Jenny Thompson

Dr. Jenny Thompson is an Olympic swimming legend and a respected anesthesiologist and surgeon at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. After graduating from medical school in 2006, Thompson transitioned into medicine following a decorated athletic career that made her one of the most accomplished female swimmers in Olympic history.

Thompson competed in four Olympic Games as a member of the U.S. swimming team, earning 12 medals—more than any other female swimmer at the time. Her eight Olympic gold medals all came in relay events: the 4x100-meter freestyle (1992, 1996, 2000), 4x200 freestyle (1996, 2000), and 4x100 medley (1992, 1996, 2000). She also won silver in the 100 freestyle in 1992 and bronze in the same event in 2000. At her final Games in Athens in 2004, she added two more silver medals in the 4x100 freestyle and 4x100 medley relays.

Thompson’s swimming career began at Stanford University, where she won a record 19 NCAA titles. She went on to become a dominant presence on the world stage, winning 31 medals—16 of them gold—at the World Swimming Championships. Unlike her Olympic achievements, many of her World titles came in individual events, including golds in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, and the 100 butterfly in 2003 in Barcelona. Between 1997 and 2004, she won eight individual golds at the Worlds across the 50, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly events.

She also set world records in both the 100 freestyle (54.48 in 1992) and the 100 butterfly, the fastest of which was 56.56 in Athens in 2000.

Though she no longer competes, Thompson remains proud of her accomplishments and credits her success to perseverance, dedication and the support of her family and friends. She volunteers with Swim Across America, a nonprofit that raises funds for cancer research, and continues to support the Olympic movement. In 2012, while 30 weeks pregnant, she traveled to London with her husband to cheer on Team USA at the Summer Games.