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 Rachel Bootsma: Swimming

 Bootsma is the national high school 100-yard backstroke record holder and Olympian.

Bootsma is from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. She placed third in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2010 National Championships. Her performanced earned her a spot at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. There she placed third in the 50-meter backstroke. Later that year (November), Bootsma set the national high school 100-yard backstroke record with a time of 51.85 seconds. In 2011, she broke the Pan American Games record in the 100-meter backstroke (1:00.37). 

At the 2012 Olympic Trials, Bootsma finished second in the 100-meter backstroke. This earned her a spot on the London Olympic team. She helped the 4X100m medley relay advanced to the final. In the final round, Missy Franklin took over the backstroke leg. The relay won Olympic gold.

She will be attending the University of California- Berkeley for the 2012/2013 school year. 

 

At the 2010 National Championships, the selection meet for both the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, Bootsma placed third in the 100-meter backstroke.[1] At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Bootsma earned a bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke, tying with Emily Thomas of New Zealand and Fabiola Molina of Brazil.[2]
Bootsma graduated from Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. On November 20, 2010, Bootsma set the national high school record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.53, bettering Cindy Tran's record of 51.85.[3] On October 16, 2011 at the Pan American Games, she broke the games' record in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:00.37. Bootsma, known for her front speed, clocked a 29.56 on the way out before closing out the win with a 30.81 final 50 meters. The previous record was held by Elizabeth Pelton.
She has accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where she will swim for coach Teri McKeever's California Golden Bears women's swimming team starting in the 2012–13 academic year.
[edit]2012 Summer Olympic Games
See also: Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics
At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Bootsma made the Olympic team for the first time by finishing second behind Missy Franklin in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 59.49. In the heats and semi-finals, Bootsma posted times of 59.69 and 59.10, placing behind Franklin both times. In placing second, she also defeated her idol, Natalie Coughlin, who placed third.
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