Larsen Jensen

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox swimmer

Larsen Alan Jensen (born September 1, 1985) is an American former competition swimmer and a two-time Olympic medalist.

Early lifeEdit

Larsen Jensen was born September 1, 1985, in Bakersfield, California and learned to swim in a backyard pool from his mother Barbara, a former distance freestyler who nearly made the Olympics. He attended Bakersfield's Garces Memorial High School, and trained and competed for Bakersfield Swim Club under Coach Jim Richey. He swam as part of his High School team only in his Freshman and Senior years, as rules restricted club swimmers from swimming with their High School teams. He began swimming with the Mission Viejo Nadadores under Head Coach Bill Rose in the summer prior to his High School Senior year.<ref name=TU/><ref name=MV/>

Jensen made the finals in the 2002 Winter nationals in the 800-meter freestyle. At the Pan Pacific Championships in Yokohama, Japan in August 2002, Jenson broke the American record for the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 7:52.45, finishing second and earned a bronze in the 1500-meter freestyle.<ref name=MV>Arritt, Dan, "Mission Viejo Set for Another Run", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, March 15, 2003, pg. 57</ref><ref name=TU>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

At the 2003 World Championships, Jensen earned a silver medal in the 800-meter freestyle, his first medal at the international level.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Beginning in the Fall of 2003, Jenson attended and swam for the University of Southern California under Hall of Fame Coach Mark Schubert.<ref name=TU/><ref name=Olympedia>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As a Senior at USC, at the March, 2007 NCAA championships, Larson set a USC record swimming the 500 freestyle in 4:09.80, though he fell short of the U.S. record.<ref>"Swimming, NCAA Championships", The Desert Sun, March 16, 2007, pg. 51</ref>

Olympics, 2004-8Edit

After completing his first year at USC, Jenson placed second in the July, 2004 Olympic trials in Long Beach in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:46.56 earning a spot on the U.S. team.<ref>"World Record for Phelps", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, July 8, 2004, pg. 45</ref> Having benefitted from the distance training, a specialty of Bill Rose and the Nadadores, he placed first in the trial finals of the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 14:56.71.<ref>"Swimming, U.S. Olympic Trials", Albuquerque Tribune, July 15, 2004, pg. 28</ref>

He competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning silver in the 1,500-meter freestyle, while setting a new American record of 14:45.29. He also competed in the 400-meter freestyle, where he finished fourth.<ref name="SR">Template:Cite Sports-Reference</ref>

Four years later, having graduated USC, Jenson competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he won the bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:42.78, who moved into third place near the end of the race. Jenson placed fifth in the 1,500-meter freestyle with a time of 14:48.16 with Oussama Mellouli of Tunesia taking the gold in an upset win.<ref name=Olympedia/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, he won silver medals in the 800 and 1,500-meter freestyle races.<ref name=SR/> Jensen completed his degree in political science with a minor in business at the University of Southern California in 2007.<ref name=SR/>

Jensen has been an American record holder in the 400-meter freestyle and a former American record holder in the 1,500-meter freestyle.<ref name=SR/>

Post-swimming careersEdit

After Jensen's swimming career ended, he took a career in the military enlisting in the United States Navy and completing Officer Candidate School in 2009 eventually gaining a commission as an Ensign. He trained for two years to receive his SEAL trident, and completed several tours in Afghanistan and other combat areas, serving as a SEAL from 2009 to 2014.<ref name=SR/> Larsen married his wife Emily in July, 2013.<ref name=TU/>

Following his retirement from the military, Larsen enrolled into Stanford Graduate School of Business and obtained an MBA.

Personal bests (long course)Edit

Event	Time	Date
400 m freestyle	3:42.78	August 10, 2008
1500 m freestyle	14:45.29	August 21, 2004

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

Template:Footer USA Swimming 2004 Summer Olympics Template:Footer USA Swimming 2008 Summer Olympics