Male Swimmer of the Month- Larsen Jensen
DOB: 9/1/1985
Height: 6”0
Weight: 172 lbs
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.
High School: Mission Viejo HS '03
College: USC '08
College Major: Political Science
Coached By: Dave Salo
Club: Trojan Swim Club CA
Parents: Alan and Barbara
Sibling: Younger sister Lindsey is a diver
Nickname: "Larjo"...USC teammates and training partners Erik Vendt and Chad Carvin gave him the nickname
Hobbies Outside the Pool: Driving
Ultimate Way to Relax: Driving, sleeping
Most Influential Person: Father because of his integrity and toughness
Training Stats: Swims 18 to 20,000m per day, 6 hours a day, 6 days a week
What has he achieved?
Olympic History:
2008: Bronze, 400m Free
2004: Silver, 1500m Free (AR)
4th 400m Free
World Champs History:
2007: 4, 1500m Free
2005: Silver, 800m Free (AR)
Silver, 1500m Free
2003: Silver, 800m Free (AR)
Pan Pacs History:
2002: Silver, 800m Free (AR)
Bronze, 1500m Free
SC Worlds History:
2006: Bronze, 800m Free R
4th 1500m Free
7th 400m Free
Duel in the Pool History:
2005: Bronze, 400m Free
2003: Silver, 1500m Free
NCAA History:
2007: Gold, 500m Free
Gold, 1650m Free
9th 800m Free
13th 200m Free
World Rankings
2006 World Rankings:
11th, 400m free;
19th, 1500m free
67th, 200m free
2005 World Rankings:
2nd, 800m free
2nd, 1500m free
7th, 400m free
Records:
American Record in 1500m Free set at 2004 Olympic Games
National Age Group Record (17-18) in 400m Free, 800m Free and the 1500m Free
National Age Group Record (15-16) in 800m Free
Larsen has had a solid swimming career so far, as a freestyle specialist with his greatest achievement being a Silver Medal in the 1500m Free at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. I remember watching that race, he was behind legend Grant Hackett and stuck his ground for the entire race despite our British Swimmer (David Davis) trying everything to gain an extra place on the podium, he ended up with the Bronze medal.
An interesting note, his Mother (Barbara) used to swim competitively and his sister is a Diver, love for the water must run in the family. I think it would be interesting in the future if he tried some different strokes or distances, but I’m looking forward to seeing him at nationals (hopefully) and provided he keeps swimming through to 2012!
(written by Nicole)
Female Swimmer of the Month- Elizabeth Beisel
DOB: August 18, 1992
Hometown: Saunderstown, Rhode Island
Current Residence: Saunderstown, Rhode Island
College: She is still in high school. She is set to graduate in 2010.
Club: Bluefish Swim Club
Coach: Matt Kredich/Chuck Batchelor
Records Held:
Holds NAG (15-16) in 400m IM, set at 2008 Olympic Trials ... Former NAG (15-16) holder in
100m BK (Semi), set at 2008 Olympic Trials ... Holds NAG (15-16) in 200m BK (Prelim), set at
2008 Olympic Trials ... Former NAG (15-16) holder in 200m BK, set at 2008 Olympic Trials ...
Holds NAG (15-16) in 200m MED-R, set at 2008 MR SPEEDO CHAMPIONS SERIES ... Holds
NAG (11-12) in 200m BK, set at 2005 Junior Championships ... Holds NAG (11-12) in 400m IM
(Prelim), set at 2005 Junior Championships ... Former NAG (11-12) holder in 200y BK, set at
2005 MR Speedo Sectionals ... Holds NAG (10 & under) in 200m IM, set at 2004 NE Open
Championship ... Holds NAG (10 & under) in 100m BK, set at 2003 NE 12&U AG Champs ...
Holds NAG (10 & under) in 200m FR, set at 2003 NE 12&U AG Champs ... Holds NAG (10 &
under) in 400m FR, set at 2003 ST Texas Open
Where have we seen her?
Elizabeth Beisel swam in her first international swim meet at the Beijing Olympics. Although she didn't win any medals, this 15 year old held her own in her races. She will be competing at the US Swim trials in July and will be competing for a spot on the team to go to World Championships in Rome.
Straight from Elizabeth's mouth:
Childhood Nickname:
Never had a nickname when I was younger, was always Elizabeth
How old were you when you broke your first record?
7
Do you remember what you first award was? What was it for?
Most improved swimmer when I was 6 on my first swim team
What is your favorite place to travel to?
Australia
Favorite place to swim?
California
Favorite beverage?
Orange Juice
Favorite food?
Hamburger
Favorite NFL/MLB/NBA team?
Patriots, RED SOX, Celtics (I'm a Boston girl)
Celeb you look up to?
Lance Armstrong
Celeb you think or someone has told you you look like?
haha I don't know!
What made you want to become an Olympic athlete? It was always a goal of mine, but I think after watching the 2000 and 2004 Olympics I really knew what I wanted to accomplish.
If you weren't a swimmer what would you be doing right now? Trying out new sports at school and figuring out what I want to pursue in college.
Elizabeth Beisel gets tons of cool points for being a swimmer of course and because she is a Boston sports fan! I'm excited to see how she does in the swimming world over the years because she's young and like many swimmers who came onto the international scene (Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff) at the age of 15, have kicked butt as they have gotten older. She's another one we expect to see big things out of as the years go on.
(Written by Renae)
The ladies of the DCC are bringing you a special feature this month. He’s an up and coming swimmer who made a brief appearance in Beijing and you know his name if you watched the Prelims for the 400m Free Relay this summer: Mr. Nathan Adrian (YOU ASKED FOR HIM, WE LISTENED!)
DOB: December 7th, 1988
Hometown: Bremerton, Washington
College: UC-Berkeley ‘10
Major: Pre-Med
Club: The Race Club
Coached by: Dave Durden and Mike Bottom
Height: 6'5"
Where have we seen him?:
He swam the prelims for the 400m Free Relay earning himself his first Olympic medal in Beijing. Oh yeah, it was gold too!
Olympics attended: 1- 2008
Medal Count
Olympic Games:
400m FR-R:Gold
2008 Short Course Worlds:
400m MED-R: Silver (American Record)
400m FR-R: Gold (World Record)
100m FR: Gold
Top Times:
50m FR: 22.01 (June 2008)
100m FR: 48.46 (June 2008)
Training Statistics: Swims 15,000-20,000 meters per day for 5.5 hours, 6 days a week.
Started Swimming: At age 5, with his other siblings
Sports Played Previously: SOCCER
Hobbies: hanging out with friends, jet skiing, boating, dirt biking
Most influential Person: Parents: “Because of their perfect balance of love and support for me over the years.”
Straight from Nathan’s mouth:
Childhood Nickname: Bok Choi
How old were you when you broke your first record?
My first record? I guess there are all sorts of different records to be broken. I am proud to say that I hold some 10 and under record on my old swim team.
Do you remember what you first award was? What was it for?
My first award also is a little bit hazy. I would have to say my first award of significance was probably high school senior year when I got the High School Athlete of the year award from one of the clubs in the area.
What is your favorite place to travel to?
Well I still have a lot more places I would like to visit but i really enjoy going to Europe to compete at some low key swim meets and to do a little bit of the tourism thing.
Favorite place to swim?
My favorite place to train would have to be Berkeley because of the atmosphere and all my friends there. My favorite place to race has to be omaha during trials. Even though that was just a one time thing.
Favorite beverage?
Water is always my go to drink
Favorite food?
I really enjoy barbecue bacon cheeseburgers. However, when I was in Florida for a year I had an intense craving for burrito's all year so when I came back to Berkeley I had at least 1 burrito a day for two weeks straight.
Favorite NFL/MLB/NBA team?
I think I will have to go with the Mav's for this one. Dirk Nowitzki is unstoppable when he is on.
Celeb you look up to?
I don't really know to be honest. Can I go with Bono here or something? haha
Celeb you think or someone has told you you look like?
Ive been told that when my hair is short I sometimes look like Oliver Wood from Harry Potter
What made you want to become an Olympic athlete?
I never had a moment where I decided that I wanted to be an Olympian. It was more of a culmination of a lot of the influences on my life like my coaches, family, to some extent my schooling. The most important part of swimming is to have fun. To me the most fun I could have in swimming was through swimming fast.
If you weren't a swimmer what would you be doing right now?
That changes almost every day. I watched snowboarding on ESPN just now. Not that I would have been any good but i would have loved to picked that up. Depending on what my mood is tomorrow I might want to be a vet or something different. I am positive that one thing i would be doing is going to school. We were lucky to talk with Nathan and he was sweet enough to answer a few of our probing questions. We appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule to get back to us. We are looking forward to seeing what he has to offer the swimming world in the coming years. With his workout regimen he will not doubt be channeling Michael Phelps, or at least we think he will. He has lots of promise and we can’t wait to see him tear it UP at Nationals. We also would like to point out that he used to play soccer. AUTOMATIC BONUS POINTS. (Two of us are former soccer players) Mad love for you Mr. Adrian. Looking forward to hearing your name frequently in the coming months.
(Written by Kimmie)
credit-: swimming.teamusa.org and Wikipedia
