|
Vollmer, Dana
- 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 800m freestyle relay, finished sixth in the 200m freestyle
- 2004 Short Course World champion in the 800m freestyle relay and 400m freestyle relay (prelims), bronze medalist in the 200m freestyle
- Won three gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Games (200m freestyle, 800m freestyle relay, 400m medley relay)
- Is a world record holder in the 800m freestyle relay with Olympic teammates Natalie Coughlin, Carly Piper and Kaitlin Sandeno
- Named 2004 USA Swimming Relay Performance of the Year for her performance in the 800m freestyle relay at the 2004 Olympics
- Took third in the 200m freestyle in 2003 Nationals to qualify for the Pan-Am team, swimming with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, putting off needed surgery until after the meet
- Strong Finisher: Vollmer was behind American record-holder Lindsay Benko by a significant .73 seconds at the 50, she was also tied with Kaitlin Sandeno for second, but she finished in a blazing 30.22 to beat Benko by .09.
- Was the youngest competitor in the 2000 Olympic Trials at age 12
- Was home-schooled during high school, doing her work over the internet, giving her more time and flexibility for training
- Her mother Cathy is a retired swim coach and school teacher and her father Les is a nuclear engineer
- Vollmer's brother, Nick, is a third degree black belt in karate. He taught her self defense sparring with bamboo swords. When asked if that improved her reaction time, Vollmer told NBC, "I guess so. Either you're fast or you get hit."
- Favorite board game is Sorry! -- "It’s a lot of fun," she said. "I like booting people back -- if you land on them, they go ack to home. So my goal was not just to win, but to boot everyone else back."
Vollmer has a heart condition that causes her heart to randomly stop sometimes, so she must carry a defibrillator with her everywhere. Her mother takes one to the pool during meets. She had heart surgery two weeks before 2003 Spring Nationals and still swam in the meet. Doctors have recommended implanting an automatic defibrillator in her body, but she hasn't done it yet because it takes a month of recovery time. She is amazingly blasé about the condition. "It was happening a lot when I was running, so I don't run a lot," she told NBC.
Related Links
Official Web site: Dana Vollmer
On breaking the 800m freestyle relay world record, which was set before she was born: "It's fantastic to get a world record at all," said Vollmer to the Fort Worth Star Telegram. "To be with the girls that I was with and to break a record that had stood for that long, it's a real honor. This meets my expectations for the meet. This is amazing."
|
|
Born: Nov. 13, 1987
Hometown: Granbury, Texas
Resides: Fort Worth, Texas
Sport: Swimming
Event: Freestyle
|
|
|
