Abrahm DeVine

Abrahm DeVine

Devine (left) in 2018
Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	September 3, 1996 (1996-09-03) (age 27)[7] Seattle, Washington, U.S.[8]
Height	6 ft 2 in (188.0 cm)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Individual Medley (IM),[1] freestyle,[1] backstroke,[1] butterfly stroke[2]
Club	Cascade Swim Club,[3] • Lakeside Lions,[4] • Team Elite[5] • International Swimming League's DC Trident[5]
College team	Stanford University Cardinal[6]

Abrahm David DeVine (born September 3, 1996)^[7] is an American swimmer from Seattle. He currently represents the LA Current which is part of the International Swimming League.^[5] His first international competition was in the men's 200 metre Individual Medley (IM) event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.^[9][10] In 2017, as a member of the U.S. FINA World Championships team he finished tenth in the 200 IM.^[5] In his junior season at Stanford he became a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the 400 IM, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Swimmer of the Year.^[5][1] In 2018, DeVine placed second in the 200 IM at U.S. Summer Nationals, which qualified him for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships In Tokyo, Japan, where he finished fifth.^[5]

In 2018, he came out as gay, one of "very few openly gay swimmers competing on the elite level."^[11][8][12] In his senior year at Stanford he again was NCAA champion in the 400 IM, he was also named a member of Team USA for the 2018-19 season.^[5][1] In 2019, he placed eighth in the IM at the FINA World Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea.^[5] As of April 2019, he is a fifteen-time All-American.^[1] In May 2019 Swimming World listed him as twelfth in its ranking of NCAA men's swimmers in Division I.^[13] In September 2019, DeVine says he was dropped from the Stanford team due to homophobia which team coaches denied in a statement which did not include why they took the action.^[6][14][15] As of June 2019, DeVine has been with International Swimming League's DC Trident.^[5][16]

Early life and education

Abrahm DeVine was born in Seattle to Rene Folk and Jim DeVine.^[2] He grew up in Seattle and was introduced to swimming by his mother when he was an infant.^[1][17] Folk, in the 1970s, while still living in Anamosa, Iowa, worked at the Anamosa swimming pool teaching kids to swim, and coaching the swim team.^[17] Abrahm joined a summer league when he was five, and a year-round team, Cascade Swim Club, when he was six years old.^[1][3] There he met his “core group” which he had through Lakeside High School, he remained on the team for twelve years.^[1]

In high school, by his sophomore and junior years, he made junior nationals and nationals.^[1] He was an All-American in 2013, 2014, and 2015.^[2] In 2014 he made the Junior National Team.^[3] His main event was the 400 Individual Medley (IM), “it’s all strokes and it incorporates speed and endurance.”^[1] He was a state champion in 2013, and a double state champion in 2014 and 2015.^[2]

At Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, where he had earned a scholarship, he was earning a Computer science degree, while swimming on the Stanford Cardinal team.^[1][17][3] In June 2016 he was in the U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming in Omaha, Nebraska, he placed fifth in the 200 IM.^[17] He was a finalist in the 400 IM at the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.^[3]

Career

DeVine's first international competition was in the men's 200 metre Individual Medley (IM) event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.^[18][19] In 2017, as a member of the U.S. FINA World Championships team he finished tenth in the 200 IM.^[5] In his junior season at Stanford he became a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the 400 IM, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Swimmer of the Year.^[5][1] In 2018, DeVine placed second in the 200 IM at U.S. Summer Nationals, which qualified him for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where he finished fifth.^[5] In 2018, he came out as gay, with “very few openly gay swimmers competing on the elite level.”^[6][8] In his senior year at Stanford he again was NCAA champion in the 400 IM, he was also named a member of Team USA for the 2018-19 season.^[5][1] In 2019, he placed eighth in the IM at the FINA World Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea.^[5] As of April 2019, he is a fifteen-time All-American.^[1] He holds several Stanford swimming records: the 400 IM (3:35.29) by four seconds; top three times in the 200 freestyle (1:32.77); top three times in 200 backstroke (1:39.22); and top three times in 200 IM (1:40.35).^[1] In May 2019 Swimming World listed him as twelfth in its ranking of NCAA Division I men's swimmers.^[20]

In June 2019, DeVine was added as a member to the International Swimming League's DC Trident.^[5][21] In July 2019, DeVine signed with Arena, a sportswear company specializing in swimwear.^[5][22] As of August 2019 he swims with Team Elite in San Diego.^[5] In September 2019, DeVine says he was dropped from the Stanford team due to homophobia which team coaches denied in a statement which did not include why they took the action.^[6]

In 2018 when asked about his post-swimming career interests, DeVine cited being intrigued by startup culture, and the environmental movement.^[8]

Personal life

In 2016 or 2017, DeVine's parents started collecting ukuleles. Abrahm has since been practicing and learning music.^[8]

References

External links

• Abrahm DeVine at USA Swimming (archived)
• Abrahm DeVine at World Aquatics
• Abrahm DeVine at the International Swimming League

This page was last edited on 5 April 2024, at 15:46