2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist Lotte Friis Announces Her First Pregnancy

Retired Danish Olympic swimmer Lotte Friis has announced her first pregnancy on social media.

Friis and her husband Christopher Schnack Ringo are expecting a daughter in July.

“We are so looking forward to expanding the family this summer,” she said.

Friis says that she experienced a lot of sickness and vomiting in her first trimester, but now that she is in the second trimester, she is feeling better and hoping for “brighter times ahead.”

Friis and Ringo were married in 2020.

The 33-year old Friis retired from competitive swimming in 2017 and remains one of the fastest female distance swimmers in history. In 2009, she set a World Record in the 1500 short course meter freestyle, and in long course, she remains the second-fastest woman ever in the 1500 free (15:38.88) behind Katie Ledecky, and the 8th-fastest woman ever in the 800 free (8:15.92).

Friis won a bronze medal in the 800 free at the 2008 Olympic Games and won gold medals in the 800 free at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships and in the 1500 free at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships.

In total, she has seven World Championship medals, is a six-time European Champion, and has 15 career medals at the European Championships.

She was named the 2009 Danish Sports Name of the Year, which is awarded annually by the Danish Olympic Committee to honor the team or sportsperson who had the best performance of the year.

Friis remains the Danish Record holder in the 400, 800, and 1500 freestyles in both long course and short course, and is the European Record holder in the 1500 free in long course.

Her 25-year old husband Christoffer Schnack Ringo is a reserve goalkeeper with the soccer club IF Lyseng, which competes in the 5th tier of the Danish soccer pyramid.