Rhyan White Earns USA Swimming World Championships Berth, Ozzie Quevedo Named to Team USA Coaching Staff
11/1/2021 12:14:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
White has been selected to compete in the backstroke events, while Quevedo has been named an assistant coach for Team USA
COLORADO SPRING, Co. – Alabama's Rhyan White has been named to the United States' 2021 FINA World Championships squad, while associate head coach Ozzie Quevedo has been named to Team USA's staff as an assistant coach.
White, who is coming off a very successful summer, including a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, will swim the backstroke events at the world short course (25 meters) championships, which will be held in Abu Dhabi December 16-21.
After winning the 200-meter backstroke and taking second in the 100-meter backstroke at last summer's USA Olympic Team Trials, White finished fourth in both events in Tokyo, while earning a silver medal as part of the U.S. 400-meter relay contingent, establishing herself as one of the world's top backstrokes. She is slated to compete in the 50, 100 and 200-meter backstroke at Worlds.
Now in his third season with the Crimson Tide, Quevedo served as UA's Interim Head Coach last season, helping guide the Tide women to fifth place at the NCAA Championships and the men to their seventh-consecutive top-15 national finish.
Head Coach Margo Geer Said
"This is a huge accomplishment for Rhyan, coming off the best summer of her career. We are very excited to see her continue to make the most of the opportunities she's earned. This is also a tremendous and well-deserved honor for Ozzie to have a chance to work with Team USA's very best. He is an amazing coach and leader who will be an incredible asset to Team USA."
Associate Head Coach Ozzie Quevedo Said
"This is such an incredible honor and opportunity. I am humbled to represent Team USA with the rest of the staff and our amazing team. I am beyond proud and so very excited to be a part of this journey to Abu Dhabi."
More on Rhyan White
- Swam the backstroke leg in prelims of the 400m medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics, earning a share of Team USA's silver medal, the highest medal by a member of the Alabama women's team
- Took fourth in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics
- Earned a place on the United States Olympic Team in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke
- Won the 200-meter backstroke at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials with a career-best and school-record time of 2:05.73
- Took second in the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials with a career-best and school-record time of 58.60
- Third member of the Alabama women's team to make a U.S. Olympic team following Ellen McGrath Owens (diving/1992) & Susan Bartholomew Williams (triathlon/2004) and the first Alabama woman to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team
- 10-time All-American and five-time Southeastern Conference Champion
- Voted the 2021 SEC Swimmer of the Year by the league's coaches
- Holds the SEC 100 and 200 backstroke records and six Alabama school records
Alabama at the World Championships
- Rhyan White is the first UA swimmer to earn a berth on the U.S. World Championships team since Jon Olsen in 1994
- White is the first member of the Crimson Tide swimming and diving program to earn a spot on the USA National team at a World Championship since diver Aaron Fleshner in 2011
On the collegiate front, Alabama returns to action Friday, Nov. 5 at home with its SEC opener against LSU. Diving gets underway at noon, while the swimming events start at 1 p.m. at the Alabama Aquatic Center.
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