Sheila Taormina

Sheila Taormina

Personal information
Full name	Sheila Christine Taormina
Nationality	United States
Born	(1969-03-18) March 18, 1969 Livonia, Michigan
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Weight	119 lb (54 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Freestyle
College team	University of Georgia
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta 4×200 m freestyle Summer Universiade Gold 1995 Fukuoka 4×200 m freestyle Women's triathlon ITU World Championships Gold 2004 Madeira Elite Pan American Games Silver 2003 Santo Domingo Elite

Sheila Christine Taormina (born March 18, 1969)^[1] is an Olympic athlete from the United States, who has competed at four Olympics (1996–2008) and was the first woman to qualify for the Olympics in three different sports (swimming, triathlon and modern pentathlon).^[2] At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay.

Swimmer

While swimming collegiately for the Georgia Bulldogs, Taormina earned a BBA in 1992 and an MBA in 1994 from the University of Georgia. She captained Georgia's 1991 team, won All-America honors all four years of her collegiate career and won the Southeastern Conference 400-meter individual medley as senior. She was the first UGA swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal and the first UGA athlete to make the Olympic team in multiple sports^[3]

Triathlete

Taormina competed at the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She took sixth place with a total time of 2:02:45.91. Her split times were 19:02.78 for the swim, 1:06:24.30 for the cycling, and 0:37:18.83 for the run.

In 2004, Taormina won the ITU Triathlon World Championship title while residing in Clermont, Florida. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, Taormina again competed in the triathlon. Her time was 2:09:21.08 as she finished in twenty-third place.

Modern pentathlon

Post-Athens, Taormina embarked on a new sport, modern pentathlon, winning the women's senior division of the 2005 Pan American Championships. She was successful in qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in the modern pentathlon, making her the first female athlete to qualify for the Olympics in three different sports. Taormina finished 19th in the 2008 Olympic event.

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
• List of University of Georgia people

References

External links

• Merrill, Elizabeth (August 22, 2008). "Taormina takes solace in knowing she didn't quit on her Olympic dream". ESPN. Retrieved March 19, 2011. 
• Sheila Taormina
• Sheila Taormina's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• "Sheila Taormina", n°21 on Time's list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"

v t e 1996 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Ryan Berube Brad Bridgewater Carlton Bruner Greg Burgess Ray Carey Josh Davis Tom Dolan David Fox Kurt Grote Gary Hall, Jr. John Hargis Mark Henderson Joe Hudepohl Jeremy Linn Tom Malchow Eric Namesnik Jon Olsen John Piersma Jeff Rouse Brad Schumacher Tripp Schwenk Scott Tucker Peter Wright Eric Wunderlich Women's Team Amanda Beard Brooke Bennett Beth Botsford Janet Evans Catherine Fox Whitney Hedgepeth Trina Jackson Lisa Jacob Angel Martino Whitney Metzler Kristine Quance Annette Salmeen Jilen Siroky Sheila Taormina Cristina Teuscher Jenny Thompson Melanie Valerio Amy Van Dyken Allison Wagner Ashley Whitney Coaches Skip Kenney David Marsh Richard Quick Eddie Reese Mark Schubert Jonty Skinner Murray Stephens Gregg Troy Jon Urbanchek