Jay Litherland

Jay Litherland (born August 24, 1995) is an American competition swimmer. He has represented DC Trident, professional team that is part of the International Swimming League. He won the silver medal in the Men's 400 Individual Medley at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 4:10.28. He was a World University Games gold medalist at the 2015 Summer Universiade and a bronze medalist at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships. Litherland competed for the University of Georgia in American collegiate swimming under Head Coach Jack Bauerle.

Early life Litherland and his brothers, Mick and Kevin, were born in Amagasaki, Japan on August 24, 1995, as triplets. His father, Andrew Litherland, is a chef from New Zealand, and his mother, Chizuko, is from Japan. He grew up speaking Japanese at home. The family settled in Johns Creek, Georgia, and Litherland was named an All-American in swimming while he was a student at Chattahoochee High School. At Chattahoochee High, Jay was coached by Ron Loula, and won Georgia State titles in both the 100 breaststroke and backstroke.

Litherland received U.S. citizenship in high school. As a triple citizen of Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, he could compete for any of those countries at the Olympics. He initially contacted the New Zealand swimming federation with interest in competing for them at the 2016 Olympics. Still, he had already competed for the U.S. at an international event, meaning he would have required special permission to switch to New Zealand. His brothers decided to participate in the New Zealand Olympic trials instead of the U.S. trials, which left Litherland "kind of bummed that I'm not representing New Zealand with them, but I'm really excited for them."

He is fluent in Japanese.

College Career: University of Georgia Litherland attended the University of Georgia from 2014-2018 where he swam for Head Coach Jack Bauerle. As a Senior at Georgia, he was the recipient of All-America honors twice at the NCAAs, and completed his Georgia career with a total of nine NCAA All American honors. Sitting 3.34 Seconds behind the leader, Daiya Seto at the 300 mark, Litherland closed the gap to 0.27, placing 2nd and gaining his first individual World Championship medal.

ISL – DC Trident

2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medal In the 400-meter individual medley, Litherland closed strongly to win the silver medal in 4:10.28. He out touched bronze medalist Brendon Smith by one-tenth of a second.

Career best times Long course (50-meter pool) Event Time Venue Date 400 m IM 4:09.22 South Korea July 28, 2019