Besides the hundreds of fan letters, emails, Facebook comments, text messages, phone calls and voice messages Chloe Sutton has been receiving, it is also clear the President of the U.S. is on her side, especially since he is such a big sports fan and thinks open water swimming is "cool".
The First Lady is also very supportive, as is King James (a la LeBron James) who spent time chatting with the American swimmers as they were waiting for the President and the First Lady.
Chloe and her 10K competitors will be televised on the USA Network and webcast live on NBCOlympics.com at 6:00 pm PT on August 19th (9:00 am Beijing time on August 20th).
Chloe with Kobe
During Michael Phelps' epic gold-medal surge, the USA men's basketball team went to the Water Cube to cheer him on.
Email Chloe a message!
• Please feel free to send Chloe a good luck email or ask her a question!
Swimming Bio
• 16-year-old distance freestyler training under Coach Bill Rose at the Mission Viejo Nadadores in Orange County, California.
• USA Swimming 2007 Open Water Swimmer of the Year.
• Won the gold in the 10K at the 2006 Pan Pacific Games and 2007 Pan American Games.
• Won the bronze in the 5K at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships.
• Won the gold at the 2007 FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup in London.
• 2-time USA Swimming national 10K champion.
• Winner of the 2006 and 2007 Tiburon Mile where she donated $20,000 in prize money to a local charity.
• Won USA Swimming’s Golden Goggle Award for 2006 Breakout Performer of the Year.
• 3rd place in the 800 freestyle at the US Olympic Swim Team Trials (8:31.56).
Most Memorable Swim
• 10K in Fort Myers, Florida because it was my first win in open water, my first 10K and my first gold at a USA Swimming national championship.
My Toughest Swim
• 10K in Melbourne, Australia because I had a very emotionally difficult mishap where I got my goggles knocked off and had to wait for the lifeguards to bring me a replacement pair before returning to race alone for the remainder of the race in the jellyfish-infested cold water.
My Most Beautiful Swim
• 10K in Victoria, Canada where the lake was gorgeous!
Why?
• I was invited to a USA Swimming Open Water camp for swimmers who had never tried it before. We were expected to participated in the USA Swimming national championships in Ft. Myers, Florida – and I won my first 10K there.
Training Regimen
• Swims 10,000 – 16,000 meters per day, 4+ hours per day, 6 days per week.
Additional Personal Information
• The September 11th attacks had a big impact on her life because her father was in the Pentagon on that day.
• "I am a strong Christian and that is a big part of my life."
• Danced and played soccer and basketball before swimming.
