Melanie Klaren to Retire, Begin Coaching Career at Duke

Former Cal Golden Bear Melanie Klaren has announced that she will conclude her swimming career after this week’s U.S. Olympic Trials.

Klaren, who was on the United States’ team for the 2015 World University Games, swam the 100 and 200 backstroke in Omaha last week, finishing 22nd and 27th, respectively. That included being one of the rare swimmers at this meet who beat her seed time when she dropped a tenth-of-a-second in the 100 backstroke prelims to swim 1:01.69 on Monday morning.

In her 4 years on the varsity team at Cal, which concluded with captaining the team to the 2015 NCAA Championships, she scored at all four NCAA Championships to earn individual All-American honors.

She was a member of the 2008-2009 USA Swimming Junior National Team, and in 2015 traveled to Gwangju, South Korea to represent the United States at the 2015 World University Games (Summer Universiade).

In an interview with the OC Register’s Dan Albano, Klaren also says that she is now headed to Duke University to become an assistant coach with their swim program. Duke has not publicly announced her addition.

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Springbrook
8 years ago

Congratulations to Melanie. Her dad, Pat, was also quite a good swimmer back in the mid-’80s at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California (rival high school of Matt Biondi’s Campolindo). 1:42.8 in the 2 free and 4:35 in the 500. Still among the school’s top times ever: http://www.acalanesswimming.com/records

PMD
Reply to  Springbrook
8 years ago

Go LMYA! Haha and Springbrook

calswimfan
8 years ago

What a great gig! Excited for her next chapter at Duke.

Hint of Lime
8 years ago

Not sure why there’s always so much flak around swimmers and Cal. Klaren, from what I remember, had a great senior year (3rd in the 100 back?) in SCY. As the article mentioned, she dropped time in her 1 back swim, so I’m not sure how her career was “ruined” by going to Cal. All in all, I think we have to remember that these athletes are 20-something year-olds who made the decision to attend XYZ schools and train with XYZ coaches, and what should matter most is how they feel about their careers/achievements/times, not all of us commentators looking from the outside in.

Bob
8 years ago

Why do I hear so many bad things about Cal?

Steve Nolan
Reply to  Bob
8 years ago

Because people are dumb.

ERVINFORTHEWIN
Reply to  Steve Nolan
8 years ago

or got dumber with age ….LOL

Steve Nolan
8 years ago

Yet another career, ruined by going to Cal.

Reid
Reply to  Steve Nolan
8 years ago

Yes another career, just like Dana Vollmer, Natalie Coughlin, Madison Kennedy, Caitlin Leverenz, now Amy Bilquist… God what a dearth of success.

Steve Nolan
Reply to  Reid
8 years ago

(I was making a joke.)

hint of lime
Reply to  Reid
8 years ago

Baker too!

Enough already
Reply to  Steve Nolan
8 years ago

The ignorance on this Cal topic is getting really old. Melanie had a great career at Cal and made big time drops in her backstrokes there. Maybe look up the facts before posting.

Cynthia mae Curran
Reply to  Steve Nolan
8 years ago

Klaren actually improved at Cal. She was not in the running for the Olympics or worlds,

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Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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