Leila Vaziri
Encyclopedia
Leila Vaziri is an Iranian American swimmer and former world record holder in the 50 m backstroke.
. She was 2005 Big Ten Champion in the 100 yard backstroke and the 2007 NCAA bronze medalist in the 100 yard backstroke. Vaziri earned 15 All-America certificates during her Hoosier career, the most in school history, and was the 2007 Indiana University Female Athlete of the Year.
Leila won the 100m backstroke at the US National Championships in 2006, earning a spot at the Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, British Columbia
. After turning in the second-fastest time in the nation, she earning a spot on the U.S. World Championship Team.
held in Melbourne
, Vaziri won a gold medal in the 50 meter backstroke and earned a silver medal by swimming the 100 back in the heats of the 4x100 meter medley relay. Going into the final of the 50 m backstroke, Vaziri was the clear favorite for gold. In the heats of the 50 m backstroke, Vaziri broke Natalie Coughlin
's Championship record of 28.30 with a time of 28.25 establishing a new American Record. In the semifinals of the 50 m backstroke, she broke Janine Pietsch
's world record of 28.19 with a time of 28.16. In the final of the 50 m backstroke, she equalled her own world record en route to winning gold.
Vaziri came short of making the 2008 USA Olympic Swimming Team when she finished in 7th place in the final of the 100 m backstroke at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
father and a mother of German
ancestry.
Collegiate career
Vaziri completed her collegiate swimming career at Indiana UniversityIndiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. She was 2005 Big Ten Champion in the 100 yard backstroke and the 2007 NCAA bronze medalist in the 100 yard backstroke. Vaziri earned 15 All-America certificates during her Hoosier career, the most in school history, and was the 2007 Indiana University Female Athlete of the Year.
Leila won the 100m backstroke at the US National Championships in 2006, earning a spot at the Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. After turning in the second-fastest time in the nation, she earning a spot on the U.S. World Championship Team.
Professional Career
At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships2007 World Aquatics Championships
The 2007 World Aquatics Championships or the XII FINA World Championships were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007...
held in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Vaziri won a gold medal in the 50 meter backstroke and earned a silver medal by swimming the 100 back in the heats of the 4x100 meter medley relay. Going into the final of the 50 m backstroke, Vaziri was the clear favorite for gold. In the heats of the 50 m backstroke, Vaziri broke Natalie Coughlin
Natalie Coughlin
Natalie Anne Coughlin is an American swimmer and eleven-time Olympic medallist.At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Coughlin became the first American female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympics and the first woman ever to win a 100 m backstroke gold in two consecutive...
's Championship record of 28.30 with a time of 28.25 establishing a new American Record. In the semifinals of the 50 m backstroke, she broke Janine Pietsch
Janine Pietsch
Janine Pietsch is a German backstroke swimmer. In the course of her career, she competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, won two gold medals on the short course at the 2006 FINA World Swimming Championships, and four European gold medals.-2001–2005:Pietsch's first success on an...
's world record of 28.19 with a time of 28.16. In the final of the 50 m backstroke, she equalled her own world record en route to winning gold.
Vaziri came short of making the 2008 USA Olympic Swimming Team when she finished in 7th place in the final of the 100 m backstroke at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Personal
She has an IranianIranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
father and a mother of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
ancestry.