Carly Piper

Carly Piper

220px Piper speaking to U.S. troops in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Carly Piper
National team	United States
Born	(1983-09-23) September 23, 1983 Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	179 lb (81 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	SwimMAC Carolina
College team	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Medal record Women's swimming Representing the United States Olympic Games 2004 Athens 4x200 m freestyle World Championships (SC) 2006 Shanghai 4x200 m freestyle Pan American Games 2003 Sto Domingo 4x200 m freestyle

Carly Piper (born September 23, 1983), also known by her married name Carly Ryan, is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. As part of the American team, she helped set a new world record in the women's 4×200-meter freestyle relay (long course).

Personal

Piper was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan in 1983, the daughter of Kenneth and Carol Ann Piper. Her father works for General Dynamics, a defense contractor, and her mother is an aerobics instructor. Piper has one older sister, Cortney, who is also a swimmer and swam for the University of Tennessee. Piper is a 2001 graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. Piper attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and graduated in 2006, majoring in zoology. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she had a highly successful career on the women's swimming team and served as the team's captain. She twice won Big Ten Conference swimmer of the year honors and was an 18-time All-American. While still in school, and after she had exhausted her athletic eligibility, she served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Wisconsin Badgers swimming teams. Piper married swim coach Shane Ryan on May 16, 2014.

Swimming career

At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Piper qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics by finishing 5th in the 200-meter freestyle. She also placed 6th in the 400-meter freestyle.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Piper won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Natalie Coughlin, Kaitlin Sandeno, and Dana Vollmer that set the world record in the event. On December 20, 2004 it was declared "Carly Piper Day" in Piper's hometown of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan for her accomplishments in Athens.

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
• Pan American Games records in swimming
• World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay

External links

• Carly Piper biography at USA Swimming
• Carly Piper biography at University of Wisconsin–Madison
• My Journey to the Olympics…and Back by Carly Piper