Breeja Larson (born April 16, 1992) was an American former competition swimmer for Texas A&M University[2] who specialized in the breaststroke, and earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[2]
Larson was born in Mesa, Arizona, one of seven sisters. She later moved to Boise, Idaho, where she attended Boise's Centennial High School for three years and graduated from Mountain View High School in Mesa, Arizona, in 2010. She swam for the Centennial Patriot and Mountain View Toros high school swim teams. As a senior, she was the state runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke. She also lettered in softball and track and field.[2][3]
At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Larson made the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by winning the 100-meter breaststroke in a time of 1:05.92, ahead of favorite Rebecca Soni.[7] At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she earned a gold medal by swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×100-meter medley relay.[8] At the final 100-meter breaststroke, Larson false started. However, it was determined there was a technical issue and she was allowed to compete. She finished in sixth place.
[3]