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Markus Thormeyer

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Markus Thormeyer
Thormeyer in 2021
Personal information
National team Canada
Born (1997-08-25) August 25, 1997 (age 27)
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight90 kg (200 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke, Freestyle
ClubHigh Performance Centre-Vancouver, Winskill Dolphins Swim Club
College teamUniversity of British Columbia
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Canada
World Championships (LC)
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Budapest 4x100 m mixed freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Windsor 4x50 m mixed freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 100 metre backstroke
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2015 Toronto 4x100 m freestyle relay
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Singapore 4×100 m mixed freestyle
Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Maui 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Maui 100 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Maui 200 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Maui 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Maui 4×100 m medley

Markus Thormeyer (born August 25, 1997) is a Canadian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle and backstroke. Originally from Delta, Thormeyer moved in 2015 to Vancouver, British Columbia after graduating high school to train with the High Performance Centre-Vancouver. While he swims he is also pursuing an undergraduate degree in environmental science at the University of British Columbia.[1][2]

Career

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Thormeyer began swimming at the age of 10 for the Markham Aquatic Club in Markham, Ontario but moved across the country to Delta, British Columbia shortly after he started. He continued to swim competitively under the Winskill Dolphins Swim Club through to his high school graduation.

2013–2016

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As an age-group swimmer, Thormeyer made a name for himself on the Canadian swimming scene. At 15 he competed at the 2013 Canada Summer Games for Team British Columbia, where he earned a bronze in the men's 100m backstroke. He also represented Canada multiple times on the junior international stage, being the youngest male on Canada's team at the 2013 World Junior Swimming Championships and winning five bronze medals at the 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.[3] These accomplishments earned him the Delta Sport's Hall of Fame 2014 Youth Athlete of the Year and the Sport BC Junior Male Athlete of the Year in 2016.[4][5]

It was not until 2015 when Thormeyer made his first senior international appearance at the 2015 Pan American Games where he won a silver as a part of the 4x100 m freestyle relay.[6] Later that summer at the 2015 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, Thormeyer went along to win gold while also setting a new world junior record with Penny Oleksiak, Taylor Ruck, and Javier Acevedo on Canada's mixed 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.

After winning a gold and two bronzes at the Canadian Olympic Trials in 2016, he was named to Canada's Olympic team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[7] Thormeyer swam the third leg of the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay which qualified for the final in fifth place, but ultimately placed seventh overall in the final. Later that year in December, Thormeyer won a bronze medal as part of Canada's 4x50m mixed freestyle event alongside Sandrine Mainville, Michelle Toro, and Yuri Kisil at the World Short Course Championships in Windsor, Ontario.

2017–2021

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Thormeyer was also a part of the University of British Columbia varsity swim team. Winning multiple individual events and contributing as a key swimmer for the relays earned him the title of both U Sports Rookie of the Year and UBC Thunderbirds Rookie of the Year in his first year on the collegiate stage.[8] As part of the Thunderbirds, he contributing to multiple Canada West Championship titles and U Sport Championship national titles.[9]

In April 2017, Thormeyer was named to Canada's 2017 World Aquatics Championships team in Budapest, Hungary, where he contributed to a bronze medal for Canada in the 4 × 100 m mixed freestyle relay.[10][11] He also was named to the Canada's 2017 Summer Universiade team and competed at the games that summer in TaiPei City, Taiwan.[12]

In September 2017, Thormeyer was named to Canada's 2018 Commonwealth Games team.[13][14] Thormeyer won a bronze medal in the 100 metre backstroke event. Competing backstroke for the first time on the international senior stage, he qualified for the final in second place with a significant best time. In the final however, he was edged out of silver by tenths of a second, taking the bronze.[15]

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 Summer Olympics being delayed by a year, as well as causing significant disruptions in Thormeyer's training. He was out of the pool for four months in the spring and early summer of 2020. Competing in the International Swimming League in the fall provided some relief from these conditions.[16] In June 2021, Thormeyer was named to Canada's Olympic team.[17][18][19]

He placed nineteenth in the heats of the 100 m backstroke and did not advance, but made it to the semi-finals of the 200 m backstroke, placing sixteenth in both the heats and the semi-finals.[20] Notably, Thormeyer was part of Canada's team in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, who unexpectedly finished in fourth place despite not having been favoured to make the event final.[21]

Personal bests

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As of August 2021
Long course
Event Time Meet Date Note(s)
100 m freestyle 48.71 2019 U Sports Odlum Brown Swimming Championships 23 February 2019
200 m freestyle 1:47.66 2018 Canadian Swimming Trials, Kinsmen Sports Centre, Edmonton 18 July 2018
100 m backstroke 53.35 2019 Canadian Swimming Trials 3 April 2019
200 m backstroke 1:56.96 2019 World Aquatics Championships 25 July 2019

Personal life

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Thormeyer came out as gay in late 2019.[22][23][24]

References

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  1. ^ "Markus Thormeyer". Team Canada - Official 2018 Olympic Team Website. 2015-04-10. Archived from the original on 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  2. ^ "The University of British Columbia Athletics". gothunderbirds.ca. Archived from the original on 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  3. ^ "Markus Thormeyer". Swimming Canada. Archived from the original on 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  4. ^ "Markus Thormeyer | Delta Sports Hall of Fame". www.deltasportshalloffame.ca. Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  5. ^ "Past Recipients - Sport BC". sportbc.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  6. ^ "Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games profile". Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  7. ^ "Olympic Team Nominated for Rio 2016". Swimming Canada. 10 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  8. ^ "The 2017 Big Block Award Winners are... - The University of British Columbia". University of British Columbia. 5 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-05-06. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  9. ^ "Championship recap Day 3: T-Birds sweep national banners for second straight season". U SPORTS. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  10. ^ Sutherland, James (9 April 2017). "Canada To Send 26 Pool, 6 Open Water Swimmers To World Championships". www.swimswam.com. Swim Swam. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Sydney Pickrem Sets Canadian Record, Team Canada Named on Exciting Final Night at Trials". www.swimming.ca/. Swimming Canada. 9 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Meet the Canadians leading the Summer Universiade medal charge | CBC Sports". CBC. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  13. ^ "Swimming Canada Nominates 26 Athletes to Canada's 2018 Commonwealth Games Team". www.swimming.ca/. Swimming Canada. 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Oleksiak, Masse headline Canadian swim team for Commonwealth Games". www.cbc.ca/. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Markus Thormeyer reaches new heights with bronze at Commonwealth Games". Swimming Canada. 2018-04-06. Archived from the original on 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  16. ^ De George, Matthew (May 10, 2021). "Olympic Spot in Hand, Markus Thormeyer Chasing More at Canadian Trials". Swimming World. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "26 athletes nominated to Canada's Olympic swimming team". www.cbc.ca/. CBC Sports. 24 June 2021. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Canada's Tokyo 2020 Swimming Team Announced". www.swimming.ca/. Swimming Canada. 24 June 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  19. ^ Nichols, Paula (24 June 2021). "Team Canada to have 26 swimmers at Tokyo 2020". www.olympic.ca/. Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  20. ^ Harrison, Doug (July 25, 2021). "Kylie Masse loses Olympic backstroke record minutes after winning heat". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  21. ^ De George, Matthew (August 5, 2021). "With Brent Hayden Leading, Youthful Canadian Men's Program Shows Promise in Tokyo". Swimming World. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  22. ^ "Olympic swimmer performed at his peak after coming out as gay". Outsports. 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  23. ^ "Olympic swimmer Markus Thormeyer comes out as gay in emotional essay". GAY TIMES. 2020-02-20. Archived from the original on 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  24. ^ "Olympic Swimmer Markus Thormeyer Comes Out as Gay". www.out.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
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