Bowe Becker
Personal information
Full nameBowe Becker
NicknameBowen
Nationality United States
Born (1997-07-07) July 7, 1997 (age 26)[2][3]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubSandpipers of Nevada[1]
College teamUniversity of Minnesota
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle
Representing the Minnesota Golden Gophers
NCAA Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Austin 100 y freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Minneapolis 50 y freestyle

Bowe Becker (born July 7, 1997)[2][3] is a swim coach and former American professional swimmer.[4][5] He won an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics as part of the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, swimming in the prelims and the final.[6] He swims in the International Swimming League on the team Tokyo Frog Kings.[7]

Early life and education

Becker graduated from Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas.[6]

Career

2019 NCAA Championships

At the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas in March, Becker placed second in the 100-yard freestyle representing the Minnesota Golden Gophers with a time of 40.83 seconds as a senior, finishing three hundredths of a second behind Dean Farris of Harvard University.[8][9] His swim moved him to the fourth fastest performer in the event in the NCAA behind Caeleb Dressel of the Florida Gators, Vladimir Morozov of the USC Trojans, and Farris.[8]

2020: First retirement

Becker took a six-month retirement from swimming in 2020 in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and instead chose to wait tables at a lodge in Reno, Nevada.[10]

2021

2020 US Olympic Trials

Becker placed fifth in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials with a time of 48.22, which qualified him for the 2020 Olympic Games in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.[11] In the final of the 50-meter freestyle on June 20, he swam a 21.78 and ranked fourth overall, finishing five hundredths of a second after third-place finisher Nathan Adrian.[12]

2020 Summer Olympics

See also: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics
2020 Summer Olympics
Gold medal – first place 4×100 m freestyle 3:08.97

Becker raced in the prelims of the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan alongside Zach Apple, Brooks Curry, and Blake Pieroni, finishing second overall and advancing to the final.[13] In the final, Caeleb Dressel substituted in for Curry and the relay finished first with a time of 3:08.97 and won the gold medal, with Becker splitting a 47.44.[6][13][14][15] The relay's final time was the third fastest swim in the event in history.[14] Becker was the seventh University of Minnesota Golden Gopher to win a medal at an Olympic Games.[13] For his success on the finals relay, Becker was nominated along with his finals relay teammates only, Curry was not included in the nomination, for the 2021 Golden Goggle Award for "Relay Performance of the Year", which was an honor bestowed upon him and his finals relay teammates by the USA Swimming Foundation.[16][17]

International Swimming League

For the 2021 International Swimming League, Becker was selected to the roster of team Tokyo Frog Kings.[7] As of the end of the 2021 season, Becker had amassed 48.5 Most Valuable Player, MVP, points over the entire existence of competition in the International Swimming League, since 2019, and ranked as number 319 out of 488 swimmers in terms of total number of MVP points earned in the history of the league.[18]

2022: Transition to coaching

Becker started serving as a volunteer swim coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers swim team following the 2020 Summer Olympics, and in January 2022 he swam a 19.58 in the 50-yard freestyle and a 43.10 in the 100-yard freestyle at a triple dual meet swimming in exhibition.[4] In early March, he placed seventh in the final of the 100 meter freestyle with a time of 50.26 seconds at the 2022 Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, Illinois.[19] For the 50 meter freestyle prelims heats, he ranked sixth with a 22.51, which was 0.53 seconds behind first-ranked swimmer Michael Andrew and 0.08 seconds ahead of seventh-ranked Caeleb Dressel.[20] In the final, he lowered his time to a 22.43 and placed sixth overall.[1] On April 1, he ranked eighth in the prelims heats of the 50 meter freestyle at the Pro Swim Series stop at Northside Swim Center in San Antonio, Texas with a time of 22.71 seconds, which was 0.58 seconds slower than first-ranked David Curtiss.[21] In the final, he equalled his prelims time of 22.71 seconds to place eighth.[22] The following day he ranked 25th in the prelims heats of the 100 meter freestyle with a 51.30.[23]

2022 International Team Trials

On day one of the 2022 US International Team Trials in Greensboro, North Carolina, Becker tied for 19th-place in the 100 meter freestyle preliminary heats with a time of 49.69 seconds and did not advance to the evening final.[24] For his second and final event of the Trials, the 50 meter freestyle on the fifth and final day, he qualified for the b-final from the morning prelims heats with an overall tenth-rank and a time of 22.22 seconds.[25] He withdrew from and did not compete in the evening b-final.[26]

Second retirement

The following month, Swimming World and SwimSwam published Becker had permanently retired from competitive swimming again.[27][28]

Personal best times

Long course meters (50 m pool)

Event Time Meet Location Date Ref
50 m freestyle 21.78 2020 US Olympic Trials Omaha, Nebraska June 20, 2021 [12]
100 m freestyle 48.22 2020 US Olympic Trials Omaha, Nebraska June 17, 2021 [11]

Short course meters (25 m pool)

Event Time Meet Location Date Ref
50 m freestyle 21.33 2019 International Swimming League Las Vegas, Nevada December 20, 2019 [29]
100 m freestyle 47.39 2019 International Swimming League Las Vegas, Nevada December 21, 2019 [29]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b Hy-Tek (March 5, 2022). "2022 TYR Pro Swim Series - Westmont: Meet Results". swmeets.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Bowen Becker". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Bowe Becker". teamusa.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Keith, Braden (February 4, 2022). "Bowe Becker Swims First Races Since August In Minnesota Tribune Meet". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  5. ^ "International Swimming League Match 1 in Indianapolis: Day 2 Live Recap". SwimSwam. October 6, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Krajewski, Jim (July 26, 2021). "NBC Nightly News to feature Reno's Becker after winning gold with US Men's swim relay team". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Penland, Spencer (August 1, 2021). "ISL Season 3: Free Agency Period Closed July 30th, Season Begins August 24th". SwimSwam. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Anderson, Jared (March 30, 2019). "2019 Men's NCAA Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  9. ^ Ross, Andy (March 30, 2019). "2019 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming Championships: Texas Wins Three Events, Cal Wins Team Title". Swimming World. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  10. ^ Forde, Pat (July 26, 2021). "U.S. Swimmer Bowe Becker Goes From Retired and Waiting Tables to Olympic Gold". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 100m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  12. ^ a b USA Swimming (June 20, 2021). "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 50m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c "Bowe Becker Wins Gold in Tokyo". Minnesota Golden Gophers. July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Souhan, Jim (July 26, 2021). "Former Gopher Bowe Becker wins swimming gold in 4x100 freestyle relay". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Omega Timing; Atos (August 1, 2021). "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Swimming Results Book" Archived 2021-08-07 at the Wayback Machine. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Olympic Stars Headline USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards Nominees". USA Swimming. October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  17. ^ a b 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.
  18. ^ Keith, Braden (December 13, 2021). "Sarah Sjostrom Becomes ISL's First-Ever Swimmer To Clear 1000 MVP Points". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  19. ^ Lohn, John (March 3, 2022). "TYR Pro Series: Lilly King, Michael Andrew Storm to 100 Breaststroke Wins; Katie Ledecky Dazzles in 400 Freestyle". Swimming World. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Gibbs, Robert (March 5, 2022). "2020 Pro Swim Series – Westmont: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  21. ^ Hamann, Michael (April 1, 2022). "Pro Swim Series- San Antonio: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  22. ^ Lohn, John (April 1, 2022). "TYR Pro Series: Michael Andrew Clips Caeleb Dressel in 50 Freestyle; Leon Marchand and Chase Kalisz Shine". Swimming World. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  23. ^ Hy-Tek (April 2, 2022). "2022 TYR Pro Swim Series - San Antonio". swmeets.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  24. ^ USA Swimming (April 26, 2022). "Phillips 66 International Team Trials: Men's 100m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  25. ^ USA Swimming (April 30, 2022). "Phillips 66 International Team Trials: Men's 50m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  26. ^ USA Swimming (April 30, 2022). "Phillips 66 International Team Trials: Men's 50m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  27. ^ De George, Matthew (May 11, 2022). "Olympic Gold Medalist Bowe Becker Announces Retirement". Swimming World. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  28. ^ "TOKYO GOLD MEDALIST, BIG TEN RECORD HOLDER BOWE BECKER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT". SwimSwam. May 11, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Bowen Becker: Results". FINA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.

External links

2020 USA Olympic swimming team
Olympic champions in men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay
Categories