World record breaker and Olympic swimmer Katie Hoff will kick off Westminster College's year-long celebration of 40 years of women at Westminster this Friday.
She'll deliver her talk, titled "Relentless Leadership," at noon Friday in the lecture hall of Coulter Science Center. The event also doubles as the launchpad of Westminster's 2019 homecoming celebration.
A recent TED Talk speaker, Hoff won three medals - two silver and one bronze - during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She later walked away with gold medals at the 2010 and 2011 World Championships in Dubai and Shanghai, respectively.
Hoff's high-profile awards follow a career of "firsts." She became the youngest Olympian on the 2004 swimming squad at the age of 15. In 2005, Hoff set her first American record in the 200 individual medley and won three gold medals at the World Championships.
In 2007, she won three gold medals and broke two world records in the 400 individual medley and 4x200 freestyle relay. Hoff broke the world record again in the 400 individual medley at the 2008 Olympic trials, where she captured two American records on the same night in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley.
Hoff received Sportswoman of the Year in 2005 and 2007 from the U.S. Olympic Committee. She was U.S.A. Swimming's Female Swimmer of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007. She remains the American record holder in the 400-meter individual medley.
From 2012-16, Hoff was forced to retire from swimming due to a pulmonary embolism in her lungs. Today, she can move and work out normally, but the damage to her lungs makes it difficult to compete at world-class form. She dedicates her time to giving back to the swimming community through clinics and speaking engagements, including her most recent TED Talk.
Hoff resides in New York City with her husband of four years, Todd. She works for Equinox in corporate wellness and enjoys spending time with her French bulldog, Ally.