Lea Maurer
Encyclopedia
Lea E. Loveless Maurer is an American college swimming coach and former college and international swimmer. She is currently the head coach of the Stanford University
women's swimming and diving team. A former backstroke swimmer from the United States
, she won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics
in Barcelona, Spain, swimming the backstroke leg of the 4x100-meter medley relay. She also won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke.
. Early in her career, she was coached by John Collins of the Badger Swim Club in Larchmont, New York
, a coach and team that also produced Olympic champions Rick Carey
and Cristina Teuscher
. She attended the University of Florida
in 1989 and 1990, where she swam for the Florida Gators swimming and diving team under coach Randy Reese
. She transferred to Stanford University
prior to the 1992 Olympics. In addition to her Olympic medals, she swam on three of Stanford's NCAA swimming championship
teams in 1992, 1993 and 1994. She also won three NCAA individual championships in the 100-meter backstroke and one in the 200-meter backstroke. She continued to compete on the USA National Team until 2000.
in Evanston, Illinois
. From 1995 to 2005, she coached the boys' and girls' swim teams at Lake Forest High School
in Lake Forest, Illinois
, during which time the girls' team won the state championship in 2002 and 2003, and the boys' team won the state championship in 2003.
In 2005, she was named head coach of the Stanford women's swimming and diving team. She was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
Maurer is a veteran celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America (SAA), a charitable organization that enlists former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research, and she has participated in three SAA events.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
women's swimming and diving team. A former backstroke swimmer from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, she won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
in Barcelona, Spain, swimming the backstroke leg of the 4x100-meter medley relay. She also won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke.
Swimming career
Maurer was born in Yonkers, New YorkYonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
. Early in her career, she was coached by John Collins of the Badger Swim Club in Larchmont, New York
Larchmont, New York
Larchmont is a village in Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,864 at the 2010 census. It is located within the town of Mamaroneck, on the shore of Long Island Sound, northeast of Midtown Manhattan...
, a coach and team that also produced Olympic champions Rick Carey
Rick Carey
Richard John Carey is a former American swimmer who specialized in the backstroke. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won three gold medals. He broke nine world records, five individually, and also was a double world champion...
and Cristina Teuscher
Cristina Teuscher
Cristina Teuscher is a former freestyle and medley swimmer from the United States, who was a member of the Women's Relay Team that won the gold medal in the 4x200m Freestyle a the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Her winning teammates were Jenny Thompson, Trina Jackson, and Sheila...
. She attended the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in 1989 and 1990, where she swam for the Florida Gators swimming and diving team under coach Randy Reese
Randy Reese
Randy Reese is an American college and Olympic swimming coach. Reese is best known for coaching the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams to four national championships, and coaching the winners of eighteen Olympic gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals...
. She transferred to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
prior to the 1992 Olympics. In addition to her Olympic medals, she swam on three of Stanford's NCAA swimming championship
NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
NCAA Team Championships for Women's Swimming and Diving-Division I:-See also:*AIAW Intercollegiate Women's Swimming and Diving Champions*List of college swimming and diving teams-References:*...
teams in 1992, 1993 and 1994. She also won three NCAA individual championships in the 100-meter backstroke and one in the 200-meter backstroke. She continued to compete on the USA National Team until 2000.
Coaching career
Following her retirement from competitive swimming, Loveless Maurer, who is married to fellow Stanford swimmer Erik Maurer, became an assistant swimming coach at Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
. From 1995 to 2005, she coached the boys' and girls' swim teams at Lake Forest High School
Lake Forest High School (Illinois)
Lake Forest High School, or LFHS, is a public four-year high school located in Lake Forest, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the only school of Lake Forest Community High School District 115, which serves the communities of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff,...
in Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...
, during which time the girls' team won the state championship in 2002 and 2003, and the boys' team won the state championship in 2003.
In 2005, she was named head coach of the Stanford women's swimming and diving team. She was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
Maurer is a veteran celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America (SAA), a charitable organization that enlists former Olympic swimmers to raise funds for cancer research, and she has participated in three SAA events.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of Stanford University people
- Stanford CardinalStanford CardinalThe Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...