About Aaron Peirsol
Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who swam for the University of Texas and is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist with five gold, and two silver medals. Individually, he has held the world record in the 100-meter backstroke event and is the current record holder in the 200-meter backstroke (long course). In his long career, Peirsol captured a total of thirty-six medals in major international competition: twenty-nine gold, six silver, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, Pan American, and the Pan Pacific Championships. == Early life and swimming == Peirsol was born July 23, 1983 in Newport Beach, a suburb of Irvine, California, the son of Scott and Wella Peirsol. His younger sister, Hayley, was also a competitive swimmer. In 2003, Peirsol and his sister became the first sibling duo to medal at the same FINA World Championships. He attended Irvine's Venado Middle School, and was a 2002 graduate of Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, California. He began swim training at the age of five, eventually competing at the nearby Newport-Costa Mesa YMCA where he came under the direction of Coach Stacy Zapolski. Zapolski was a four-year competitor for Pepperdine University's women's swim team where she specialized in backstroke, and from 1991-1992 coached Peirsol, likely improving his backstroke technique.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.