Jenny Thompson
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Female |
| Full name | Jennifer Elisabeth "Jenny"•Thompson (-Cumpelik) |
| Used name | Jenny•Thompson |
| Nick/petnames | Jenny Beth |
| Born | 26 February 1973 in Danvers, Massachusetts (USA) |
| Measurements | 177 cm / 69 kg |
| Affiliations | Badger Swim Club, Larchmont (USA) |
| NOC |  United States |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 8 |
| Silver | 3 |
| Bronze | 1 |
| Total | 12 |
Biography
With 12 medals and eight gold medals, Jenny Thompson has won more swimming medals and gold medals than any woman in Olympic history. But all eight of her gold medals came in relays, and this immensely talented swimmer was frustrated in her attempt to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Her only individual medals were a silver in the 1992 100 freestyle and a bronze in the same event in 2000. While attending Columbia Medical School, Thompson came out of retirement and made the 2004 Olympic team, and won two relay silver medals in Athens. Twenty-three times a national champion, she was more successful individually at the World Championships, winning the 100 free and 100 fly at the 1998 worlds. At the other major international event, the Pan-Pacifics, Thompson also won the 50 free four times (1989, 1991, 1993, 1999), the 100 free four times (1993-99), and the 100 fly three times (1993, 1997-1999). Among all female Olympians, Thompson’s eight gold medals are surpassed only by Larysa Latynina’s nine in gymnastics, and equaled by Birgit Fischer-Schmidt in canoeing.
Thompson has since become a physician, specializing as a pediatric anaesthesiologist. She did her internship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, followed by anaesthesia residency at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, and then a pediatric anaesthesia fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Thompson practiced anaesthesiology in Portland, Maine and Charleston, South Carolina.
Results
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Summer Pan American Games (2–0–1 1987 Indianapolis SWI gold: 50 m freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle relay, bronze: 100 m freestyle)
- Listed in Olympians Who Set a World Record in Long Course Swimming (100 m freestyle – 1 March 1992 - 5 September 1994: 54.48 (1 March 1992; Indianapolis, USA); 100 m butterfly – 23 August 1999 - 27 May 2000: 57.88 (23 August 1999; Sydney, AUS); 4×100 m freestyle relay – 28 July 1992 - 7 September 1994 and 16 September 2000 - 29 July 2002: 3:39.46 (28 July 1992; Barcelona, ESP), 3:36.61 (16 September 2000; Sydney, AUS); 4×100 m medley relay – 30 July 1992 - 10 September 1994 and 23 September 2000 - 21 August 2004: 4:02.54 (30 July 1992; Barcelona, ESP), 3:58.30 (23 September 2000; Sydney, AUS))
- Listed in Olympians Who Set a World Record in Short Course Swimming (50 m butterfly – 29 November 1997 - 10 December 1999: 26.48 (29 November 1997; Toronto, CAN), 26.05 (2 December 1998; College Station, USA), 26.00 (18 November 1999; College Park, USA); 100 m butterfly – 19 April 1997 - 26 January 2002: 57.79 (19 April 1997; Göteborg, SWE), 56.90 (1 December 1998; College Station, USA), 56.80 (12 February 2000; Paris, FRA), 56.56 (18 March 2000; Athina, GRE); 100 m medley – 16 January 1999 - 23 November 2002: 1:00.41 (16 January 1999; Sydney, AUS), 59.30 (2 April 1999; Hongkong, CHN))
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships (25–7–2 1989 Tokyo gold: 50 m freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle relay, silver: 100 m freestyle; 1991 Edmonton gold: 50 m freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle relay; 1993 Kobe gold: 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle relay, 4×200 m freestyle relay, and 4×100 m medley relay; 1995 Atlanta gold: 100 m freestyle, 4×100 m freestyle relay, and 4×200 m freestyle relay, silver: 50 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, and 4×100 m medley relay; 1997 Fukuoka gold: 100 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle relay, 4×200 m freestyle relay, and 4×100 m medley relay, silver: 50 m freestyle; 1999 Sydney gold: 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle relay, 4×200 m freestyle relay, and 4×100 m medley relay; 2002 Yokohama gold: 50 m freestyle, silver: 4×100 m freestyle relay and 4×100 m medley relay, bronze: 100 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Aquatics Championships (8–5–2 1991 Perth SWI gold: 4×100 m freestyle relay and 4×100 m medley relay (swam in heats only); 1994 Roma SWI silver: 4×100 m freestyle relay and 4×100 m medley relay, bronze: 4×200 m freestyle relay; 1998 Perth SWI gold: 100 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle relay, and 4×100 m medley relay, silver: 4×200 m freestyle relay; 2003 Barcelona SWI gold: 100 m butterfly and 4×100 m freestyle relay, silver: 50 m butterfly and 4×100 m medley relay, bronze: 100 m freestyle)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Short-Course Swimming Championships (25 m) (9–6–2 1997 Göteborg gold: 100 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly, silver: 50 m freestyle and 4×100 m medley relay; 1999 Hong Kong gold: 100 m freestyle, 50 m butterfly, and 100 m butterfly silver: 50 m freestyle; 2000 Athina gold: 50 m butterfly and 100 m butterfly, silver: 100 m freestyle and 4×200 m freestyle relay, bronze: 4×100 m medley relay; 2004 Indianapolis gold: 50 m butterfly and 4×100 m freestyle relay, silver: 4×100 m medley relay, bronze: 100 m butterfly)