Kaitlin Shea Sandeno is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist, world champion and former world record-holder. Sandeno was a member of the American team that set a new world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She is the current general manager of DC Trident which is a part of the International Swimming League.
Career
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sandeno won the bronze medal in the 800-meter freestyle event, along with fourth place in the 400-meter individual medley and sixth place in the 200-meter butterfly. In 2003, while enrolled at the University of Southern California, she won the U.S. national championship in the 200-meter butterfly, and the 200- and 400-meter individual medley events. The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece saw Sandeno win three more Olympic medals: a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley, a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, and a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. The American team of Natalie Coughlin, Carly Piper, Dana Vollmer and Sandeno also broke the seventeen-year-old world record by more than two seconds with their victory in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. After failing to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, Sandeno announced her retirement. She is currently looking to start a new career in sports broadcasting. As of May 2010, Sandeno has joined with Think Physical Therapy and started a venture called Swim Tank where she will do stroke analysis for swimmers. For the 2010 Southern California swim season, Sandeno was an assistant swim coach at Mater Dei High School, a private catholic high school in Santa Ana, California. As a high school student, Sandeno attended El Toro High School in Lake Forest. In 2014, Sandeno called the swimming races at the Youth Olympics on NBC. At USA Swimming 2016 Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska; Sandeno served as the on-deck live emcee alongside Olympic teammate Brendan Hansen. She also hosted USA Swimming’s web-series debut of “Deck Pass Live”. In April 2018, Sandeno joined swimming fin company . as partner and face of the company. produces a unique training fin with a built-in neoprene foot pocket for comfort and an adjustable back strap for sizing. This training fin is also the only fin which can be used for all 4 competitive strokes, including breaststroke. In the Summer of 2019, Sandeno released “Golden Glow. How Kaitlin Sandeno achieved Gold in the Pool and Life” with coauthor Dan D’Adonna.
