Claudia Kolb
Claudia Anne Kolb, also known by her married name Claudia Thomas, is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events.
Kolb represented the United States as a 14-year-old at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She competed in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, and received the silver medal for her second-place performance behind Soviet Galina Prozumenshchikova, who set a new Olympic record.
When Mexico City hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics, Kolb won two gold medals. She dominated her competition in the medley events, winning both the women's 200-meter individual medley and women's 400-meter individual medley. Kolb set new Olympic records in both events in the preliminary heats and the event finals.
During her career. Kolb won 25 U.S. national AAU Championships and set 23 world records. In 1967 she was named "World Swimmer of the Year" by Swimming World magazine. In 1975 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Kolb retired from competitive swimming after the Mexico City Olympics. She has coached swimming at clubs in South Bend, Indiana and Santa Clara, California, and college teams at Stanford University and at Pacific University. Her Stanford swimmers won the 1980 AIAW national team championship.
She lives in Oregon.
