Kelsi and Thomas Dahlia Announce The Birth Of First Daughter Zia Mae

Kelsi and Thomas Dahlia shared via Instagram on February 9, 2023, that they had welcomed their child Zia Mae. “God answered so many of our prayers with her arrival and we are loving life as a new family of three,” the pair wrote in their shared Instagram post:

Zia Mae weighed in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20.75 inches. That puts Zia Mae in the 97th percentile for birth height among baby girls, already showing off her inhereted athletic genes (both parents are around 6 feet tall).

The couple announced that they were expecting their first child back in August 2022. In 2022, Kelsi Dahlia also announced the end of her professional swimming career. Dahlia represented the USA on the international stage for over half a decade, beginning in 2015 with her appearance at the Pan American Games in Toronto. There, she took home the gold medal 100 butterfly.

In 2016 Dahlia became an Olympian when she qualified for the American team in the 100 butterfly. She placed 4th overall in the preliminary round of the event but then missed qualification for the final by placing 9th overall in semi-finals. Dahlia did, however, earn a gold medal for her prelims swim in the women’s 4×100 medley relay. Dahlia continued to represent the USA in 2017 and 2019 at the World Championships and in 2018 at the World Short Course Championships. Throughout her years on the international stage, Dahlia collected a total of 30 Olympic, World Championship, Pan Am, and Pan Pacific medals.

Dahlia also raced in the NCAA for Louisville from 2012 unitl 2016 and picked up individual titles in the 100 and 200 butterfly in both 2015 and 2016. Following her collegiate career Dahlia was a key member of the Cali Condors for the first three seasons of the International Swimming League. During the 2021 season she lowered the world record in the 100 butterfly to a 54.59, a record that still stands at the time this article is being published.

Upon her retirement, Dahlia started her coaching career and is currently serving as an associate coach at Notra Dame.

Thomas Dahlia also raced for the Louisville Cardinals, having qualified to race both the 100 and 200 breaststroke NCAAs in his junior year.