American swimmer
Shannon Vreeland (born November 15, 1991) is an American former competition swimmer specializing in freestyle and Olympic gold medallist. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2012 London Summer Olympics . Vreeland had won a total of nineteen medals in major international competitions, including thirteen gold medals, three silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics , World Championships , Pan Pacific Championships , and Summer Universiade . Vreeland retired after the 2016 Olympic Trials and began attending law school at Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2016.[1]
Vreeland was born in St. Louis , Missouri to Connie and Daniel Vreeland, and has a twin sister, Michelle.[2] She grew up in Overland Park, Kansas , and attended Blue Valley West High School , graduating in 2010. Vreeland attended the University of Georgia , majoring in international affairs and economics, and graduated Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa .[3] In the fall of 2016, Vreeland began attending law school at Vanderbilt University , and graduated in May, 2019.[4] After law school, she served as a legal clerk for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for the Honorable Judge Duane Benton , and now works as an Environmental, Land Use, and Natural Resources associate at Alston & Bird LLP .[5]
Vreeland swam for coach Jack Bauerle 's Georgia Bulldogs . She has been a member of three of the Bulldogs' NCAA national champion relay teams in the 4x200-yard relay event and one national champion relay team in the 4x100 freestyle relay, along with the NCAA team titles in 2013 and 2014. She earned NCAA All American honors 17 times throughout her college career.
2012 London Olympics [ edit ]
At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, she placed fifth in the 200-meter freestyle event with a time of 1:57.90, thus qualifying as a member of the U.S. relay team in the 4×200-meter freestyle.[6] Vreeland also placed thirteenth overall in the 100-meter freestyle race with a time of 54.87 seconds.[7]
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London , she earned a spot on the finals lineup for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay after swimming the fastest split in the team in the morning prelims, 1:57.04. She earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. relay team in the relay, together with Missy Franklin , Dana Vollmer and Allison Schmitt . She split 1:56.85 on the third leg of the relay. The first-place Americans set a new Olympic record for the event of 7:42.92.
2013 World Aquatics Championships [ edit ]
Vreeland qualified to swim 5 events at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona , Spain : 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, 4x100-meter freestyle relay, 4x200-meter freestyle relay, and 4x100-meter medley relay. In her individual events, Vreeland finished 7th in the 200-meter freestyle and 8th in the 100-meter freestyle . Vreeland won three gold medals in all three relays. In the 4x100-meter freestyle relay , Vreeland won gold alongside Missy Franklin, Natalie Coughlin , and Megan Romano . The relay team narrowly out touched Australia at 3:32.31, a new American record . This was the first time the U.S. women had won the 4x100-meter freestyle relay since 2003.[8] Vreeland split a 1:56.97 on her leg in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay , in which the U.S. team of Vreeland, Franklin, Katie Ledecky , and Karlee Bispo touched first at 7:45.14, nearly two seconds ahead of second-place team Australia.[9] Vreeland ended her meet by swimming the freestyle leg in the morning heats of the 4x100-meter medley relay. She received a gold medal when the finals lineup of Franklin, Jessica Hardy , Vollmer, and Romano won.
2014 Pan Pacific Championships [ edit ]
Vreeland won a medal of each color at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in Gold Coast , Australia . She earned a bronze medal in the individual 200-meter freestyle with a 1:57.38, out-touching fourth-place finisher Melanie Schlanger by one-hundredth of a second. Alongside Simone Manuel , Missy Franklin, and Abbey Weitzeil , Vreeland earned a silver medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay . Additionally, Vreeland earned a gold medal leading off the 4x200-meter freestyle relay . With Franklin, Leah Smith , and Katie Ledecky, the relay team touched first at 7:46.40, a new championship record .
2016 Olympic Trials [ edit ]
After battling an agonizing shoulder injury for several months, Vreeland swam her final races at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials , the U.S. qualifying meet for the Rio Olympics.[10] She swam three events, the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter freestyle events. She qualified for the semifinals for both the 100- and 200-meter freestyles, but finished 13th in the 100-meter freestyle and 15th in the 200-meter freestyle.[11] [12] Since she didn't qualify for the Olympic team, Vreeland decided to retire and prepare for law school in the coming fall.
Personal best times [ edit ]
Event
Time
Location
Date
100m freestyle
53.83
Indianapolis
June 25, 2013
200m freestyle
1:56.76
Barcelona
July 28, 2013
^ "Shannon Vreeland Retires, Starting Vanderbilt Law School in the Fall" . SwimSwam . July 3, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016 .
^ "National Team Bios, Shannon Vreeland" . USA Swimming. Retrieved February 11, 2013 .
^ "Amazing Students: Shannon Vreeland" . University Of Georgia . Retrieved September 19, 2016 .
^ D'Addona, Dan. "Shannon Vreeland ends swim career with the elite — where she belongs" . Holland Sentinel . Retrieved September 19, 2016 .
^ "Shannon Vreeland | Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources Lawyer | Alston & Bird" . www.alston.com . Retrieved February 10, 2021 .
^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 200 metre freestyle (final)" . Omega Timing. Retrieved July 8, 2012 .
^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 100 metre freestyle (semi-finals)" . Omega Timing. Retrieved July 8, 2012 .
^ "Georgia's Vreeland, Romano golden at FINA World Championships" . The Red & Black . Georgia Sports Communications. July 28, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2016 .
^ "UGA swimmers Vreeland, Mattern win Gold Medals at World Championships" . The Red & Black . Georgia Sports Communications. July 28, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2016 .
^ Gregorian, Vahe (June 28, 2016). "Swimmer Shannon Vreeland's Olympic encore bid falls short but reminds of her legacy" . The Kansas City Star . Retrieved September 20, 2016 .
^ "Trials 16 - Women 100 Free" . Commit Swimming . Retrieved September 20, 2016 .
^ "Trials 16 - Women 200 Free" . Commit Swimming . Retrieved September 20, 2016 .
Qualification Men's team Women's team Coaches
1996 : Trina Jackson , Cristina Teuscher , Sheila Taormina , Jenny Thompson , Lisa Jacob , Annette Salmeen , Ashley Whitney (USA )
2000 : Samantha Arsenault , Diana Munz , Lindsay Benko , Jenny Thompson , Julia Stowers , Kim Black (USA )
2004 : Natalie Coughlin , Carly Piper , Dana Vollmer , Kaitlin Sandeno , Lindsay Benko , Rhi Jeffrey , Rachel Komisarz (USA )
2008 : Stephanie Rice , Bronte Barratt , Kylie Palmer , Linda Mackenzie , Felicity Galvez , Angie Bainbridge , Melanie Schlanger , Lara Davenport (AUS )
2012 : Missy Franklin , Dana Vollmer , Shannon Vreeland , Allison Schmitt , Lauren Perdue , Alyssa Anderson (USA )
2016 : Allison Schmitt , Leah Smith , Maya DiRado , Katie Ledecky , Missy Franklin , Melanie Margalis , Cierra Runge (USA )
2020 : Yang Junxuan , Tang Muhan , Zhang Yufei , Li Bingjie , Dong Jie , Zhang Yifan (CHN )
2024 :
1973 : Kornelia Ender , Andrea Eife , Andrea Hübner , Sylvia Eichner (GDR)
1975 : Kornelia Ender , Barbara Krause , Claudia Hempel , Ute Brückner (GDR)
1978 : Tracy Caulkins , Stephanie Elkins , Jill Sterkel , Cynthia Woodhead (USA)
1982 : Birgit Meineke , Susanne Link , Kristin Otto , Caren Metschuck (GDR)
1986 : Kristin Otto , Manuela Stellmach , Sabina Schulze , Heike Friedrich (GDR)
1991 : Nicole Haislett , Julie Cooper , Whitney Hedgepeth , Jenny Thompson (USA)
1994 : Le Jingyi , Shan Ying , Le Ying , Lü Bin (CHN)
1998 : Lindsay Farella , Amy Van Dyken , Barbara Bedford , Jenny Thompson (USA)
2001 : Petra Dallmann , Antje Buschschulte , Katrin Meissner , Sandra Völker (GER)
2003 : Natalie Coughlin , Lindsay Benko , Rhi Jeffrey , Jenny Thompson (USA)
2005 : Jodie Henry , Alice Mills , Shayne Reese , Libby Trickett (AUS)
2007 : Libby Trickett , Melanie Schlanger , Shayne Reese , Jodie Henry (AUS)
2009 : Inge Dekker , Ranomi Kromowidjojo , Femke Heemskerk , Marleen Veldhuis (NED)
2011 : Inge Dekker , Ranomi Kromowidjojo , Marleen Veldhuis , Femke Heemskerk (NED)
2013 : Missy Franklin , Natalie Coughlin , Shannon Vreeland , Megan Romano (USA)
2015 : Emily Seebohm , Emma McKeon , Bronte Campbell , Cate Campbell (AUS)
2017 : Mallory Comerford , Kelsi Dahlia , Katie Ledecky , Simone Manuel (USA)
2019 : Bronte Campbell , Brianna Throssell , Emma McKeon , Cate Campbell (AUS)
2022 : Mollie O'Callaghan , Madison Wilson , Meg Harris , Shayna Jack (AUS)
2023 : Mollie O'Callaghan , Shayna Jack , Meg Harris , Emma McKeon (AUS)
2024 : Kim Busch , Janna van Kooten , Kira Toussaint , Marrit Steenbergen (NED)
1986 : Manuela Stellmach , Astrid Strauss , Nadja Bergknecht , Heike Friedrich (GDR)
1991 : Kerstin Kielgass , Manuela Stellmach , Dagmar Hase , Stephanie Ortwig (GER)
1994 : Le Ying , Yang Aihua , Zhou Guanbin , Lü Bin (CHN)
1998 : Franziska van Almsick , Dagmar Hase , Silvia Szalai , Kerstin Kielgass (GER)
2001 : Nicola Jackson , Janine Belton , Karen Legg , Karen Pickering (GBR)
2003 : Lindsay Benko , Rachel Komisarz , Rhi Jeffrey , Diana Munz (USA)
2005 : Natalie Coughlin , Katie Hoff , Whitney Myers , Kaitlin Sandeno (USA)
2007 : Natalie Coughlin , Dana Vollmer , Lacey Nymeyer , Katie Hoff (USA)
2009 : Yang Yu , Zhu Qianwei , Liu Jing , Pang Jiaying (CHN)
2011 : Missy Franklin , Dagny Knutson , Katie Hoff , Allison Schmitt (USA)
2013 : Katie Ledecky , Shannon Vreeland , Karlee Bispo , Missy Franklin (USA)
2015 : Missy Franklin , Leah Smith , Katie McLaughlin , Katie Ledecky (USA)
2017 : Leah Smith , Mallory Comerford , Melanie Margalis , Katie Ledecky (USA)
2019 : Ariarne Titmus , Madison Wilson , Brianna Throssell , Emma McKeon (AUS)
2022 : Claire Weinstein , Leah Smith , Katie Ledecky , Bella Sims (USA)
2023 : Mollie O'Callaghan , Shayna Jack , Brianna Throssell , Ariarne Titmus (AUS)
2024 : Ai Yanhan , Gong Zhenqi , Li Bingjie , Yang Peiqi (CHN)
1993 : China (Shan , Zhou , Le , Lü )
1995 : Canada (Limpert , Shakespeare , Evanetz , Malar )
1997 : China (Wang , Nian , Chen , Shan )
1999 : Sweden (Lillhage , Jöhncke , Sjöberg , Svahnström )
2000 : Great Britain (Huddart , Jackson , Legg , Pickering )
2002 : China (Xu , Zhu , Tang , Yang )
2004 : United States (Vollmer , Komisarz , Benko , Sandeno )
2006 : Australia (Barratt , Schipper , Reese , Lenton )
2008 : Netherlands (Dekker , Heemskerk , Veldhuis , Kromowidjojo )
2010 : China (Chen , Tang , Liu , Zhu )
2012 : United States (Romano , Chenault , Vreeland , Schmitt )
2014 : Netherlands (Dekker , Heemskerk , Kromowidjojo , van Rouwendaal )
2016 : Canada (Savard , Ruck , Goss , Oleksiak )
2018 : China (Li , Yang , Zhang , Wang )
2021 : Canada (McIntosh , Sanchez , Savard , Smith )
2022 : Australia (Wilson , O'Callaghan , Neale , Pallister )
1985: USA (Wayte , Radke , Walker , Steinseifer )
1987: USA (Kremer , Radke , Marley , O'Leary )
1989: USA (Kremer , Cassiday , Evans , Kole )
1991: USA (Haislett , Hedgepeth , Evans , Anderson )
1993: USA (Haislett , Evans , Anderson , Thompson )
1995: USA (Teuscher , Valerio , Jackson , Thompson )
1997: USA (Benko , Whitney , Cail , Thompson )
1999: USA (Benko , Stonebraker , Thompson , Teuscher )
2002: USA (Coughlin , Hill , Munz , Benko )
2006: USA (Coughlin , Nymeyer , Vollmer , Hoff )
2010: USA (Vollmer , Scroggy , Hoff , Schmitt )
2014: USA (Vreeland , Franklin , Smith , Ledecky )
2018: Australia (Titmus , McKeon , Sheridan , Groves )
1959: Great Britain : Unknown
1961: Soviet Union : Unknown
1963: Hungary : Unknown
1965: Hungary : Unknown
1967: United States : (Gustavson , Alsup , Randall , Ellis )
1970: United States : (McCuen , Benoit , Hall , Fritz )
1973: United States : (Corcione , Tullis , Wetsel , Tuttle )
1977: United States : (Houghton , Brown , Harrell , Hinderaker )
1979: United States : (Harris , Hinderaker , Glasgow , Caulkins )
1981: United States : (Lett , Borgmann , Major , Sterkel )
1983: Soviet Union : Unknown
1985: United States : (Boyd , Zemina , Wengler , Johnson )
1987: Netherlands : Unknown
1991: PR China : Unknown
1993: United States : (Perroni , Allick , Booth , Hedgepeth )
1995: United States : (Tong , Coole , Edwards , Bendel )
1997: United States : (Eberwein , Taylor , Price , Kolbisen )
1999: United States : (Maxwell , Black , Terry , Allen )
2001: United States : (Crisman , Jaimson , Williams , Tolar )
2003: France : (Mongel , Couderc , Monchaux , Figuès )
2005: United States : (Hupman , Correia , Wanezek , Vollmer )
2007: United States : (Silver , Denby , Cashion , Hupman )
2009: United States : (King , Kennedy , Ohlgren , Scroggy , Scroggy , Nauta )
2011: Australia : (Campbell , Mills , Morrison , Guehrer )
2013: Russia : (Andreyeva , Belyakina , Nesterova , Popova )
2015: United States : (Weitzeil , Vreeland , Locus , Neal )
2017: Canada : (Savard , Keire , Fournier , Zevnik )
2019: United States : (Burchill , Rasmus , C. DeLoof , G. DeLoof )
2021: China : (Li , Liu , Luo , Zhang )
1983: Soviet Union : Unknown
1985: United States : (Zemina , Shupe , O'Leary , Meagher )
1987: United States : (O'Leary , Meyers , Kriegsman , Kremer )
1991: Soviet Union : Unknown
1993: Canada : Unknown
1995: United States : (Haag , Jacob , Taormina , Anderson )
1997: United States : (Thies , Black , Jesperson , Haag )
1999: United States : (Owen , Black , Kilian , Zimbone )
2001: United States : (Tolar , Komisarz , Williams , Black )
2003: China : (Xu , Qi , Chen , Pang )
2005: United States : (Medina , Hill , Chandler , Retrum )
2007: United States : (Dwelley , Reilly , Smith , Sandeno )
2009: United States : (Scroggy , Ohlgren , Nauta , Heiss )
2011: United States : (Bispo , Nauta , Dwelley , Romano )
2013: United States : (Murez , Henry , Chenault , Romano )
2015: United States : (Chenault , Flickinger , Smith , Vreeland )
2017: Russia : (Guzhenkova , Salamatina , Baklakova , Openysheva )
2019: United States : (Meitz , Madden , Rasmus , DeLoof )
2021: China : (Liu , Jing , Zhang , Li )