Thomas Jager is a swimmer who has competed for the United States. He competed at the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Summer Olympic Games. He won a total of seven medals (five gold, a silver, and a bronze) throughout his Olympic career. He also became noteworthy for his duel with Matthew Biondi in the sprint freestyle.
At his first Olympics in 1984, Jager contributed to the American men's gold-medal triumphs in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay and 4x100 metres medley relay by swimming through the heats. Four years later in Seoul, he continued to help the Americans set new world records and defend both relay titles for the second straight time. On the individual side, he finished with a silver behind the winner Biondi in the men's 50 metres freestyle by 0.24 of a second.
Barcelona 1992 witnessed a rematch between Jage and Biondi in the men's 50 metres freestyle. He was expected to avenge the loss from Biondi for his first individual gold until Alexander Popov upset the American duo to snatch the title and hit the wall under the 22-second barrier. The surprising victory from Popov left Biondi with a silver and Jager with a bronze. In the 4x100 metres freestyle relay, he put on a more blazing split to strengthen the lead for the Americans over the Unified Team by more than a second before he handed Jon Olsen the relay duties at the final exchange. With Olsen touching the wall first at the final lap, Jager and the rest of his teammates defended their title with the second-fastest overall time.
Shortly after his third Games, he retired from competitive swimming.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Men's 4x100m freestyle relay | 
|
| Men's 4x100m medley relay |
| |
| 1988 | Men's 50m freestyle | 
|
| Men's 4x100m freestyle relay |
| |
| Men's 4x100m medley relay |
| |
| 1992 | Men's 50m freestyle | 
|
| Men's 4x100m freestyle relay |
|
1984[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:20.14 (49.89 split) |
|
| Final | 3:19.03 (Reserve) |
WR | |
| 4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:44.33 (50.01 split) |
|
| Final | 3:39.30 (Reserve) |
WR |
1988[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 metres freestyle | Heats | 22.61 | |
| A Final | 22.36 | ||
| 4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:19.52 (Reserve) |
|
| Final | 3:16.53 (49.34 split) |
WR | |
| 4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:43.00 (51.21 split) |
|
| Final | 3:36.93 (Reserve) |
WR |
1992[]
| Discipline | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 50 metres freestyle | Heats | 22.45 |
| A Final | 22.30 | |
| 4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:18.50 (Reserve) |
| Final | 3:16.74 (49.72 split) |