Jump to content

Randall Bal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dirtlawyer1 (talk | contribs) at 12:56, 29 September 2012 (External links: edit persondata and categories). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Randall Bal
Bal in 2008.
Personal information
Full nameRandall Bal
NicknameTurbo
Nationality United States
Born (1980-11-14) November 14, 1980 (age 44)
Fair Oaks, California
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke
College teamStanford University
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the  United States
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2001 Fukuoka 50 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place 2003 Barcelona 4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2005 Montreal 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2003 Barcelona 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2005 Montreal 100 m backstroke
World Championships (SC)
Silver medal – second place 2006 Shanghai 4x100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2008 Manchester 100 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 2008 Manchester 4x100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Shanghai 100 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Shanghai 4x100 m freestyle
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio 100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio 4x100 m medley
Pan Pacific Championships
Silver medal – second place 2002 Yokohama 100 m backstroke

Randall Bal (born November 14, 1980) is an American swimmer who specializes in the backstroke. He is a former world record holder in the 50-meter backstroke (long and short course).

He has won a total of thirteen medals in major international competition, five golds, six silvers, and two bronze spanning the World Championships, the Pan American Games, and the Pan Pacific Championships.

Personal

Bal was born in Fair Oaks, California in 1980, the son of Adrian and Carol Bal. His younger sister, Tamara, swam at UCLA. Bal attended Bella Vista High School where he graduated in 1999. From there, he swam for Stanford University, class of 2003, and graduated with a degree in psychology.

Swimming career

At the 2008 FINA Short Course World Championships in Manchester, he took the silver medal in the 100 Back, but he finished a surprising sixth (his PB would have won the event) in the 50 Back. He won another silver on the medley relay. He was the top qualifier in the 100 Back at the 2008 Olympic Trials, in both the preliminaries and semi-finals, with the then-third fastest time ever in the semis (53.09), but he faded to fourth in the finals, finishing behind Aaron Peirsol, who set a new World Record of 52.89, Matt Grevers, and Ryan Lochte. In 2008 Randall broke both the World Record (24.33 LCM & 22.87 SCM) in the 50 backstroke and missed the 100 LCM backstroke World Record by .04 of a second. He is currently training in northern California.

See also

References

Records
Preceded by Men's 50 metre backstroke
world record holder (short course)

November 15, 2008 – October 17, 2009
Succeeded by

United States Peter Marshall
Preceded by Men's 50 metre backstroke
world record holder (long course)

December 5, 2008 – August 1, 2009
Succeeded by

United Kingdom Liam Tancock
Sporting positions
Preceded by Male World Cup Overall Winner
2007
Succeeded by

Template:Persondata