Erica Sullivan (swimmer)

Erica Marie Sullivan (born August 9, 2000) is an American swimmer. She received a silver medal in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics after placing second and qualifying in the event at the 2020 US Olympic Swimming Trials.[1]

Erica Sullivan
Personal information
Full nameErica Marie Sullivan
Nationality United States
Born (2000-08-09) August 9, 2000
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Sport
SportSwimming
Strokesfreestyle
ClubSandpipers of Nevada
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2020 Tokyo1500 m freestyle
Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Bronze medal – third place2016 Maui1500 m freestyle

Personal

Sullivan's father, John, a former swimmer for the University of Wisconsin, died of esophageal cancer when she was 16. In the aftermath, she dealt with mental health issues. “I'm proud of the mental health barriers that I got through, with my dad dying in 2017 and really hitting a rock bottom in 2018 from the stress of losing a parent at age 16 and having to get over the anxiety, the panic attacks, the depression, the PTSD, all that,” she said during the Olympic Trials in Omaha.[2][3]

Sullivan is lesbian and is currently dating Austin-based activist Izzy Richards.[4] Sullivan's mother, Maco, is Japanese.[5]

Sullivan has a YouTube channel she started on August 4, 2014, and where she has published swimming-related content.[6] Her first video, publicly published on December 14, 2014, was a vlog covering her team, the Sandpipers of Nevada, at the Junior National Swimming Championships in December 2014.[7]

Since 2020, Sullivan has produced an annual Twitter thread comparing swimming to films nominated for Academy Awards for the year.[8]

Career

2018 Pan Pacific Championships

In August 2018, she represented the United States at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[9] She placed 5th in the timed-finals of the 800-meter freestyle swimming a time of 8:26.27, 9th in the timed-finals of the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 16:16.07, and 14th in the heats of the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4:14.68.[10]

2020 Summer Olympics
See also: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics
2020 Summer Olympics
Silver medal – second place 1500 m freestyle 15:41.41

Sullivan qualified to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 1500-meter freestyle for the USA Olympic swimming team.[11] At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, she won the silver medal in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:41.41, just 4.07 seconds behind gold medalist Katie Ledecky, on July 28, 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center. Sarah Köhler of Germany took the bronze medal with a time of 15:42.91. It was the first occurrence of women competing in the 1500-meter freestyle at the Summer Olympic Games.[1]

2022 NCAA Championships

Sullivan competed for the University of Texas at the 2022 NCAA DI Swimming and Diving Championships. She took third place in the Women's 500 yard freestyle in a 4:35.92 and second place in the Women's 1650 yard freestyle in a 15:45.94.[12][13]

Awards and honors

References
  1. Mizoguchi, Karen (July 27, 2021). "Katie Ledecky Makes History as First Olympic Champion in Women's 1500m Freestyle, Wins First Gold in Tokyo". People. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  2. Hassan, Adeel (July 28, 2021). "Erica Sullivan, a Japanese American swimmer, completes her journey to the medal stand". New York Times.
  3. De George, Matthew (July 22, 2021). "Overcoming Tragedy, Olympic Journey of Erica Sullivan Brings Her Home to Tokyo". Swimming World Magazine.
  4. Watkins, Mike (November 20, 2020). "Erica Sullivan Finds Herself Through Swimming" USA Swimming.
  5. De George, Matthew (July 22, 2021). "Overcoming Tragedy, Olympic Journey of Erica Sullivan Brings Her Home to Tokyo". Swimming World.
  6. Sullivan, Erica. "Erica Sullivan - About". YouTube. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  7. Sullivan, Erica (December 14, 2014). "Sandpiper Junior National Vlog 2k14". YouTube. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  8. Dornan, Ben (February 9, 2022). "TopTenTweets Special Edition: Erica Sullivan's Third Annual Oscars Thread". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  9. "Erica Sullivan Bio". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  10. "Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2018: Total Ranking". Seiko. August 9–12, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  11. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 1500m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  12. Rieder, David (March 19, 2022). "NCAA Women's Championships: Erica Sullivan Swims 15:45.94 in 1650 Free Early Heats". Swimming World Magazine. Sports Publications, Inc.
  13. Lepesant, Anne (March 18, 2022). "2022 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS". Swim Swam. Swim Swam Partners. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  14. D'Addona, Dan (October 13, 2021). "Golden Goggle Award Nominees Announced by USA Swimming, led by Dressel, Ledecky, Jacoby, Finke". Swimming World. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
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