Editor’s Note: In the time since the News went to press, Plainsboro’s Rebecca Soni not only claimed the gold medal with an upset of Leisel Jones, of Australia, in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Olympics in Beijing on August 14, she broke the world record in the event with a time of 2:20.22.
She went head-to-head with Jones until the end, where she pulled out a strong lead over her in the finish. The previous record of 2:20.54 was set by Jones more than two years ago. For more on this, see the News’ next edition on Friday, August 29.##M:[more]##
When the opportunity opens up, Rebecca Soni certainly proves she does not take it lightly. Given the opportunity to compete in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Olympics in Beijing, Soni’s performance elevated her ranking as fourth best 100-meter breaststroke swimmer in the country to the second best among the world’s Olympic swimmers. And in doing so, the 21-year-old also won her first Olympic medal.
On August 12 in Beijing, the High School North graduate won the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, an event in which she was not supposed to compete. She finished the event in 1:06.73, behind Australia’s Leisel Jones, who took the gold with a world-record time of 1:05.17.
From there, Soni has only risen as a star on the U.S. Olympic swim team. A day after winning the silver medal, Soni set an Olympic record with a time of 2:22.17 in the preliminary round of the 200-meter breaststroke event, advancing her to the semifinal round. Her time replaced the former Olympic record of 2:23.37, and the American record of 2:22.44.
On August 14, she won the heat in the semifinal round with a time of 2 minutes, 22.64 seconds, beating out Jones, who finished in 2:23.04. As the News went to press she was preparing for the finals on Friday, August 15, where a gold medal seemed within her reach.
The 200-meter breaststroke is considered to be her best event, and qualifying in for that event in the Olympic trials back home is what got her a spot on the team in the first place.
Soni, a senior at the University of Southern California, was also entered into the 100-meter breaststroke after Jessica Hardy tested positive for steroids in July. During trials, she finished fourth in the event. But the top two swimmers qualified for the event, and because Soni had already secured her spot on the American team by winning the 200-meter breaststroke at the trials, she was already on the Olympic roster. When Hardy dropped out of the running, it was too late to change the Olympic roster to include Tara Kirk, the woman who finished third — in front of Soni — in the 100-meter breaststroke, and Soni was chosen to take Hardy’s place.
And by finishing as the top American in the 100-breaststroke, she will be swimming that leg in the final of the 400 medley relay on Sunday, August 17, in Beijing, giving her the chance to pick up another medal.
At 21, Soni has already been ranked among the top swimmers in the world. Earlier this summer, Soni won the 200 breaststroke at the Olympic trials with a time of 2:22.60, missing a new American record by just 16-hundredths of a second. A member of the U.S. National Team, Soni holds USC records in the 100 and 200-yard breast, as well as the 200 and 400-yard medley relays. When she left high school, she was ranked fifth and was a national champion. She is also the two-time defending NCAA champion in the 200 breaststroke, and in 2004, she was a semifinalist in the 200 meter breaststroke in her first Olympic trials.
Soni, who never swam for High School North’s swim team because she was focused on training with the Scarlet Aquatic Club in Piscataway, moved to Plainsboro shortly before sixth grade from Freehold. Her mother is a nurse and her father is in real estate, but both moved to Arizona after Soni began college at USC. She is majoring in communications.
