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Larsen Jensen

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Larsen Jensen
President George W. Bush and Laura Bush with Larsen Jensen and Michael Phelps
Personal information
Full nameLarsen Alan Jensen
Nickname"Larjo"
National team United States
Born (1985-09-01) September 1, 1985 (age 39)
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight194 lb (88 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubMission Viejo Nadadores
College teamUniversity of Southern California
CoachBill Rose (Mission Viejo)
Mark Schubert (USC)
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens 1500 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing 400 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal – second place 2003 Barcelona 800 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2005 Montreal 800 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2005 Montreal 1500 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Shanghai 4×200 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Silver medal – second place 2002 Yokohama 800 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Yokohama 1500 m freestyle

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

Early life

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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.[1][2]

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.[2][1]

At the 2003 World Championships, Jensen earned a silver medal in the 800-meter freestyle, his first medal at the international level.[3]

Beginning in the Fall of 2003, Jenson attended and swam for the University of Southern California under Hall of Fame Coach Mark Schubert.[1][4]

Olympics, 2004-8

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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.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

Four years later, Jenson competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he won the bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, and placed fifth in the 1,500-meter freestyle.[8]

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, he won silver medals in the 800 and 1,500-meter freestyle races.[7] Jensen completed his degree in political science with a minor in business at the University of Southern California in 2007.[7]

Jensen is the current American record holder in the 400-meter freestyle and former American record holder in the 1,500-meter freestyle.[7]

Post-swimming careers

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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.[7] Larsen married his wife Emily in July, 2013.[1]

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

Personal bests (long course)

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d https://www.teamunify.com/lscnes/UserFiles/File/larsen-jensen-1.pdf%7Ctitle=TeamUnify, Larsen Jensen|website=teamunify.com|access-date=March 25, 2025}}
  2. ^ a b Arritt, Dan, "Mission Viejo Set for Another Run", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, March 15, 2003, pg. 57
  3. ^ "Silver for Thorpe as Phelps takes records". The Age. Melbourne. July 27, 2003. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  4. ^ "Larsen Jensen". Olympedia Biography, Larsen Jensen. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  5. ^ "World Record for Phelps", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, July 8, 2004, pg. 45
  6. ^ "Swimming, U.S. Olympic Trials", Albuquerque Tribune, July 15, 2004, pg. 28
  7. ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Larsen Jensen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
  8. ^ Jonathan Sanfilippo (August 8, 2008). "Park Makes History". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
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