View source for Ricky Berens

{{Short description|American swimmer (born 1988)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox swimmer
| name           = Ricky Berens
| image          = Ricky Berens (4800342335) (cropped2).jpg
| image_size     =
| alt            = 
| caption        = Berens in 2010
| full_name      = Richard Berens
| nicknames      = 
| national_team  = {{USA}}
| birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1988|4|21|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Charlotte, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = 6 ft 3 in
| weight         = 190 lb
| website        = 
| strokes        = [[Freestyle swimming|Freestyle]]
| club           = Trojan Swim Club
| collegeteam    = [[Texas Longhorns swimming and diving|University of Texas]]
| coach          = 
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's swimming }}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCount
| [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] | 2 | 1 | 0
| [[FINA World Aquatics Championships|World Championships (LC)]] | 4 | 1 | 0
| [[FINA World Aquatics Championships|World Championships (SC)]] | 0 | 1 | 0
| [[Swimming at the Pan American Games|Pan American Games]] | 1 | 2 | 0
| [[Pan Pacific Swimming Championships|Pan Pacific Championships]] | 1 | 0 | 0
| '''Total''' | '''8''' | '''5''' | '''0'''
}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] }}
[[File:Olympic rings.svg|center|80px]]
{{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Beijing]] | [[Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London]] | [[Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London]] | [[Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay|4×100 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FINA World Aquatics Championships|World Championships (LC)]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships|2009 Rome]] | [[Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay|4×100 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships|2009 Rome]] | [[Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships|2011 Shanghai]] | [[Swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships|2013 Barcelona]] | [[Swimming at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[Swimming at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships|2013 Barcelona]] | [[Swimming at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay|4×100 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)|World Championships (SC)]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)|2010 Dubai]] | [[2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Swimming at the Pan American Games|Pan American Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games|2007 Rio de Janeiro]] | [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games – Men's 4x100 metre medley relay|4×100 m medley]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games|2007 Rio de Janeiro]] | [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games – Men's 4x100 metre freestyle relay|4×100 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games|2007 Rio de Janeiro]] | [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games – Men's 4x200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Pan Pacific Swimming Championships|Pan Pacific Championships]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships|2010 Irvine]] | [[2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] }}
{{MedalCountry | the [[Texas Longhorns swimming and diving|Texas Longhorns]]}}
{{MedalCount
|[[NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving championships|NCAA Championships]]|2|5|2
|'''Total'''|'''2'''|'''5'''|'''2'''
}}
{{MedalCount|type=By race|total=yes
|200 y freestyle|0|0|1
|200 y medley|0|1|1
|4×100 y freestyle|0|2|0
|4×200 y freestyle|2|1|0
|4×100 y medley|0|1|0
}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving championships|NCAA Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2009 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2009 College Station]] |4×200 y freestyle}}
{{MedalGold|[[2010 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2010 Columbus]] |4×200 y freestyle}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2007 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2007 Minneapolis]] |4×100 y medley}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2008 Federal Way]] |200 y medley}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2008 Federal Way]] |4×200 y freestyle}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2009 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2009 College Station]] |4×100 y freestyle}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2010 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2010 Columbus]] |4×100 y freestyle}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2009 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2009 College Station]] |200 y freestyle}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2009 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2009 College Station]] |200 y medley}}
}}

'''Richard Berens''' (born April 21, 1988) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and current world record-holder.  As a member of the U.S. national team, he holds the world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay (long course).  He competed in the 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter freestyle relay events, as well as the individual 200-meter freestyle at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]].

==Early years==
Berens was born in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]].<ref name=sroprofile>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/ricky-berens-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417225939/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/ricky-berens-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |title=Ricky Berens |access-date=July 1, 2012}}</ref> After graduating from [[South Mecklenburg High School]], he attended the [[University of Texas at Austin]], and swam for coach [[Eddie Reese]]'s [[Texas Longhorns swimming and diving]] team 2007 to 2010. During his collegiate career at Texas, Berens was a 20-time All-American, member of two NCAA champion relay teams, and key contributor to the Longhorns [[2010 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships|2010 NCAA team title]].<ref>[https://www.tsdhof.org/ricky-berens Ricky Berens {{emdash}} Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame]. ''tsdhof.org''. Retrieved February 18, 2023.</ref> He graduated from the University of Texas with a [[bachelor's degree]] in finance in 2010, and relocated to Los Angeles shortly thereafter to train with coach [[Dave Salo]] at Trojan Aquatics.

==International career==
At the [[2007 Pan American Games]], Berens won a gold medal in the [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games – Men's 4x100 metre medley relay|4×100-meter medley relay]], and silver medals in both the [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games – Men's 4x100 metre freestyle relay|4×100-meter freestyle]] and [[Swimming at the 2007 Pan American Games – Men's 4x200 metre freestyle relay|4×200-meter freestyle relays]].

At the [[2008 Summer Olympics]], Berens won the gold medal in the [[Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay]] with [[Michael Phelps]], [[Ryan Lochte]], and [[Peter Vanderkaay]], setting a new world record of 6:58.56.  Berens swam the third leg in a relay split time of 1:46.29.<ref>[http://www.nbcolympics.com/swimming/resultsandschedules/rsc=SWM412100/index.html Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final Results]</ref> Berens was the only member of the finals team to swim in the preliminary heats, posting a time of 1:45.47, just faster than [[Klete Keller]]'s 1:45.51, to be selected to swim in the final.

Berens swam the third leg of the [[Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay|4×100-meter freestyle]] preliminaries at the [[2009 World Aquatics Championships|2009 World Championships]] in Rome and earned a gold medal when the U.S. team placed first in the final.<ref>{{cite news |title=In an Olympic Flashback, U.S. Team Rallies to Win Gold |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/26/AR2009072602588.html |work=[[The Washington Post]] |author=Amy Shipley |date=July 27, 2009 |access-date=July 30, 2009}}</ref> Berens also swam in both the preliminaries and final of the [[Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200-meter freestyle]], which won gold.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theusdaily.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=811369&type=SportOlym |title=U.S. snip record to grab golden double |date=July 31, 2009}}</ref> In the final, Berens swam the second leg in 1:44.13, the second fastest split from anyone in the event.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-swim/spec-rel/073109aab.html |title=Berens, Walters and Peirsol strike gold, set new world records at FINA World Championships |date=July 31, 2009}}</ref>

Berens was also a part of the winning U.S. 4×200-meter freestyle relay teams at the [[2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships]] and the [[Swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships|2011 World Championships]].

At the [[2011 Duel in the Pool]], a short course meet featuring the United States and European "All-Stars", Berens won both the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events.

At the [[2012 United States Olympic Trials (swimming)|2012 United States Olympic Trials]], the qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Berens made his second Olympic team by finishing fourth in the 100-meter freestyle and third in the 200-meter freestyle, qualifying him to swim in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, respectively. Although Berens did not qualify to swim in any individual events, [[Bob Bowman (coach)|Bob Bowman]], Michael Phelps's coach, revealed on Twitter that Phelps, who came in first in the 200-meter freestyle, would be scratching the race from his Olympic program, giving the third place Berens a chance to swim his first individual Olympic event.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/07/ricky-berens-learns-of-golden-opportunity-on-twitter/1#.UA3t8vXfKSp |work=USA Today |title=Ricky Berens learns of golden opportunity on Twitter |date=July 2, 2012}}</ref>

At the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in London, Berens again won a gold medal in the [[Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay]], together with [[Ryan Lochte]], [[Conor Dwyer]] and [[Michael Phelps]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london2012.com/swimming/event/men-4x200m-freestyle-relay/phase=swm412100/index.html |title=Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay |publisher=[[London2012.com]] |author=Official website for the 2012 Summer Olympics |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731204438/http://www.london2012.com/swimming/event/men-4x200m-freestyle-relay/phase=swm412100/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Berens swam the third leg for the U.S. team in 1:45.27.  He also won a silver medal as part of the second-place U.S. team for the [[Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay|men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay]], in which he swam the third leg of the heat in 48.52.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london2012.com/athlete/berens-ricky-1133268/events/ |title=Ricky Berens – Events and results |publisher=[[London2012.com]] |author=Official website for the 2012 Summer Olympics |access-date=August 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804210508/http://www.london2012.com/athlete/berens-ricky-1133268/events/ |archive-date=August 4, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

After the final of the 4×200-meter event, Berens stated that he would retire from competitive swimming following the Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/07/31/2235761/berens-ends-swimming-career-on.html |title=Fowler: Berens ends swimming career on top |publisher=[[News & Observer]] |author=Scott Fowler |author-link=Scott Fowler |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=August 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707102246/http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/07/31/2235761/berens-ends-swimming-career-on.html |archive-date=July 7, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/ricky-berens-unexpectedly-retires-after.html |title=Ricky Berens unexpectedly retires after winning gold |publisher=[[Charlotte Observer]] |author=Scott Fowler |author-link=Scott Fowler |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=August 2, 2012}}</ref>

After seven weeks, Berens came out of retirement and returned to the swimming stage. At the 2013 American Short Course Championships, he broke the [[List of United States records in swimming|American record in the 200-yard freestyle]] (1:31.31), taking his split from the 500-yard freestyle. At the 2013 United States National Championships, Berens finished 5th place in both the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle, qualifying him to swim in the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay and 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay.

At the [[2013 World Aquatics Championships]] in Barcelona, Berens combined with [[Conor Dwyer]], [[Ryan Lochte]] and [[Charlie Houchin]] in the [[Swimming at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200-meter freestyle relay]], with the team finishing in first place for the gold medal.  Swimming the anchor leg, Berens recorded a split of 1:45.39, and the team finished with a final time of 7:01.72.

In November 2013, Berens retired for a second time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://swimswam.com/olympian-ricky-berens-retires-gold-medal-minute-video/|title = Olympian Ricky Berens Retires: Gold Medal Minute Video|date = November 29, 2013}}</ref>

===Sponsorships and media coverage===

In 2008, Berens was interviewed on ''[[Today (NBC Program)|The Today Show]]'' in Beijing after winning gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.  In 2009 he made an appearance on ''[[The Tyra Banks Show]]'', poking fun at himself after a swimsuit malfunction at the 2009 World Championships.  In 2011, Berens (alongside his dog) was featured in a print advertisement for [[Eukanuba]] that ran in ''[[Men's Journal]]'' magazine.  Berens was also featured in a print advertisement for a [[Casio]] watch, which ran in the December 2011 issue of ''[[Details (magazine)|Details]]'' magazine.

Berens was sponsored by [[Tyr Sport, Inc.|TYR Swimwear]] and by [[BMW]]'s Pro Performance Team. He also appeared in the "[[Got Milk?]]" chocolate milk campaign. Berens is represented by [[Octagon (Sports Agency)|Octagon]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Olympics}}
* [[List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)]]
* [[List of United States records in swimming]]
* [[List of University of Texas at Austin alumni]]
* [[List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)]]
* [[List of world records in swimming]]
* [[World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{World Aquatics|1011904|Richard Rerens}}
* {{Olympics.com profile|org_archive=20200913121836}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{USA Swimming|new_id=ricky-berens|archive=20211016084410}}
* {{USOPC|new_id=ricky-berens|old_id=BE/Ricky-Berens|archive=20220711223127}}
* [https://texaslonghorns.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/roster/ricky-berens/2466 Ricky Berens – University of Texas athlete profile at TexasSports.com]
* {{Official website|http://www.rickyberens.com/}}{{dead link|date=May 2020}}

{{Footer USA Swimming 2008 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Swimming 2012 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x200 m Freestyle Relay Men}}
{{Footer World LC Champions 4x200m Freestyle Men}}
{{Footer Pan Pacific Champions 4x200m Freestyle Men}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions 4x100 m Medley Men}}
{{Big 12 Conference Swimmer of the Year navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berens, Ricky}}
[[Category:1988 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male freestyle swimmers]]
[[Category:Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Swimmers from Charlotte, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Texas Longhorns men's swimmers]]
[[Category:World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming]]
[[Category:World record holders in swimming]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 2007 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in swimming]]
[[Category:Swimmers from North Carolina]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]