White committed to competing collegiately for the University of Alabama in 2017 and started swimming for the school in the autumn of 2018.[8] She currently attends and swims for the University of Alabama, where she is majoring in psychology.[2]
Swimming career
2016 US Olympic Trials
At the 2016 US Olympic Trials in swimming, White competed in two events. She finished in 18th place overall in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:12.36, and 61st overall with a time of 1:02.82 in the 100-meter backstroke.[9]
White was the only American swimmer to win a medal of any type, gold, silver, or bronze, at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, winning the bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:00.60.[6] With the one bronze medal White won, the United States tied with Egypt, Spain, and South Korea for 30th-place in the medal table for swimming at the 2018 Youth Olympics.[10]
White was the first swimmer from Utah to compete in an Olympic Games.[4][5] Her first race at an Olympic Games was in the prelims of the 100-meter backstroke where she swam a 59.02, ranked sixth overall, and advanced to the semifinals.[17] She advanced to the final from the semifinals where she swam a 58.46 and ranked fourth.[18] In the final, White swam a 58.43 and finished in fourth place less than half a second after the third place finisher and bronze medalist, American Regan Smith.[19][20]
On day six of competition, White tied for second overall in the prelims heats of the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:08.23 and advanced to the semifinals.[21][22] In the semifinals on day seven, White swam the third fastest time for both semifinal heats with a time of 2:07.28 and qualified for the final of the 200 meter backstroke the following day.[23][24][25] Later in the day, White swam the backstroke leg of the 4x100-meter medley relay, contributing to the relay ranking second for all prelims heats and qualifying for the final.[26]
In the morning on day eight, White placed fourth in the final of the 200-meter backstroke with her time of 2:06.39.[3][27][28]
On the ninth and final day, the finals relay of the 4x100-meter medley relay finished second and White won a silver medal for her swim as part of the prelims relay in the event.[3][29]
White entered to compete in three individual events, the 50-meter, 100-meter, and 200-meter backstroke, at the 2021 World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in December.[30] In the prelims heats of the 100-meter backstroke on day one, White advanced to the semifinals with a time of 56.76 seconds, which ranked her fifth overall.[31][32] She tied Kira Toussaint of the Netherlands for second-rank in the semifinals with a time of 56.05 seconds and qualified for the final.[33] On the second day of competition, White helped win a silver medal in the 4×50-meter medley relay with finals relay teammates Lydia Jacoby, Claire Curzan, and Abbey Weitzeil, contributing a 26.33 backstroke split to the final time of 1:43.61.[34][35] Later in the same session, White placed fifth in the final of the 100-meter backstroke with a 55.87.[36] The following morning, White swam a 2:04.08 in the prelims heats of the 200-meter backstroke and qualified for the final ranking second overall.[37] In the evening, White won the gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke with a 2:01.58.[38][39] White's win was her first world title and the first individual gold medal won by a swimmer from the University of Alabama swim program at a World Championships.[7] Day four, White decided not to swim the 50-meter backstroke.[40] She officially withdrew from competition alongside teammates MIchael Andrew and Michael Brinegar the same day.[41]
2022 Collegiate championships
2022 Southeastern Conference Championships
Day one of the 2022 Southeastern Conference Championships in February 2022, White helped win the 4×50 yard medley relay for the Alabama Crimson Tide in a time of 1:33.94 by splitting a 23.65 on the backstroke leg of the relay.[42][43] The relay's time of 1:33.94 set a new Southeastern Conference record.[42][44] The third day, she qualified for the final of the 100 yard butterfly with a rank of fourth and time of 51.76 in the prelims heats.[45] She placed second in the final with a 51.19, finishing 0.85 seconds after first-place finisher Ellen Walshe.[46] The next day, White advanced to the final of the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 51.08 seconds in the prelims heats.[47] In the final, she set a new pool record with her first-place time of 50.18 seconds.[48][49] Later in the session, she split a 50.44 on the backstroke leg of the 4×100 yard medley relay to help win in a time of 3:26.64.[48] On the fifth and final day, she ranked first in the prelims heats of the 200 yard backstroke with a 1:51.57.[50] She lowered her time to a 1:50.22 in the final to win the event by over half a second.[51]
2022 NCAA Championships
Starting off on the first day of the 2022 NCAA Championships, March 16, White swam a 23.35 for the backstroke portion of the 4×50 yard medley relay to help achieve a fourth-place finish in 1:33.29.[52] On the third day of competition, she qualified for the final of the 100 yard backstroke ranking fourth with a time of 50.65 seconds after qualifying for the b-final of the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 51.27 seconds that ranked her tenth overall.[53] Racing the events in the evening finals session, she placed second with a 50.85 in the b-final of the 100 yard butterfly and fourth in the 100 yard backstroke in 50.34 seconds.[54] In her third final of the day, White contributed to a sixth-place finish in the 4×100 yard medley relay, swimming the backstroke portion of the relay in 50.89 seconds.[55] The final day of competition, she qualified for the final of the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 1:50.36 in the prelims heats.[56] For the final, she swam a 1:49.36 and placed third.[57]
Physique
White's coach from when she competed at Cottonwood High School partially attributed White's speed to her ability to naturally hyperextend her knees in such a way that provided heightened mobility.[5]
United States
