Summer Sanders

{{Infobox swimmer

| name = Summer Sanders

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|OLY|size=100%}}

| image = Summer Sanders (3649389347).jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Sanders in 2009

| fullname = Summer Elisabeth Sanders

| nicknames =

| national_team = {{USA}}

| strokes = Butterfly, individual medley

| club = California Capital Aquatics

| collegeteam = Stanford University

| coach = Richard Quick
UT

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|10|13}}

| birth_place = Roseville, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = 5 ft 9 in

| weight = 126 lb

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCount|total=yes

|Olympic Games|2|1|1

|World Championships (LC)|1|1|1

|Pan Pacific Championships|3|1|0

}}

{{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}}

File:Olympic rings.svg

{{MedalGold|{{GamesName|SOG|1992|Swimming}}|200 m butterfly}}

{{MedalGold|{{GamesName|SOG|1992|Swimming}}|4x100 m medley}}

{{MedalSilver|{{GamesName|SOG|1992|Swimming}}|200 m medley}}

{{MedalBronze|{{GamesName|SOG|1992|Swimming}}|400 m medley}}

}}

Summer Elizabeth SandersBurton, Bruce (July 9, 1998). "Success is driving force for Summer". The Sacramento Bee. p. 1B, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee/139828660/ 7B]. Retrieved January 29, 2024. (born October 13, 1972){{Cite news|title=Biofile: Summer Sanders, Swimmer|author=|date=July 27, 1992|work=New York Daily News|page=47|quote=Height: 5-9½. Weight: 137. Born: Oct. 13, 1972 in Roseville, Calif. Interesting fact: 'I was born on Friday, the 13th.'|id={{ProQuest|2320367270}}}} is an American sports commentator, reporter, television personality, actress, former competition swimmer and Olympic champion from 1992.

Early life

Sanders was born in Roseville, California, and attended Cavitt Junior High School and Oakmont High School.

Swimming career

By age three, Sanders could swim a lap of the pool. She wanted to be just like her older brother Trevor, so in 1976 she joined the Sugar Bears—an age-group swimming program in Roseville, California, coached by Mike Barsotti, Scott Winter and Scott O'Conner. From there she jumped to the Sierra Aquatic Club with coach Ralph Thomas, and finally to California Capital Aquatics under coach Mike Hastings.{{Citation needed |date=January 2024}}

At age 15, Sanders drew real attention from the swimming world when she barely missed earning a spot on the 1988 Olympic Team, finishing third in the 200-meter individual medley. In her first international meet, she won a silver medal in the 200 individual medley behind Lin Li of China at the 1989 Pan Pacific Championships. At the 1991 Pan Pacific Championships, she won the 400-meter individual medley (beating Lin Li) and the 200-meter butterfly.{{Citation needed |date=January 2024}}

In 1991, Sanders enrolled at Stanford University to swim under Hall of Fame coach Richard Quick.{{cite web |url=https://ishof.org/richard-quick.html |title=Richard Quick |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=International Swimming Hall of Fame |access-date=July 18, 2020 |archive-date=July 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708102619/https://ishof.org/richard-quick.html |url-status=dead }} In her two-year collegiate swimming career, Sanders won eight NCAA National Championship titles, including the 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard individual medley and the 4x100-yard medley relay. She won back-to-back NCAA Swimmer of the Year titles and helped her Cardinal team win the 1992 NCAA National Championships. She was the recipient of the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer of the year in 1991–92.Collegiate Women Sports Awards, [http://www.collegiatewomensportsawards.com/archives/swimdive Past Honda Sports Award Winners for Swimming & Diving]. Retrieved December 3, 2014.{{Cite journal |url=https://www.collegiatewomensportsawards.com/releases/2014-15/062415luncheon |title=Summer Sanders to Emcee Honda Luncheon and Moderate Huddle Panels |date=2015-06-24 |website=CWSA |language=en |access-date=2020-03-24}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2010/03/31/stanfords-smit-wins-honda-award-as-nations-top-female-swimmer |title=Stanford's Smit wins Honda Award as nation's top female swimmer |website=www.paloaltoonline.com |date=March 31, 2010 |language=en |access-date=2020-04-16}}

Sanders won three medals at the 1991 World Championships in Perth, Australia, taking gold in the 200-meter butterfly, silver in the 200-meter individual medley, and bronze in the 400-meter individual medley. She then became the first American woman since Hall of Famer Shirley Babashoff (1976) to qualify for four individual events at one Olympiad at the 1992 Olympic Trials.{{Citation needed |date=January 2024}}

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, Sanders won four Olympic medals—gold in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:08.67, gold in the 400-meter medley relay, silver in the 200-meter individual medley, and a bronze medal in the 400-meter individual medley.{{cite web |last=Sanders |first=Summer |url=http://www.summersanders.net/bio |title=Bio |publisher=summersanders.net |access-date=2013-03-11}}{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Summer Sanders |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/summer-sanders-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417162955/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/summer-sanders-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17}}

Achievements

1992 Olympic Games: gold (200m butterfly), gold (4 × 100 m medley relay – preliminary heat), silver (200m IM), bronze (400m IM), 6th (100m butterfly)
1991 World Championships: gold (200m butterfly), silver (200m IM), bronze (400m IM)
8 United States National Championships: 2-100y butterfly, 2-200y butterfly, 1-200y IM, 2-400y IM, 1-200m IM
9 NCAA National Championships: 2-200y butterfly, 2-200y IM, 2-400y IM, 1-4x50y medley relay, 1-4x100y medley relay, 1-4x100y freestyle relay
1991 Pan-Pacific Championships: gold (200m IM, 400m IM, 200m butterfly)
1989 Pan-Pacific Championships: silver (200m IM)

Television work

Sanders began working on television while still competing. In 1992 and 1994 she was a commentator for CBS Sports for the NCAA Swimming Championships. In 1996, she was a commentator for NBC's coverage of swimming at the Atlanta Olympics. She acted as an Olympic analyst and host for NBC during the 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2010 Olympic Games, being a Today Show special contributor from 2000 to 2004 and contributed to the network's coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City as an on-site reporter. She was also the host of Scholastic at the Olympic Games on MSNBC in 2000.

Sanders spent eight years co-hosting NBA Inside Stuff with Ahmad Rashad, being a sideline reporter for the WNBA (Lifetime, 1997–1999; NBC, 1999–2002) and a feature correspondent for NBA on NBC from 2000 to 2002. She covered tennis as a reporter for United States's coverage of the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001, and was co-host of CBS' coverage of "Arthur Ashe Kid's Day" at the Open from 2000 to 2006.

Sanders has appeared in many programs as correspondent, co-host, and host. Highlights include Nickelodeon, who named her their "commissioner" for the Nick GAS channel in 1998, after being the first female host of a Nickelodeon game show, Figure It Out (1997–1999), co-hosting for MTV's Sandblast in 1994, and hosting the syndicated series US Olympic Gold (2002–2005), Beg, Borrow & Deal (ESPN, 2003), NBA TV's Mind, Body & Spirit (2003–2004) and The Sports List (Fox Sports Net, 2004–2005).[http://www.tv.com/the-sports-list/show/29428/summary.html The Sports List TV Show] on TV.com Sanders also co-hosted the Fox celebrity reality series Skating With Celebrities in 2006.

In 2009, Sanders began hosting Inside Out with Summer Sanders. The show, which is the first original production of Universal Sports, debuted on December 23, 2009, and focuses on in-depth interviews and intimate profiles of notable Olympic athletes.{{cite web |url=http://www.summersanders.net/sub.php?mod=pressnews&item=361 |title=Press / Latest News Inside Out with Summer Sanders Debuts on Christmas Day |publisher=Summersanders.net |access-date=2012-01-16}} She also worked as a general correspondent for Good Morning America and Rachael Ray.[http://www.summersanders.net/sub.php?mod=biography Biography] on SummerSanders.net

She appeared on the third season of Celebrity Apprentice, and competed for charity.{{cite web |url=http://www.aintitcool.com/?q=node/43527 |title=Press release |publisher=Aintitcool.com |access-date=2012-01-16}} In January 2012, she was one of eight celebrities participating in the Food Network reality series Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off.{{cite web |last=Dish |first=The FN |url=http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2011/07/29/rachael-vs-guy-celebrity-cook-off/ |title=Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off: New Show Premieres This Winter |publisher=Blog.foodnetwork.com |date=2011-07-29 |access-date=2012-01-16}}

Sanders hosted the award-winning "Elite Athlete Workouts" on Yahoo!Sports and covered the 2012 Olympic Games in London for the news outlet. She currently works as a commentator on the new Pac-12 Network.

Her most recent work in TV is hosting the game show Keywords for HLN.

Other media

Sanders has appeared as an actress in two films: Jerry Maguire (1996), in which she played herself, and Broken Record (1997).

In June 1999, she published the book Champions Are Raised, Not Born: How My Parents Made Me A Success.{{Cite book |isbn=0-385-33421-4 |title=Champions are Raised, Not Born: How My Parents Made Me a Success |last1=Sanders |first1=Summer |year=1999 |publisher=Delacorte Press |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/championsarerais00summ}}

Personal life

On July 4, 1997, Sanders married Olympic swimmer Mark Henderson.{{cite web |title=Olympic Swimming, Summer Sanders |publisher=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/community/chat/0831sanders.htm |date=2000-08-31 |access-date=2007-06-27}} The couple divorced in 2001. In July 2005, she married Erik Schlopy, a World Cup skier who competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Sanders and Schlopy have two children. She is a noted fan of the NFL's Buffalo Bills; her husband is a native Western New Yorker whose cousin Todd Schlopy briefly played for the Bills in 1987.[https://twitter.com/buffalobills/lists/noteworthyfans Buffalo Bills Noteworthy Fans on Twitter] Retrieved 14:25 PM EST on 20 DEC 2015.

On June 9, 2007, Sanders' childhood home was destroyed by a fire.{{cite web |url=http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=28927 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330154949/http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=28927 |title=News10.net |publisher=News10.net |date=2007-06-10 |access-date=2012-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 30, 2012}}

References

External links

{{World Aquatics}}
{{ISHOF}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20071214095427/http://www.ishof.org/Honorees/2002/02ssanders.html archived December 14, 2007])
{{Olympedia}}
{{Olympics.com profile}}
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504020246/http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_49594.htm |title=Summer's U.S. Olympic Team bio |date=mdy}}
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704105633/http://www.bashof.org/ssanders.htm |title=Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame – Summer Sanders |date=mdy}}
[https://www.usatoday.com/community/chat/0831sanders.htm USA Today – Olympic Swimming: Summer Sanders – chat transcript]
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040919044330/http://www.usolympicteam.com/12755_14435.htm |title=United States Olympic Committee – Q&A with Summer Sanders – chat transcript |date=mdy}}
[http://www.nba.com/tv_programs/IS_summer_bio.html NBA Inside Stuff – Summer Sanders]
{{IMDb name}}