The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2026
- Class:
- 2008
A two-time NCAA champion, 19-time Big 12 Conference champion, three-time Big 12 Swimmer of the Year, 23-time All-American and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Garrett Weber-Gale is one of the top sprint freestyle competitors in program history. Weber-Gale broke four World Records and set eight American Records during his remarkable swimming career. During his four seasons on the Forty Acres, he led the Longhorns to four consecutive Big 12 Conference team titles and four-straight top-seven finishes at the NCAA Championship. Prior to enrolling at Texas, the Stevens Point, Wisconsin native captured the 100-meter freestyle title at the 2003 Under-18 U.S. Spring Nationals and was a member of the winning 400-meter freestyle relay teams at the 2002 U.S. Open and the 2003 U.S. National Championship. Weber-Gale also set the national public high school record in the 100-yard freestyle with his time of 43.49 seconds while competing for Nicolet High School in February 2003. As a freshman in 2003-04, he earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year accolades. Weber-Gale was a member of the victorious 400 freestyle relay while adding runner-up finishes at the Big 12 Championship meet in the 200 freestyle and the 200 freestyle relay in addition to a fourth-place result in the 50 freestyle. He paced the Longhorns to a third-place team finish at the 2004 NCAA Championship by recording a 47.66 anchor split on the NCAA Champion 400-meter medley relay that set a World, American, U.S. Open, NCAA and school record with a time of 3:25.38. Weber-Gale also helped the 200 medley relay place second, the 200 freestyle relay finish fourth and the 800 freestyle relay place seventh in addition to earning a 14th-place result in the 100 freestyle at the national meet. In the summer of 2004, he claimed his first career individual national title by winning the 100-meter freestyle (49.91) at the ConocoPhillips National Championships. Weber-Gale also was a member of the winning 400-meter freestyle relay and placed second in the 200-meter freestyle at U.S. Nationals. At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, he finished seventh in the 100-meter freestyle and missed qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team by just 23-hundredths of a second. During his sophomore campaign in 2004-05, Weber-Gale earned Big 12 Championship Swimmer of the Meet recognition by winning six event titles at the league’s championship meet. He swept the 50 and 100 freestyle individual crowns and swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle and 400 medley relay squads, while also earning a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle. The Big 12 Swimmer of the Year, Weber-Gale helped the Longhorns to a seventh-place team finish at the 2005 NCAA Championship. He finished eighth in the 50 freestyle and earned All-America accolades with the 200 freestyle relay along with honorable mention All-America honors in the 100 and 200 freestyle, the 400 freestyle relay and the 800 freestyle relay. Weber-Gale was a member of the 2005 U.S. World Championship team and claimed a gold medal with the 400-meter freestyle relay. As a junior in 2005-06, he again claimed Big 12 Championship Swimmer of the Meet honors by winning five event titles with a trio of individual victories in the 50 and 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke along with the 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay teams. Once again tabbed Big 12 Swimmer of the Year, Weber-Gale capped his junior season by winning the NCAA individual title in the 100 freestyle in a school-record time of 42.11 and helped the Longhorns record a fourth-place team finish at the 2006 NCAA Championship. He added All-America honors at the national meet in the 400 freestyle relay (third), 200 freestyle relay (fifth), 400 medley relay (fifth), 200 medley relay (fifth) and 50 freestyle (seventh) in addition to honorable mention All-America accolades in the 100 backstroke (ninth). During his senior season in 2006-07, Weber-Gale claimed Big 12 Swimmer of the Year recognition for the third consecutive season. He won a total of seven event titles at the Big 12 Championship meet with individual victories in the 50 and 100 freestyle (third-straight league title in the 100 free) in addition to wins in the 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay. Weber-Gale concluded his collegiate career by leading the Longhorns to a fifth-place team finish at the 2007 NCAA Championship. He earned All-America accolades at the national meet in the 400 medley relay (second), 100 free (third), 200 freestyle relay (fifth) and 400 freestyle relay (fifth) along with honorable mention All-America honors in the 100 back (11th). Weber-Gale earned his bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications from The University of Texas in 2008. At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, he won the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle while setting American records in both events to earn his spot on Team USA. Weber-Gale became the first American to break the 48-second barrier in the 100-meter freestyle during the preliminaries of the Olympic Trials with his time of 47.78. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Weber-Gale earned a pair of gold medals by swimming on the winning 400-meter freestyle relay and 400-meter medley relay squads. He also placed 13th in the 100-meter freestyle and 14th in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2008 Olympics. The gold medal-winning 400-meter freestyle relay claimed the “Best Moment” at the 2009 ESPY Awards for their dramatic victory over the favored French team. Weber-Gale won a total of nine medals, including eight gold and one bronze, at the World Championships throughout his career across both long-course and short-course events between 2005 and 2012. He also served as Team USA’s flag bearer at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, where he won gold medals in both the 50 and 100-meter freestyle events. Following his swimming career, Weber-Gale transitioned into a successful entrepreneur who launched health and fitness initiatives, served as CEO at the Acton School of Business, worked as partner and COO of Campground Booking, and co-founded Discover Term and Gather Campgrounds. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 and was honored as a recipient of the 2022 Frank Erwin Award, an accolade recognizing outstanding individual achievement and contributions to Texas Swimming and Diving. Weber-Gale currently lives in Austin with his two children, Gideon and Elodie, and is writing a book on how to raise a young athlete.