Content:

1. Early Life and Education
2. College Career
3. Competitive Career
4. 2016 Summer Olympics
5. 2017

Early Life and Education

Caitlyn Baker, an American swimmer, was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She attended Forsyth Country Day School until the tenth grade, then homeschooled herself to have the flexibility to travel between Winston-Salem and Charlotte for swimming and training with SwimMAC Carolina. Baker's mother was a college swimmer at Charleston, and her older sister Rachel currently swims for Washington and Lee University. In 2010, Baker was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

College Career

Baker competes for the California Golden Bears swimming and diving team at the University of California, Berkeley.

Competitive Career

2014-2015

At the Phillips 66 Nationals, which served as the qualification meet for the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, Baker placed second in the 200-meter backstroke, earning her a spot on the team. She finished ninth in the 200-meter backstroke at the Games, missing the final.

Baker also qualified to compete in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2015 World Championships. She placed eighth in the final. She also swam in the preliminary heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay, but did not receive a medal because the Americans finished fourth in the final.

2016 Summer Olympics

At the 2016 Olympic Trials, Baker qualified for her first Olympic Games in the 100-meter backstroke, finishing second with a time of 59.29. In Rio, she won the silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 58.75, three-tenths of a second behind winner Katinka Hosszú. Many did not consider her a medal favorite since she had never swum under 59 seconds prior to the Olympics. Baker also won the gold medal as part of the 4×100-meter medley relay team with Lilly King, Dana Vollmer, and Simone Manuel.

2017

At the 2017 World Championships, Baker won three medals. She earned silver in the 100-meter backstroke, bronze in the 200-meter backstroke, and gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Although she did not medal in the 50-meter backstroke, Baker broke Natalie Coughlin's American record in the semifinals with a time of 27.48. Baker swam the opening leg of the women's 4×100-meter medley relay, which the United States won with a time of 3:51.55. Baker, Lilly King, Kelsi Worrell, and Simone Manuel broke the 2012 world record of 3:52.05 set by Missy Franklin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer, and Allison Schmitt.

Swimming