| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lars Ploug Jorgensen | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 1, 1970 San Diego, California [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 176 lb (80 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Lars Ploug Jorgensen (born September 1, 1970) is an American former Olympic swimmer and college coach. In April 2024 the US Center for SafeSport suspended him temporarily for allegations of misconduct.
Jorgensen swam in high school at Mount Carmel High School in San Diego, and in college for the University of Tennessee ('94). [1] [2] [3]
Jorgensen represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. [4] He competed in the preliminary heats of the men's 1,500-meter freestyle, and finished with the 23rd-best time overall (15:39.51). [4] [5]
In 1995 Jorgensen set the swim course record with 46:44 for that leg of the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. [6] His swim record held until 2018, when Jan Sibbersen set the new fastest swim time in 46:29. [7] Jorgensen's swim time of 46:41 from 1998 does not count as valid course record, as he did not finish the Ironman World Championship that year. [8]
Jorgensen was the head coach of the swimming team for the University of Kentucky from 2014-23. [9] [10] He also previously coached at the University of Toledo from 2004-10, and coached at the University of Tennessee and Louisiana State University. [11] [10] [12] [1]
He was suspended in 2019 for six days without pay for failure to report sexual harassment allegations made against one his staff members. [13]
Jorgensen was again suspended in November 2023. [13]
In April 2024, a Title IX sexual violence lawsuit was filed against Jorgensen which alleged that he would "prey on, sexually harass, and commit horrific sexual assaults and violent rapes against young female coaches and collegiate athletes who were reliant on him" during his time as swim coach at the University of Kentucky between 2013 and 2023, and also accused the University of "complicity." [11] [14] In addition to Jorgensen, former coach Gary Conelly, athletics director Mitch Barnhart, and the university itself were named in the lawsuit. [14]
Emails from June 2012 revealed that Mark Howard, a former assistant swimming coach at the University of Toledo, informed both Barnhart and Conelly that Jorgensen was accused of having a sexual relationship with a female student he coached. [11] Conelly, who at the time served as the University of Kentucky head swim coach, and Barnhart would hire Jorgensen nonetheless. [11] Prior to the 2024 lawsuit, the University of Toledo allegation was also previously made public in 2014, when a softball coach suing the University of Toledo for sex discrimination stated Jorgensen "had a long term romantic relationship with a player. The University hired this player as an assistant coach and eventually promoted her to head coach, passing over top candidates for this position." [15] [11]
Jorgensen and his lawyer denied the allegations, which include two of his former swimmers turned assistant coaches (including Briggs Alexander) alleging that he groomed and eventually raped them, and claims that the relationships he had with the two coaches were consensual. [16]
That same month, the US Center for SafeSport suspended Jorgensen temporarily for allegations of misconduct, and issued no-contact directives to him. [16]
Jorgensen resigned from his post as head coach of the Wildcats’ swim & dive program in June 2024. [13] [16]
He is the brother of fellow Olympic swimmer Dan Jorgensen. [4]
Jorgensen is married to the former Rachel Evans, and they had their first child, Margaret Elizabeth Jorgensen, in September 2000. [1]
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 students attend the university. Historically, the women's teams and athletes were referred to as the "Lady Kats", but all athletic squads adopted the "Wildcats" nickname in 1995. Collectively, the fans of the Kentucky Wildcats are often referred to as the Big Blue Nation. Their main and most intense rival is the University of Louisville. The Wildcats are composed of 25 varsity teams that compete nationally—23 in NCAA-recognized sports, plus the cheerleading squad and dance team.
Jeremy Porter Linn is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, world record-holder and current swim coach. Linn set an American record in the 100-meter breaststroke while winning the silver medal in that event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, in a time of 1:00.77. With a burst of speed in the final stretch, he finished just .12 seconds behind the gold medal winner from Belgium who had previously set the World Record.
Jack Bauerle is the former head coach of the University of Georgia (UGA) men's and women's swimming teams. He served as coach for the 2020 US Olympic Swim Team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Ashley Ann Whitney is an American former competition swimmer who was a freestyle specialist and an Olympic gold medalist.
David Holmes "Dave" Edgar is an American former swimmer, 1972 Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. In a period of seven years, he lost only one 50-yard race, due to a faulty starting block. Excelling in the efficiency of his flip turn technique under the mentorship of Coach Ray Bussard at the University of Tennessee, many consider Edgar one of the greatest short course 50 and 100-yard sprinters of the 1970's.
Janelle Anya Monique Atkinson-McClave, née Janelle Anya Monique Atkinson, is a Jamaican former competitive swimmer who won three silver medals at the 1999 Pan American Games. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she became the first Jamaican swimmer to finish in the top four of any swimming event at an Olympic Games, placing fourth in the 400-metre freestyle.
Daniel Ploug Jorgensen is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at two consecutive Olympic Games.
Jonas Lars Persson is an Olympic swimmer from Sweden. He swam for his homeland at the 2008 Olympics.
Mitch Barnhart is the athletics director for the Kentucky Wildcats athletics program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Barnhart was hired by the university in 2002 succeeding Larry Ivy. Barnhart served in the same capacity at Oregon State University from 1998 to 2002. He is the university's tenth athletics director. In August 2023 Barnhart signed an extension on his contract which will keep him at Kentucky until 2028.
Leigh Ann Fetter, later known by her married name Leigh Ann Witt, is an American former competition swimmer and accomplished coach who represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Jill Ann Sterkel is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, former world record-holder, and water polo player. Sterkel won four medals in three Olympic Games spanning twelve years from 1976 through 1988. She was the women's head coach of the Texas Longhorns swimming and diving team at the University of Texas at Austin from 1993 to 2006.
Frank Busch was a collegiate, national team and Olympic swimming coach from the United States best known for coaching the University of Arizona from 1989-2011. He was a coach for the USA Olympic teams in 2004 and 2008.
The Tennessee Volunteers men's Swimming and Diving program represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers are currently coached by Matt Kredich. The Vols host their swim meets in the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center which was newly built in 2008. The Vols compete in the SEC where they have won 10 SEC team titles, 173 individual titles and 45 relay crowns. Over the past 75 years of competition the Vols have produced numerous All-Americans, 24 Olympians, scored in 53 consecutive NCAA Championship meets, won 45 individual NCAA titles and won 1 NCAA National Title.
Jack Weyman Nelson was an All-American competition swimmer for the University of Miami who competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in butterfly and served as a Hall of Fame swimming coach at Fort Lauderdale's Pine Crest School, the Jack Nelson Swim Club, and the University of Miami. He managed teams that won six U.S. National Championship titles, and 30 High School State Championships, though his reputation was damaged by allegations of sexual abuse in the 1990's.
Mitchell Ivey is a former American international swimmer who was a backstroke specialist and Olympic medalist. Ivey later became a prominent Olympic and college swimming coach.
Jennifer Leigh Hooker, also known by her married name Jennifer Brinegar, is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at only 15 at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. She swam for Indiana University where she received a business degree in 1984, and later practiced law after receiving a Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt University. After receiving a Master's in Sports Management in 1996 at Indiana University, she worked for their athletic department, becoming an assistant athletic director in 1999.
Gary Robert Conelly is an American former swimmer who represented the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Conelly swam for the winning U.S. teams in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay and 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Under the 1972 Olympic rules, however, he was ineligible to receive a medal because he did not swim in the final of the relays.
Elvis Vereance Burrows is a Bahamian swimmer who specializes in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. He is a four-time national record holder in his respective swimming events, and is a member of Kentucky Wildcats swimming team, upon his admission at the University of Kentucky.
Robert Griswold is an American swimmer. He was a member of the 2016 and 2020 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Teams. He holds multiple American and world paralympic swimming records in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and individual medleys. He competes in the Paralympic classes S8/SB7/SM8, and has cerebral palsy that affects coordination and strength. The United States Center for SafeSport temporarily suspended Griswold in 2020, reinstated him prior to the 2021 Paralympic Games, and then temporarily suspended him again in 2022, after he was accused of raping a fellow member of the US Paralympic Team at the 2021 Paralympic Games and thereafter; Griswold was later removed as a member of the US National Team.
Todd DeSorbo has been the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers Swim team at the University of Virginia, since assuming the position in 2017. He served as an Assistant Coach for the 2021 US Tokyo Summer Olympics Women's Swim Team, and in September 2023 was named to be the Head Coach for the U.S. Women's Swim team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
| Men's Team |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Team | ||
| Coaches |
| |
  | This biographical article related to a United States swimmer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
