Connor Lee Jaeger (born April 30, 1991) is a former American competition swimmer who specializes in distance freestyle events. Jaeger attended the University of Michigan where he was a three-time All-American. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, placing sixth in the 1500 metre freestyle at those Olympics, as well as the 2016 United States Olympic team, where he earned a silver medal in the same event. He currently holds the American record in the short course 1500 metre freestyle.

Connor Jaeger
Personal information
National teamUnited States
Born (1991-04-30) April 30, 1991 (age 33)
Fair Haven, New Jersey, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight170 lb (77 kg)
SpouseCourtney Beidler (m. 2018)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
College teamUniversity of Michigan
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 1500 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal – second place 2015 Kazan 1500 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Barcelona 400 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Gold Coast 1500 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Gold Coast 400 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Gold Coast 800 m freestyle

Early life

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Jaeger was born in Fair Haven, New Jersey on April 30, 1991.[1][2] He grew up swimming with his older sister, Dana. He began swimming competitively at 8 years old with the Central Jersey Aquatic Club (CJAC).[3] He made the New Jersey All-Star squad and the Junior Olympics before turning 13.[3]

As a teen, Jaeger worked as a lifeguard while continuing to train with CJAC.[3] In high school, he was named All-State in the 200 yard freestyle and set five conference swimming records.[1] He graduated from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, in 2010[1] and attended the University of Michigan, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, in 2014.[1]

Swimming career

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Jaeger attended University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team. In 2011, he was part of the NCAA title winning 4×200-yard freestyle relay team and was named to the All-Big Ten first team.[1] In 2012, he became an All-American in three disciplines (500-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle relay, 1,650-yard freestyle) and was the Big Ten champion in the latter two. At the 2012 NCAA championships, he finished third in the 1,650-yard freestyle.[1] He also won an award for academic achievement for the 2011–12 school year.[1]

At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, Jaeger made his first Olympic team by finishing second behind Andrew Gemmell in the 1,500-meter freestyle with a time of 14:52.51.[4] With a margin of just thirty-two (0.32) one-hundredths of a second between Gemell and Jaeger, it was one of the closest 1,500-meter finishes in Trials history.[5] Jaeger's swim was also the fifth fastest time in the world during 2012 heading into the Olympics.[3] For Jaeger, it was only the fifth time he ever swam the 1,500 in competition.[5] In the preliminary round of the event, he went under fifteen minutes for the first time in his career, despite miscounting his laps and swimming an extra 100 meters.[5] He also competed in the 400-meter freestyle, and finished sixth in the final with a time of 3:49.55.[6]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Jaeger swam in the preliminary round of the 1,500-meter freestyle on August 3, qualifying seventh for the final on August 4. In the final, he placed sixth with a time of 14:52.99.[7][8]

At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships, Jaeger qualified to swim in three individual events: the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle. In his first event, the 400-meter freestyle, he placed third in the final with a personal best time of 3:44.85, finishing behind Sun Yang and Kosuke Hagino.[9] In his second event, Jaeger placed 4th in the 800-meter freestyle in a personal best time of 7:44.26, finishing behind Sun Yang, teammate Michael McBroom, and Ryan Cochrane.[10] In his third and last event, the 1500-meter freestyle, Jaeger placed 4th in the final with a personal best time of 14:47.96.

Jaeger qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the 1500 m freestyle. He retired from competitive swimming following the Olympics.[11]

Personal bests (long course)

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As of August 13, 2016
Event Time Venue Date
200 m freestyle 1:47.60 Indianapolis June 25, 2013
400 m freestyle 3:43.79 Omaha June 26, 2016
800 m freestyle 7:44.26 Barcelona July 31, 2013
1500 m freestyle 14:39.48 Rio de Janeiro August 13, 2016

Short course yards

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[12]

Event Time Meet Date
200-yard freestyle 1:33.80 2014 NCAA Men's Division I March 27, 2014
500-yard freestyle 4:10.84 2013 NCAA Men's Division I March 28, 2013
1000 yard freestyle 8:41.09 2014 MI U of M PostGrad Quad October 25, 2014
1650 yard freestyle 14:23.52 2014 AT&T Winter National Champs June 12, 2014

Personal life

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Jaeger became engaged to his girlfriend, Courtney Beidler, on June 18, 2017. They married on October 27, 2018.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "USA Swimming National Team Bios:Connor Jaeger". Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  2. ^ Connor Jaeger, United States Olympic Committee. Accessed August 8, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Matthew Rocco (July 12, 2012). "RFH swimmer Jaeger headed to London Olympics". The Independent. Greater Media Newspapers. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  4. ^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Men's 1500 metre freestyle (final)". Omega Timing. Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "U.S. Olympic Trials: Andrew Gemmell Edges Connor Jaeger at the Wall for 1500 Free Victory". Swimming World. July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Men's 400-metre freestyle (final)". Omega Timing. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  7. ^ "London Olympics: Connor Jaeger, Fair Haven native, finishes sixth in 1,500 freestyle final". The Star-Ledger. August 4, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  8. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Connor Jaeger". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
  9. ^ "15th FINA World Championships – Men's 400m freestyle". Omega Timing. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  10. ^ "15th FINA World Championships – Men's 800m freestyle". Omega Timing. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  11. ^ "Connor Jaeger Having Trouble Adjusting to the Dry Life" "Swimswam.com
  12. ^ "USA Swimming – Individual Times Search". www.usaswimming.org. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
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