Rachel Komisarz

Summary

Rachel Komisarz (born December 5, 1976), also known by her married name Rachel Komisarz-Baugh, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. She began swimming when she was a senior at Warren Mott high school because of a gymnastics injury that left her with two fractured vertebrae. Komisarz swam at the University of Kentucky and became a seven-time All American swimmer and three-time SEC Champion by the end of her four years at the university. Not only was Komisarz very dedicated to swimming while at the University of Kentucky, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Kinesiology major with an emphasis in exercise.

Rachel Komisarz
Personal information
Full nameRachel Komisarz
National team United States
Born (1976-12-05) December 5, 1976 (age 47)
Warren, Michigan
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight70 kg (150 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, butterfly
College teamUniversity of Kentucky
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 4×200 m freestyle relay
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens 4×100 m medley relay
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2003 Barcelona 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2005 Montreal 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2005 Montreal 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2007 Melbourne 4×100 m medley
World Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2004 Indianapolis 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2008 Manchester 4x100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2002 Moscow 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2004 Indianapolis 100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2006 Shanghai 100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2006 Shanghai 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2008 Manchester 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Moscow 400 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Silver medal – second place 2006 Victoria 100 m butterfly

She swam for the United States team at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she won a gold medal in the women's 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and a silver medal in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay, after swimming in the preliminary session of the meet.[1] Komisarz did not make the 2008 Olympic team, and had shoulder surgery shortly after. Once she had recovered, she tried to get back into the pool, but it just was not the same anymore. It was in 2009 that she stopped competitively swimming.

Komisarz was named an assistant swim coach at the University of Louisville in 2009, where she help build the men's and women's team to 5 conference championships. She was also the women's recruiting coordinator and helped bring in the top athletes in the world, ranking the recruiting classes 12th and 7th in the NCAA for the 2010 and 2011 respectively. While she was an assistant at the University of Louisville, she helped bring the women's team to place 15th, and the men's team to place 10th at the NCAA Championships. During her coaching years at the University of Louisville, Komisarz also earned a master's degree in Sports Administration.

Komisarz was named the head coach of the Ohio Bobcats women's swimming team at Ohio University in 2014, after serving five years as an assistant coach for the Louisville Cardinals swimming team at the University of Louisville.[2] Since taking the job at Ohio University, Komisarz's teams have finished 6th twice at the conference championships. The Bobcats improved one spot to 5th in the 2017 conference championships. Komisarz currently has a meet record of 18–15, and has helped 3 swimmers qualify for the Olympic Trials.

On June 21, 2018, Komisarz and Conrad Dobler were enshrined into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in Troy, Michigan.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rachel Komisarz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  2. ^ Braden Keith, "Olympic Gold Medalist Rachel Komisarz-Baugh Named Head Coach at Ohio University," Swimswam.com (March 19, 2014). Retrieved June 4, 2015.

External links edit

  • Rachel Komisarz at the U.S. Olympic Team at the Wayback Machine (archived 2008-05-16)
  • Rachel Komisarz at Olympics.com
  • BEST sports Profile