Charlie Houchin

{{Short description|American swimmer (born 1987)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}} {{Infobox swimmer | name = Charlie Houchin | image =  | image_size =  | alt = | caption = | full_name = Charles Houchin | nicknames = "Charlie" | national_team = {{USA}} | strokes = Freestyle | club = IX3[sports] | hometown = Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. | collegeteam = University of Michigan | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1987|11|3|mf=y}} | birth_place = Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | height = 6 ft 3 in | weight = 185 lb  | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's swimming }} {{MedalCountry | the {{USA}}}} {{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }} center|80px {{MedalGold | 2012 London | 4×200 m freestyle }} {{MedalCompetition | World Championships (LC) }} {{MedalGold | 2013 Barcelona | 4×200 m freestyle }} {{MedalCompetition | World Championships (SC) }} {{MedalSilver | 2010 Dubai | 4×200 m freestyle }} {{MedalCompetition | Pan American Games }} {{MedalGold | 2011 Guadalajara | 400 m freestyle }} {{MedalGold | 2011 Guadalajara | 4×200 m freestyle }} }}

'''Charles Houchin''' (born November 3, 1987) is an American former competition swimmer who has had his greatest international success in freestyle relay events. He earned a gold medal as a member of the winning United States team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the CEO and founder of Swimmingly.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Burkhart |first1=Jessie |title=Olympian Swimmer from Raleigh Tests Entrepreneurial Waters |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2014/01/05/olympian-swimmer-from-raleigh-tests.html |access-date=September 19, 2014 |agency=Triangle Business Journal |publisher=American City Business Journals |date=January 6, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Summer Swimming's, Simple Mobile App, HydroXphere / Meet Central™ Announces Rebrand to Swimmingly™ |url=https://swimminglyapp.com/rebrand/ |access-date=November 7, 2019 |publisher=Swimmingly |date=November 7, 2019}}</ref>

==Early years== Houchin graduated from William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Both of his parents were All-American swimmers for North Carolina State University. Houchin attended the University of Michigan, where he swam for the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2006 to 2010. He graduated from Michigan with a bachelor's degree in sports management in 2010. He currently swims for IX3[sports] in Jacksonville, Florida.

==Professional career== Houchin used the money he earned from his gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics to found Swimmingly and create Meet Central.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Colleen Michele |title=feature[23] helps Olympian 'jump into deep end' with app |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/01/16/feature23-helps-olympian-jump-into.html |accessdate=September 19, 2014 |agency=Jacksonville Business Journal |publisher=American City Business Journals |date=January 16, 2014}}</ref>

==Swimming career== At the 2010 FINA Short Course World Championships, Houchin won a silver medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay for his contributions in the heats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2010/WSC_DUBAI/C74B_ResSummaryRelay_16_Heats_Men_4x200_Free.pdf |title=2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) – Men's 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay (heats) |publisher=Omega Timing |access-date=December 24, 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China, Houchin competed in one event, the 400-meter freestyle. Houchin posted a time of 3:48.80 in the heats and did not advance to the final, finishing fourteenth overall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2011/shanghai2011/C74A_Results%20(Summary%20-%20Individual)_2_Men_400_Free.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331094220/http://omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2011/shanghai2011/C74A_Results%20(Summary%20-%20Individual)_2_Men_400_Free.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 31, 2012 |title=2011 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 400-metre freestyle (heats) |publisher=Omega Timing |access-date=August 5, 2011 }}</ref>

At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Houchin won two gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Houchin made the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by finishing sixth in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:46.88,<ref>OmegaTiming.com, 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, [http://omegatiming.com/File/Download?id=00010C010200000202FFFFFFFFFFFF02 Men's 200m Freestyle (final)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924131433/http://omegatiming.com/File/Download?id=00010C010200000202FFFFFFFFFFFF02 |date=September 24, 2015 }}. Retrieved July 16, 2012.</ref> which qualified him to swim in the 4×200-meter freestyle as a member of the U.S. relay team. Houchin also competed in the 400-meter freestyle at the trials, and finished fourth overall (3:48.32). At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Houchin earned a gold medal by swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, Houchin combined with Conor Dwyer, Ryan Lochte, and Ricky Berens in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, with the team finishing in first place for the gold medal. Swimming the third leg, Houchin recorded a split of 1:45.59, and the team finished with a final time of 7:01.72.

==Personal life== Houchin is a Christian. Houchin has spoken about his faith saying, "I like to think I carry a quiet confidence into the water because of my relationship with Christ.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charlie Houchin |url=http://www.beyondtheultimate.org/athlete/Charlie-Houchin}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Biography|Olympics}} * List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) * List of University of Michigan alumni * Michigan Wolverines

==References== {{Reflist|2}} * {{cite web |last1=Commings |first1=Jeff |title=Charlie Houchin Announces Retirement From Swimming, Will Focus Energy on New Company |url=http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/charlie-houchin-announces-retirement-from-swimming-will-focus-energy-on-new-company/ |website=Swimming World |date=August 11, 2014 |publisher=Swimming World Magazine |access-date=September 19, 2014}}

==External links== * {{World Aquatics}} * {{Olympics.com|org_archive=20190804021604}} * {{Olympedia}} * {{USA Swimming|new_id=charlie-houchin|archive=20210602224327}} * {{USOPC|new_id=charlie-houchin|old_id=HO/Charlie-Houchin|archive=20220711224834}} * {{web archive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622221807/http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/houchin_charlie00.html |title=Charlie Houchin – University of Michigan athlete profile |date=mdy}}

{{Footer USA Swimming 2012 Summer Olympics}} {{Footer World LC Champions 4x200m Freestyle Men}} {{Footer Pan American Champions 400 m Freestyle Men}} {{Footer Pan American Champions 4x200 m Freestyle Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houchin, Charlie}} Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:American male freestyle swimmers Category:Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Category:Michigan Wolverines men's swimmers Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Category:Sportspeople from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Category:World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Category:Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Category:Enloe High School alumni Category:Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming Category:21st-century American sportsmen