Jennifer Beth Thompson (Born February 26, 1973 in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA) is an American former competitive swimmer, and one of the most decorated Olympians in history, winning twelve medals, including eight gold medals in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics.
Jenny Thompson began swimming at age 7 at a summer country club called Cedardale in Groveland, Massachusetts. She swam there every summer from ages 7 to 12 under coach Nancy Pearson Brennan.
She first appeared on the international scene as a 14-year-old in 1987, when she won the 50-meter freestyle and placed third in the 100 m freestyle at the Pan American Games. She won her first world championship in 1991, as part of the USA's winning 4x100 m freestyle relay team, and held the world record in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle when she participated in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
In 1992 Olympics, Thompson won two gold medals as part of the 4x100 m free and 4x100 m medley teams. Thompson was expected to win up to five gold medals at those Olympics. However, she failed to qualify for the final in the 200 m freestyle, finished a disappointing fifth in the 50, and finished second in the 100 m, where she was beaten by Zhuang Yong of China.
Between 1997 and 1999, Thompson won eight more world championship titles, including three in a row in the 100 m freestyle. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia she won a bronze in the 100 m freestyle and was fifth in the 100 m butterfly. But in the relay events, she swam the anchor leg in helping the USA defend its titles in the 4x100 m freestyle and the 4x200 m freestyle relays. She also swam the butterfly leg in the winning 4x100 m relays. The 4x100 free and medley teams set new world records in the process.
At the World Championships that year, she broke the world record in the 100 m butterfly for the fourth time, winning a qualifying heat in a time of 56.56 en route to a gold medal in the event.
Thompson seemingly retired from competition after the 2000 season with 10 Olympic medals, eight gold, one silver and one bronze, and 12 gold medals at World Championships. In 2001, Thompson moved to New York City to begin studying at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. However, while attending medical school, she made a return to competition at the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan. Thompson won five medals in two days, setting a career-best time in winning the 50 meter freestyle. At the 2003 World Championships, she would win five medals, including two gold medals.
At age 31, Thompson was the oldest member of the 2004 U.S. Swimming and Diving team, competing in her fourth Olympics in Athens, Greece. She was the anchor member of the 400-meter freestyle relay, where contributed to a national record of 3:36.39 and a silver medal. She earned another silver medal as a member of the 4x100 meter medley relay. During her Olympic career, Thompson won twelve medals, eight of which were relay gold; the most for any female Olympic swimmer in history.
In 2006, Thompson received a medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She did her internship at the New York City Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and she is currently working as a resident anesthesiologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Thompson married Daniel Richard Cumpelik on September 5, 2010.
For more about Jenny Thompson's swimming records and medals visit Wikipedia.org
