Randall Bal

Randall Bal

Bal in 2008.
Personal information
Full name Randall Bal
Nickname(s) Turbo
Nationality  United States
Born November 14, 1980
Fair Oaks, California
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Backstroke
College team Stanford University

Randall Bal (born November 14, 1980) is an American swimmer who specializes in the backstroke. He is a former world record holder in the 50-meter backstroke (long and short course).

He has won a total of thirteen medals in major international competition, five golds, six silvers, and two bronze spanning the World Championships, the Pan American Games, and the Pan Pacific Championships.

Personal

Bal was born in Fair Oaks, California in 1980, the son of Adrian and Carol Bal. His younger sister, Tamara, swam at UCLA. Bal attended Bella Vista High School where he graduated in 1999. From there, he swam for Stanford University, class of 2003, and graduated with a degree in psychology.

Swimming career

At the 2008 FINA Short Course World Championships in Manchester, he took the silver medal in the 100 Back, but he finished a surprising sixth (his PB would have won the event) in the 50 Back. He won another silver on the medley relay. He was the top qualifier in the 100 Back at the 2008 Olympic Trials, in both the preliminaries and semi-finals, with the then-third fastest time ever in the semis (53.09), but he faded to fourth in the finals, finishing behind Aaron Peirsol, who set a new World Record of 52.89, Matt Grevers, and Ryan Lochte. In 2008 Randall broke both the World Record (24.33 LCM & 22.87 SCM) in the 50 backstroke and missed the 100 LCM backstroke World Record by .04 of a second. He is currently training in northern California.

See also

References

    External links

    Records
    Preceded by

    Peter Marshall
    Men's 50-meter backstroke
    world record-holder (short course)

    November 15, 2008 October 17, 2009
    Succeeded by

    Peter Marshall
    Preceded by

    Liam Tancock
    Men's 50-meter backstroke
    world record-holder (long course)

    December 5, 2008 August 1, 2009
    Succeeded by

    Liam Tancock
    Sporting positions
    Preceded by
    Ryk Neethling
    Male World Cup Overall Winner
    2007
    Succeeded by
    Cameron van der Burgh