Gretchen Gotay Cordero (born August 14, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and backstroke events.[1] She won a total of four medals (2 golds and 2 bronze) in both freestyle and medley relays at the Central American and Caribbean Games (1998, 2002, and 2006).[2] She is a member of Athens Bulldogs Swim Club under her personal coach Harvey Humphries, and a graduate with a master's degree in sports management at the University of Georgia in Athens.[3]

Gretchen Gotay
Personal information
Full nameGretchen Gotay Cordero
National team Puerto Rico
Born (1980-08-14) 14 August 1980 (age 44)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, backstroke
ClubAthens Bulldogs Swim Club (U.S.)
CoachHarvey Humphries
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Puerto Rico
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Maracaibo 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2002 San Salvador 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2002 San Salvador 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Cartagena 4×100 m medley

Gotay qualified for the women's 200 m backstroke, as a member of the Puerto Rico team, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She posted a meet-record and a FINA B-standard of 2:19.89 from the Caribbean Championships in Kingston, Jamaica.[3][4] She participated in the first heat, against two other swimmers Saida Iskandarova of Uzbekistan, and Sherry Tsai of Hong Kong, who carried the nation's flag in the opening ceremony. She raced to second place by a 4.56-second margin behind winner Tsai, outside her entry time of 2:23.39. Gotay failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed thirty-first overall in the preliminaries.[5][6]

References

edit
  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gretchen Gotay". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Militza Ríos, esperanza de la natación de Puerto Rico" [Militza Rivers, swimming hope Puerto Rico] (in Spanish). Swimming World Magazine. 15 July 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  3. ^ a b Frierson, John (5 January 2005). "Gotay testing the waters". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Swimming – Women's 200m Backstroke Startlist (Heat 1)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  5. ^ "Women's 200m Backstroke Heat 1". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 19 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  6. ^ Thomas, Stephen (19 August 2004). "Women's 200 Backstroke, Day 6 Prelims: Top Seeds Komarova and Nakamura Qualify Fastest". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
edit