Katie Hoff
Kathryn Elise Hoff is an American former competitive swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoff was known for the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events. She represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, where she won a silver medal and two bronze medals.
Competitive career
2004–2005
Hoff qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics at the age of 15.At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Hoff set a championships record for her time of 2:10.41 in the women's 200-meter individual medley. Hoff earned two more gold medals at the competition, one in the 400-meter medley and the other for the 4×200-meter freestyle, with teammates Natalie Coughlin, Whitney Myers, and Kaitlin Sandeno.
2006
In early 2006, Hoff made news by signing a 10-year endorsement deal with Speedo, which was the longest deal Speedo had with any athlete at the time. As a result, Hoff forfeited her amateur status for purposes of NCAA rules; however, one of the terms of the deal included a clause that Speedo would pay the cost of her college tuition.2007 World Aquatics Championships
Hoff retained her 200-meter individual medley title by winning at the 2007 World Championships setting a new championship record of 2:10.13. Hoff's previous experience helped her use her "veteran" status to help the most experienced member of the U.S. team, Natalie Coughlin, prepare for their world-record-setting pace in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.2008 Summer Olympics
Heading into the 2008 Olympics, Hoff was considered a strong contender. Hoff held the American record in the 200-meter individual medley at 2:09.71 and set the world record in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:31.12 set at the 2008 U.S. swim trials..Hoff's performances in Beijing produced a decidedly mixed record. NBC commentator and former-Olympian Rowdy Gaines described her results as disappointing, yet noted that her three medals at one Olympics is a significant achievement and cited the depth of the field in each of her events. Prior to the Olympic Games, Hoff was saddled by the media with the label "the female Michael Phelps" due to the challenging slate of races in which she was competing. Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach, thought the comparison was unfair.
Hoff set the American record in the 200-meter freestyle, yet finished fourth in the event. 70 minutes later, in the finals of the 200-meter individual medley, Hoff again finished fourth, well behind her time at the U.S. swim trials. These results led to questions as to whether Hoff's program in Beijing was too aggressive. It was also suggested that Hoff's narrow miss of a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle created a confidence issue that affected her later races.
Following her consecutive fourth-place finishes, Hoff's coach, Paul Yetter, held that she was having a good meet and denied she had peaked too early. Yetter also predicted that Hoff could have an "awesome" 800-meter freestyle race to conclude her second Olympic games. However, Hoff dramatically faded over the second half of her preliminary race, finishing in 8:27.78, 8.08 seconds off her personal best time, and failed to advance.
2009
Hoff's plan for 2009 had been to train at Loyola College in Maryland, where it was reported she would enroll in classes and volunteer as an assistant swim coach, similar to what Michael Phelps had done at the University of Michigan. However, ESPN reported that she would instead remain at NBAC and switch coaches to work with Bob Bowman, who had announced in April 2008 that he was leaving Michigan's program after the Olympic trials. Bowman's coaching style did not mesh well with Hoff, and her time working with him ended in May 2009, when she came close to quitting the sport.Hoff did not qualify for the 2009 World Aquatics Championships after an 8th-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle and a 6th-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle at the U.S. National Championships. Hoff subsequently withdrew from the 100- and 800-meter freestyle races, ending her chances of making the team.
2010
Hoff relocated to California, where she began training and competing with the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team and coach Sean Hutchison. She began to return to form, and at the 2010 USA Swimming Championships, she won a gold and 2 bronze medals.2011 World Aquatics Championships
At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China, Hoff won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Missy Franklin, Dagny Knutson, and Allison Schmitt, with the team finishing ahead of Australia and China. As the third leg, Hoff had a 1:57.41 split.2012
Hoff moved to Naples, Florida to train with T2 Aquatics under her former coach Paul Yetter, who had moved there from NBAC in 2010.At the 2012 [United States Olympic Trials (swimming)|2012 Olympic Trials], Hoff failed to qualify for her third Olympics, finishing 20th in the preliminary runs in the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle and 13th in the 800-meter freestyle.