The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2014
- Class:
- 2002
A four-time NCAA champion, 22-time All-American and an Olympic silver medalist, Colleen Lanné Cox is one of the premier sprint freestyle swimmers in school history. As a freshman in 1997-98, she claimed All-America honors in the 200 and 800 freestyle relays and added honorable mention All-America accolades in the 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and the 100 freestyle. Lanné Cox also won Big 12 titles in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and the 200 medley relay as a freshman. In her sophomore season (1998-99), she earned honorable mention All-America honors in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and the 400 medley relay. Lanné Cox helped the Longhorns win their first Big 12 Conference team championship in 1999, leading UT to wins in the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 medley relay. In her final two years in Austin, Lanné Cox emerged as one of the nation’s elite freestyle swimmers and earned the maximum of seven All-America honors in both her junior and senior seasons. As a junior (1999-2000), she earned individual All-America honors in the 50 and 100 freestyle events in addition to All-America accolades in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays and added honorable mention All-America selections in the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relay. Lanné Cox helped UT to its second straight Big 12 team title in 2000 and was selected as the Big 12 Swimmer of the Year after sweeping the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events at the Big 12 Championships. In her senior season (2000-01), Lanné Cox ascended to the pinnacle of collegiate swimming and became the third Longhorn ever to sweep the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events at the NCAA Championships. She also helped Texas to national titles in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and posted a NCAA runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle. Lanné Cox added All-America honors in the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays and led the team to a third-place finish at the 2001 NCAA Championships. At the conference level, she claimed Big 12 Swimmer of the Year honors for the second straight year while leading the Longhorns to their third consecutive Big 12 team title and completed her career as a 19-time Big 12 champion. For her accomplishments, she was one of four finalists for the 2000-01 Honda Sports Award, given annually to the nation’s Outstanding Collegiate Swimmer of the Year. Lanné Cox left college as the Big 12 and Big 12 meet record holder in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events. In addition to her success in the pool, she also was a four-time Academic All-Big 12 Team selection (first team in 1998, 2000 and 2001, honorable mention in 1999). She earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations in 2002. On the international level, Lanné Cox earned a silver medal for the United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 400-meter freestyle relay by swimming in the prelims of the event. A U.S. Open and American record holder in the 100-meter freestyle, she won silver in the 200-meter freestyle as well as gold in the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter free relays at the 2003 Pan American Games. Lanné Cox also was a silver medalist in the 4x200-meter free relay at the FINA Short Course World Championships. She and her husband, John Cox, reside in Austin with their two sons, Rowan and Rhett. A full-time mother, Lanné Cox still works with the Longhorn Swim Camp each summer.
