The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Bispo wins gold for Team USA at FINA World Championships
08.01.2013 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Texas-Ex Karlee Bispo is UT’s first women’s swimmer to win gold at the World Championships in 22 years.
BARCELONA, Spain – Former University of Texas women's swimmer Karlee Bispo helped the United States to a gold medal in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay Thursday at the FINA World Championships.
Bispo joined Katie Ledecky, Shannon Vreeland and Missy Franklin to win gold for the United States in 7 minutes, 45.14 seconds. Australia won silver in 7:47.08 while France won the bronze in 7:48.43.
Bispo swam the third leg of the USA's relay in 1:57.58. The former All-American and Big 12 Swimmer of the Year earned her spot on the relay after posting a team-best 1:57.74 relay split in the preliminary round.
"It feels amazing (to win gold)," Bispo said. "I feel so fortunate. I could not be more honored to represent my country and stand with these three amazing girls and be a part of this relay. It feels like a lot of hard work has paid off, and I'm really happy to be here."
In her first FINA World Championships appearance, Bispo becomes the first women's swimmer with UT connections to win gold at the World Championships since 1991, when Julie Cooper won gold in the 400m freestyle relay.
The Modesto, Calif., native is the first UT women's swimmer to medal at the World Championships since 2001, when Colleen Lanné, Erin Phenix and Tammie Spatz-Stone won silver for the U.S. in the 400m freestyle relay.