Estonian swimmer
Triin Aljand (born 8 July 1985) is a retired Estonian swimmer who competed for Texas A&M University and won a silver medal at the 2012 European Aquatics Championships in 50 m butterfly. Specializing in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle, she competed in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympics for Estonia, but did not reach the finals.[1][2][3]
Swimming for Texas A&M
Born in Tallinn, Estonia, she attended Texas A&M University, where she swam for the women's varsity team under Hall of Fame Head Coach Steve Bultman.[4][5] While swimming for Texas A&M, Aljand received 23 All-America honors and captured a total of 16 relay and individual conference titles. By the time she graduated A&M in 2009, she held five school records, all of which were still top-five marks among A&M swimming records in 2022. Her outstanding swimming helped lead the Aggies to their first two Women's SEC conference titles in 2007 and 2008.[6]
Excelling in sprint freestyle, on 21 November 2008 she broke the National Collegiate Athletic Association record for women in the 50-yard freestyle with her time of 21.61,[7] though the record was disallowed after it was found the pool was just over one inch short.[8]
Olympics
She competed in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle and 100 butterfly, but never reached the finals.[9] She also participated in multiple FINA World Aquatics Championships.[10][11] Against intense world competition, her top finishes were a 19th in the 50-meter freestyle in the 2012 Olympics and a 21st in the 50-meter freestyle in the 2008 Olympics.[3]
Honors
As the holder of many team records and one of only two A&M swimmers to compete in three or more Olympics as of 2022, she was elected to the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.[12][6]
Records
She set the Estonian national records three times in the 50-m butterfly on 12 December 2008.[13] She set another national record in the 100-m butterfly at the 2008 European Short Course Swimming Championships on 14 December 2008.[14]
Personal
Her twin sister Berit and younger brother Martti are also swimmers. Her father Riho Aljand is a swimming coach, and her grandmother, Ulvi Voog (Indrikson) is a former Olympic swimmer.[9]
She is married to Slovenian swimmer Peter Mankoč.[15] They have a daughter Brina, who was born in 2015.[16]
References
External links
