Jenny Thompson
Jenny Thompson is an American swimmer who won 12 Olympic medals, including eight gold medals, across five Olympic Games from 1992 to 2004.
1992 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Spain, from July 25 to August 9, 1992. Thompson won her first Olympic gold medal as part of the United States 4×100-meter freestyle relay.
Freestyle swimming: A competitive swimming discipline in which swimmers may use any stroke, with front crawl the usual choice. Thompson specialized in sprint freestyle as well as relay events.
Dara Torres: An American swimmer who won 12 Olympic medals across five Olympic Games. Torres shared Thompson’s distinction of competing in five Olympics and winning 12 medals.
Most decorated Olympic swimmers: Swimmers ranked by the number of medals they have won at the Olympic Games. Thompson’s 12 medals place her among the most decorated Olympic swimmers.
1996 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia, from July 19 to August 4, 1996. Thompson won three gold medals and a silver, establishing herself as a leading American sprinter.
Butterfly stroke: A competitive swimming stroke in which both arms recover together over the water while the legs perform a dolphin kick. Thompson also competed in butterfly, including at the Olympics.
Amy Van Dyken: An American swimmer who won six Olympic gold medals, including relay titles with Jenny Thompson. Van Dyken and Thompson were teammates on several United States relay teams.
United States women's Olympic swimming team: The women swimmers who represent the United States in Olympic competition. Her relay titles contributed substantially to the team’s Olympic success.
2000 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia, from September 15 to October 1, 2000. She added three relay golds and a bronze, bringing her Olympic medal tally to ten.
Swimming relay: A team swimming event in which each swimmer completes one leg before the next takes over. Most of Thompson’s Olympic gold medals came from relay teams.