Kira Marije Toussaint (born 22 May 1994) is a Dutch competitive swimmer who specialises in backstroke.[3] She is the former world record holder in the short course 50 metre backstroke[4] and the Dutch record holder in the long course 50 metre backstroke and 100 metre backstroke, and the short course 50 metre, 100 metre, and 200 metre backstroke. She also holds the European record in the long course and short course 50 metre backstroke. At the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup, Toussaint placed second overall for a competitor of any gender in terms of total points scored and earned 11 gold medals.[5][6]
 Toussaint (right) in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| National team | Netherlands |
| Born | 22 May 1994 Amstelveen, Netherlands[1] |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) [2] |
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) [2] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Backstroke, freestyle |
| College team | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Tennessee Volunteers |
Medal record | |
Career
edit2012 European Short Course Championships
editIn the semifinals of the 2012 European Short Course Championships in Chartres, France, she broke the Dutch record in the 100 meter backstroke (short course) with a time of 57.16 s.[7] She finished 4th in the final.
2016 Summer Olympics
editToussaint qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the 100 meter backstroke.[8] Her time of 1:00.25 exactly matched the Olympic Qualifying Time.[9] She finished 18th in the heats and did not advance to the semifinals.
2018–2020
editIn December 2019, Toussaint was found innocent and that no anti-doping rule violation had occurred following an investigation by FINA of one of her doping test sample results from 2 November 2018.[10] FINA had earlier dropped its accusations against Toussaint in March 2019.[11][12]
International Swimming League
editIn 2019 she was member[13] of the 2019 International Swimming League representing Team Iron. She finished second in both the 50 and the 100 backstroke in London. In 2020 International Swimming League she represented London Roar.
2021 Swimming World Cup
editToussaint competed in the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup, where she earned a total of 11 medals, all of which were gold medals.[14] Her performances across all four stops of the World Cup circuit were dominant enough for her to place second overall in terms of total points scored by a competitor, male or female, for all four stops, a total of 227.4 points, and she earned $103,500 of prize money.[15] FINA ranked the accomplishment of Toussaint winning a gold medal in every backstroke event she raced in the month-long World Cup competition as their number six moment from the competition.[16]
Personal life
editToussaint is the daughter of Jolanda de Rover,[3] the Olympic gold medalist in the 200 meter backstroke at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Personal bests
edit
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Awards and honours
editReferences
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kira Toussaint". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
- ^ a b "ESPN" Profile. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ a b "Kira Toussaint". Tennessee Volunteers – Swimming & Diving. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Toussaint breaks 50m backstroke world record as London Roar and Energy Standard dominate first ISL semi-final". Inside The Game. November 14, 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ "THE SWIMMERS WITH THE MOST MEDALS AT THE 2021 FINA WORLD CUP". SwimSwam. November 1, 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ "arena renews contract of Dutch backstroke champion Kira Toussaint". arena. February 10, 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ "Women's 100m Backstroke Semifinal Results". Omega Timing. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ Race, Loretta (12 July 2016). "Kromowidjojo, Dekker, Verschuren Among 17-Strong Dutch Olympic Roster". Swimswam. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Jared (7 April 2016). "Toussaint Hits 'A' Cut Dead-On To Join Dutch Olympic Qualifiers On Day 2". Swimswam. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ Race, Retta (12 January 2020). "FINA Officially Releases Case Conclusion On Cleared Swimmer Kira Toussaint". SwimSwam. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ D'Addona, Dan (12 March 2019). "Kira Toussaint Has FINA Doping Case Against Her Dropped". Swimming World. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Race, Retta (12 March 2019). "FINA Withdraws Doping Case Against Kira Toussaint". SwimSwam. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Dutch Record Holder Kira Toussaint Will Join Iron for European Derby". SwimSwam. 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ Takata, Daniel (1 November 2021). "The Swimmers With The Most Medals At The 2021 FINA World Cup". SwimSwam. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Dornan, Ben (31 October 2021). "McKeon, Sates, Toussaint, Shields Earn Over $100K From FINA 2021 World Cup". SwimSwam. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Swimming World Cup: Top 10 Moments". FINA. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Kira Toussaint Personal Records". swimrankings.net. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
External links
edit
- Kira Toussaint at World Aquatics
- Kira Toussaint at SwimRankings.net
- Kira Toussaint at the International Swimming League
- Kira Toussaint at Olympics.com
- Kira Toussaint at Olympedia
- Kira Toussaint at TeamNL (archive) (in Dutch)
