Caroline Burckle

Caroline Burckle
Personal information
Full name Caroline Stilwell Burckle
National team  United States
Born June 24, 1986
Louisville, Kentucky
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 137 lb (62 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
Club FAST Swim Team
College team University of Florida

Caroline Stilwell Burckle (born June 24, 1986) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic bronze medalist.

Early years

Burckle was born in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] She attended Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, and graduated in 2004.[2]

College career

Burckle accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for coach Gregg Troy's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Southeastern Conference (SEC) competition from 2005 to 2008.[3] She won two NCAA individual championships in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle event in 2008,[3] and was named the 2008 NCAA Female Swimmer of the Year by virtue of winning two NCAA national championships and breaking the oldest-standing women's NCAA swimming record by swimming a 4:33.60 in the 500-yard freestyle.[4]

She also won SEC individual championships in the 200-yard freestyle (2005), the 500-yard freestyle (2005, 2008), the 100-yard breaststroke (2007), and the 200-yard breaststroke (2008), and three more SEC titles as a member of the Gators' winning relay teams in the 4x100-yard medley relay (2005), the 4x200-yard freestyle relay (2005), and the 4x50-yard medley relay (2008).[3] During her four-year college career, she received twenty-three All-American honors.[3] She was the 2007–08 recipient of the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer.[5] She graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2009.

Burckle's younger brother Clark also swam for Florida, but transferred to the University of Arizona before his senior year, and was an individual NCAA champion in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2010.

International career

In 2005, Burckle was selected to compete at the World Championships in Montreal. She swam in the preliminaries of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay for the gold-medal-winning U.S. team. At the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Burckle won the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle.

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Burckle placed fourth in the 200-meter freestyle, earning a place on the Olympic swim team for the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.[6] Burckle also placed fourth in the 400-meter freestyle and fifth in the 800-meter freestyle in Omaha.[7][8]

At the 2008 Olympic Games, Burckle earned a bronze medal swimming in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Burckle swam the lead-off leg in the preliminary heats in 1:57.86, and was selected to swim in the final. She swam the third leg of the final in 1:56.70.

At the 2009 National Championships, Burckle placed third in the 400-meter freestyle, barely missing the chance to compete at the 2009 World Championships.[9] Burckle was, however, named to the 2009–2010 U.S. National Team.

In the fall of 2009, Burckle moved to Fullerton, California to train with the FAST Swim Team under coach Sean Hutchison.[10] She retired from competition swimming in 2010.

Personal bests

Long Course
Stroke Distance Time Date
Freestyle 200 m 1:57.86 Aug 2008
Freestyle 400 m 4:05.09 June 2008
Freestyle 800 m 8:32.26 June 2008

Life after competition swimming

After her move to Southern California in 2009, Burckle enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. She completed a degree in merchandise product development in 2010. In 2011, Burckle briefly relocated to San Diego to work for Montiel USA, a start-up women's "active wear" line.

In late 2011, Burckle returned to Louisville to begin Stilwellness, a health and wellness coaching business. Burckle is a member of the International Coaching Federation and Ohio Valley Professional Coaching Alliance, and is pursuing a degree from Wellcoaches School.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Caroline Burckle. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ GatorZone.com, Women's Swimming & Diving, 2007–08 Roster, Caroline Burckle. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Florida Swimming & Diving 2011–12 Media Supplement, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 61, 62, 63, 67, 72, 73, 75–76, 79 (2011). Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ Associated Press, "Florida's Burckle recognized as top female swimmer," ESPN (April 12, 2008). Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ Collegiate Women Sports Awards, Past Honda Sports Award Winners for Swimming & Diving. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2008 US Olympic Team Trials results: Women's 200 m freestyle final" (PDF). July 2, 2008.
  7. ↑ "2008 US Olympic Team Trials results: Women's 400 m freestyle final" (PDF). June 30, 2008.
  8. ↑ "2008 US Olympic Team Trials results: Women's 800 m freestyle final" (PDF). July 5, 2008.
  9. ↑ "2009 National Championships results: Women's 400 m freestyle final" (PDF). July 8, 2009.
  10. ↑ Amy Shipley (August 21, 2009). "Coach With Local Ties To Manage Talent And Egos".
  11. ↑ Biography Stilwellness, Retrieved 2012-06-16.

External links