breaststroke event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Henrique Ribeiro Marques Barbosa is a Brazilian-born international swimmer who swam for the University of California Berkeley under Hall of Fame Coach Nort Thornton, and competed for Brazil in breaststroke in both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
Tatiane Mayumi Sakemi is a Brazilian swimmer of Japanese ancestry, who specialized in breaststroke events. She is a member of the swimming team for Esporte Clube Pinheiros in São Paulo.
Kevin Cordes is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in breaststroke events. He currently represents the Cali Condors which is part of the International Swimming League. Cordes was a member of the 2016 U.S. Men's Olympic Swimming Team. He won gold in the 4 × 100 m medley relay as a member of the preliminary relay, and took 4th place in the Men's 100m Breaststroke at the 2016 Olympic Games. He is the former American record holder in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke.
Nicolas Fink is an American competitive swimmer. He is a five-time world champion in breaststroke events and a 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist in the 100 meter breaststroke. He is a world record holder in the short course 4×100 meter medley relay and 4×50 meter mixed medley relay. He is the Americas record holder in the short course 50 meter breaststroke, 100 meter breaststroke, and 200 meter breaststroke as well as the American record holder in the long course 50 meter breaststroke. In the 50 meter breaststroke, he won the World Short Course titles in 2021 and 2022 and World Long Course title in 2022. In the 100 meter breaststroke, he is the 2022 World Short Course gold medalist. In the 200 meter breaststroke, he is the 2021 World Short Course gold medalist.
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.
Lillia Camille King is an American swimmer who specializes in breaststroke. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke competition and also won a gold medal in the 4x100 meter medley relay, in which she swam the breaststroke leg. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, King won a silver medal in the 4x100 meter medley relay for her efforts in the prelims, the silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, and the bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in the 4x100 meter medley relay, where she swam the breaststroke leg. She is the current world record holder in the long course 100-meter breaststroke.