American breast stroke swimmer Rebecca Soni
Born in New Jersey, Rebecca Soni is an American breast stroke swimmer. She has won three Olympic medals including one gold and two silver medals. She won the women’s 200 metre breaststroke, and set a new world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Besides this, she has also won a gold and a silver medal in the World Championships. Soni currently holds 2 world records in her career.
Soni made it to the first position in the 200 metre breaststroke in the 2008 Summer Olympics. She represented the U.S. national team at the event after the withdrawal of Jessica Hardy who actually finished the trial race in the shortest time with Soni finishing on the fourth spot. She won the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes and 22.60 seconds. This was the third fastest time during that time. She won a silver medal during the same event in the 100 metre breaststroke in 1 minute and 6.73 seconds. She topped the world record holder Liesel Jones of Australia by breaking her record with a time of 2 minutes and 20.22 second and winning a gold medal in the 200 metre breaststroke. The American finished second with the second best split in the 4 into 100 metre medley relay in 2 minutes and 22.05 seconds at the 2008 Olympics.
In one of the three major events that Soni participated in, she won both the 100 metre and the 200 metre breaststroke with the finishing times of 1 minute and 5.34 seconds and 2 minutes and 20.38 seconds respectively, off her own world record at the 2009 World Championships. In the second major event of the year at the World Aquatics Championships in Rome, she set a record of finishing the 100 metre breaststroke in 1 minute and 5.66 seconds. In the semi-final, she became the first female to have finished a 100 metre breaststroke under a time of 1 minute and 5 seconds by finishing the race in 1 minute and 4.84 seconds. In the final of the same event, she grabbed the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke with a time of 1 minute and 4.93 seconds. She was placed fourth in the 200 metre breaststroke. Soni was awarded the title of female athlete of the year at the Golden Google Awards 2009. Her third contest in the same year was the Duel in the Pool 2009 held at Manchester in which she broke Leisel Jones’ world record in the 200 metre breaststroke by clocking a finishing time of 2 minutes and 14.57 seconds.
Recently, at the U.S. Swimming Championships, Rebecca Soni set a record of finishing the 100 metre breaststroke in the shortest time. The world champion was lead by one position at the turn and then easily won the event in 1 minute and 5.73 seconds. The runner up to the winner, Ann Chandler, was just 2.34 seconds behind Soni, while Micah Lawrence rallied to the third position.
In view of her commendable performances in the ongoing championships, Soni will be representing the U.S. national swimming team in the Pan Pacific Championships, scheduled for the end of August.
Jessica Hardy and Rebecca Soni are the two most competitive female swimmers in the Championship and the fastest of the event. Hardy was not seen satisfied with her performance at the event. Both are world record holders and train in the same pool at the University of Southern California. However, Hardy is a sprinter while Soni is known to stretch out to the 200 metres event.
Other women in the U.S. Swimming Championships include Olympian Kara Lynn Joyce, who won the second national title after the one she won four years ago. She finished the 50 metre freestyle in 24.86 seconds. The female swimmer who took the second place, Madison Kennedy, finished the race in 25.15 seconds. Amanda Weir, an Olympian, was third.
In the 400 individual medley, Caitlin Leverenz was first with a time of 4 minutes and 35.60 seconds, Ariana Kukors made it to the second place and the American record setter Katie Hoff was third.
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