Leah Smith

Leah Smith is an American female swimmer born on 19th April 1995. She hails from Pittsburgh of Pennsylvania in the United States. Leah is a Freestyle specialist and represents the USA in 400m and 800m Freestyles.

Background:

Leah Smith was born to Dan Smith and Margee Smith. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a great-niece of former world light heavyweight champion Late Billy Conn. Lilly has three siblings, Aileen Smith, Daniel Smith, and Neal Smith.

Leah pursued her interest in swimming at a young age. She attended Oakland Catholic High School, where she began to take up competitive swimming. While representing her high school, she had won medals in Backstroke events at high school championships. She was also listed as one of the recruits in the class of 2013.

In 2013, after graduating from high school, Leah joined the University of Virginia, where she became a member of the Virginia Cavaliers swimming team. She had represented them at the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming Championships (2014-2017).

In 2017, Leah Smith graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Studies. She is currently training under coach Peter Richardson.

Rise to Glory:

Leah Smith began to compete collegiately for Virginia Cavaliers in 2014 and won her first NCAA medal by taking home Silver in 1650y Freestyle at the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming Championships. The following year, she clinched two Gold medals in 400m Freestyle and 4x200m Freestyle at the World University Games.

At the 2015 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming Championships, Leah won 500y and 1650y Freestyles titles. In 2016, she made her national debut at the US Olympic Trials and finished 2nd in 400m and 800m Freestyles and 3rd in 200m Freestyles, and qualified for the Rio Olympics. That year, Leah defended her NCAA titles in 500y and 1650y Freestyles.

In 2017, Leah clinched two national titles 1500m Freestyle and 400m Individual Medley, and also won three Silver medals in 200m, 400m, and 800m Freestyles at the USA National Swimming Championships.

Leah Smith holds a national record in 800m Freestyle.

Major Achievements:

Leah Smith made her international debut at the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, where she won the Gold medal in 4x200m Freestyle. She also competed in 400m and 800m Freestyles but was placed 9th in both the finals. In 2015, she won the 4x200m Freestyle title at the World Aquatics Championships.

Leah made her Olympics debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics and took home a Gold medal and a Bronze in 4x200m Freestyle and 400m Freestyle, respectively. At the World Swimming Championships, she had clinched two titles in 400m and 800m Freestyles (2016), two Silver medals in 4x200m Freestyle (2016 and 2018), and a Bronze in 800m Freestyle (2018).

Between 2017 and 2019, Leah had won a World Aquatics title in 4x200m Freestyle (2017), two Silver medals in 400m Freestyle (2017) and 4x200m Freestyle (2019), and two Bronze in 800m Freestyle (2017) and 400m Freestyle (2019). In 2018, she bagged a Silver medal in 4x200m Freestyle and three Bronze medals in 400m, 800m, and 1500m Freestyles at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

Leah will look to make a cut for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics at the US Olympic Trials and probably be in contention to win medals in 400m and 800m Freestyles.