A Fresh Face

Ariana Kukors recently vaulted herself into swimming superstardom. At the 2009 World Championships – in an event she technically didn’t even qualify in – Kukors blasted the competition in the 200 IM, winning her first ever world title and setting a world record in the event.

From a Talented Family

Ariana Kukors hails from one of the great “swimming families” in America. Her older sister Emily won national championships at Auburn University, while her younger sister Mattie swims at the University of Michigan. As the middle child, Ariana has frequently stated that the sisters support each other through their swimming careers, and she could have never earned her own individual accolades without the guidance and encouragement from her family.

Heartbreak in ‘08

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Ariana experienced the worst kind of heartbreak for a swimmer hoping to qualify for the Olympic team. She finished third in the 200 IM by less than one tenth of a second, just missing punching her ticket to Beijing. After failing to make the Olympic team, Kukors dove back in the pool and resumed training for 2009. But heartbreak happened again. At the World Championship Trials, Kukors again missed making the team in the 200 IM – placing third. However, she qualifed third in the 200 freestyle, assuring her a spot on a relay, and swimming her way to Rome.

2009 World Championships 

It look like Kukors would only swim on a relay, but she found herself with a spot in the 200 IM after Elizabeth Pelton withdrew herself from the race. Kukors made the most of her big chance. She smashed the world record by nearly one-and-a-half seconds in the final, defeating defending Olympic champion Stephanie Rice in the process. With the swim, Kukors became an overnight superstar in the swimming world.

Building On Success

Her heroic performance in Rome 2009 earned her the Golden Goggle Female Race of the Year Award. Also in 2009, Kukors relocated her training base from her Pacific Northwest home of Seattle to Fullerton, California. There, Kukors begins a new phase of her career as a world champ, and joins other elite swimmers to train under head coach Sean Hutchison at the USA Swimming elite club.

2 World Medals (1 gold, 1 silver)
2009 World Championships (Rome)
GOLD
200m IM
SILVER
800m Freestyle Relay

Current World Records
200m IM - 2:06.15 (2009 World Championships, Rome)