Sheila Taormina is a swimmer and a triathlete and a modern pentathlete who has competed for the United States. She competed at the 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympic Games. She set a historic milestone as the first ever woman to qualify for the Games in three different sports.
Taormina started her Olympic career as a member of the U.S. swimming team. In the women's 4x200 metres freestyle relay, she strengthened an insurmountable lead over the Germans at the third leg before she handed Jenny Thompson the relay duties for the gold and a new Olympic record time (7:59.87).
When triathlon was introduced to the Olympic program at Sydney 2000, Taormina demonstrated her swim and endurance talents to finish the race in sixth place and then twenty-third four years later in Athens.
Shortly after the Games, Taormina embarked on a new sport, the modern pentathlon. Her triathlon talent helped her thrive in the swim and run phases, but the fencing and equestrian were unfamiliar to her. Despite the rapid changes of her new sporting career, she was selected to the U.S. modern pentathlon team at her fourth Olympics in 2008, where she finished eighteenth in the women's event.
Olympic Results[]
Year | Event | Rank |
---|---|---|
1996 | Women's 4x200m freestyle relay | |
2000 | Women's triathlon | 6th |
2004 | Women's triathlon | 23rd |
2008 | Women's individual | 18th |
1996[]
Sport | Discipline | Round | Time | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Swimming | 4x200 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 8:04.99 (2:00.57 split) |
OR |
Final | 7:59.87 (2:01.29 split) |
OR |
2000[]
Sport | Discipline | Phase | Time |
---|---|---|---|
Triathlon | Women's triathlon | Swimming | 19:02.78 |
Cycling | 1:06:24.30 | ||
Running | 37:18.83 | ||
2:02:45.91 |
2004[]
Sport | Discipline | Phase | Time |
---|---|---|---|
Triathlon | Women's triathlon | Swimming | 18:37 |
Cycling | 1:09:23 | ||
Running | 41:21 | ||
2:09:21.08 |
2008[]
Sport | Discipline | Result | Points |
---|---|---|---|
Modern pentathlon | Shooting | 173 | 1012 |
Fencing | 4 – 31 | 496 | |
Swimming | 2:08.86 | 1376 | |
Riding | 71.54 | 1200 | |
Running | 10:25.05 | 1220 |