Abrahm DeVine

Abrahm David DeVine (born September 3, 1996)[1] is an American swimmer from Seattle, Washington. He currently represents the DC Trident which is part of the International Swimming League.[6] His first international competition was in the men's 200 metre Individual Medley (IM) event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.[8][9] In 2017, as a member of the U.S. FINA World Championships team he finished tenth in the 200 IM.[6] In his junior season at Stanford he became a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the 400 IM, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Swimmer of the Year.[6][3] In 2018, DeVine placed second in the 200 IM at U.S. Summer Nationals, which qualified him for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships In Tokyo, Japan where he finished fifth.[6]

Abrahm DeVine
Devine (left) in 2018
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
BornSeptember 3, 1996 (1996-09-03) (age 24)[1]
Seattle, Washington, U.S.[2]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesIndividual Medley (IM),[3] freestyle,[3] backstroke,[3] breaststroke,[2] butterfly stroke[2]
Club
College teamStanford University Cardinal[7]

In 2018, he came out as gay, one of "very few openly gay swimmers competing on the elite level."[10][11] In his senior year at Stanford he again was NCAA champion in the 400 IM, he was also named a member of Team U.S.A. for the 2018-19 season.[6][3] In 2019, he placed eighth in the IM at the FINA World Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea.[6] As of April 2019, he is a fifteen-time All-American.[3] In May 2019 Swimming World listed him as twelfth in its ranking of NCAA men's swimmers in Division I.[12] In September 2019, DeVine says he was dropped from the Stanford team due to homophobia which team coaches denied in a statement which did not include why they took the action.[7][13]

As of June 2019, DeVine has been with International Swimming League's DC Trident.[6]

Early life and education

Abrahm DeVine was born in Seattle, Washington to Rene Folk and Jim DeVine.[2] He grew up in Seattle, Washington and was introduced to swimming by his mother when he was an infant.[3][14] Folk, in the 1970s, while still living in Anamosa, Iowa, worked at the Anamosa swimming pool teaching kids to swim, and coaching the swim team.[14] Abrahm joined a summer league when he was five, and a year-round team, Cascade Swim Club, when he was six years old.[3][4] There he met his “core group” which he had through Lakeside High School, he remained on the team for twelve years.[3]

In high school, by his sophomore and junior years, he made junior nationals and nationals.[3] He was an All-American in 2013, 2014, and 2015.[2] In 2014 he made the Junior National Team.[4] His main event was the 400 Individual Medley (IM), “it’s all strokes and it incorporates speed and endurance.”[3] He was a state champion in 2013, and a double state champion in 2014 and 2015.[2]

At Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, where he had earned a scholarship, he was earning a Computer science degree, while swimming on the Stanford Cardinal team.[3][14][4] In June 2016 he was in the U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming in Omaha, Nebraska, he placed fifth in the 200 IM.[14] He was a finalist in the 400 IM at the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.[4]

Career

DeVine's first international competition was in the men's 200 metre Individual Medley (IM) event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.[15][16] In 2017, as a member of the U.S. FINA World Championships team he finished tenth in the 200 IM.[6] In his junior season at Stanford he became a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the 400 IM, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Swimmer of the Year.[6][3] In 2018, DeVine placed second in the 200 IM at U.S. Summer Nationals, which qualified him for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Japan where he finished fifth.[6] In 2018, he came out as gay, with “very few openly gay swimmers competing on the elite level.”[7][11] In his senior year at Stanford he again was NCAA champion in the 400 IM, he was also named a member of Team U.S.A. for the 2018-19 season.[6][3] In 2019, he placed eighth in the IM at the FINA World Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea.[6] As of April 2019, he is a fifteen-time All-American.[3] He holds several Stanford swimming records: the 400 IM (3:35.29) by four seconds; top three times in the 200 freestyle (1:32.77); top three times in 200 backstroke (1:39.22); and top three times in 200 IM (1:40.35).[3] In May 2019 Swimming World listed him as twelfth in its ranking of NCAA Division I men's swimmers.[17]

In June 2019, DeVine was added as a member to the International Swimming League's DC Trident.[6] In July 2019, DeVine signed with Arena, a sportswear company specializing in swimwear.[6] As of August 2019 he swims with Team Elite in San Diego.[6] In September 2019, DeVine says he was dropped from the Stanford team due to homophobia which team coaches denied in a statement which did not include why they took the action.[7]

In 2018 when asked about his post-swimming career interests, DeVine cited being intrigued by startup culture, and the environmental movement.[11]

Personal life

In 2016 or 2017, DeVine's parents started collecting ukuleles,[11] a small guitar-like instrument, which was introduced to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, mainly from Madeira and the Azores. They became popular in the U.S. mainland in the mid-20th century. Abrahm has since been practicing and learning music.[11]

References
  1. "Abrahm DeVine". usaswimming.org. USA Swimming. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. "Abrahm DeVine - Men's Swimming & Diving". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  3. Hemker, James (April 24, 2019). "Senior Spotlight: Abrahm DeVine". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  4. West, Brandi (July 25, 2019). "Arena signs American 2-time NCAA champion Abrahm DeVine". Swimming World News. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  5. "Boys swim preview: Lakeside's Abrahm Devine looks to repeat as state champion". The Seattle Times. December 18, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  6. Anderson, Jared (October 1, 2019). "Abrahm DeVine Accuses Stanford Team of Homophobia; School Denies Allegations". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  7. Villarreal, Daniel (September 30, 2019). "NCAA swimmer says homophobic coaches ousted him". Outsports. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  8. "Heats results". FINA. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  9. "2017 World Aquatics Championships > Search via Athletes". Budapest 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  10. "NCAA champion swimmer Abrahm DeVine comes out as gay". Outsports. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  11. Reider, David (September 16, 2018). "Abrahm DeVine Stepping Out as Elite IMer and Gay Swimmer". Swimming World News. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  12. Ross, Andy (May 15, 2019). "Re-Ranking the Best NCAA Men's Swimmers in Division I From 1-25". Swimming World News. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  13. "Stanford Swimmer Abrahm DeVine Claims He Was Kicked Off Team Because He's Gay". YourTango. October 9, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  14. Netolicky, Lara (July 21, 2016). "Anamosa woman's grandson competes in Olympic trials". Journal-Eureka. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  15. "Heats results". FINA. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  16. "2017 World Aquatics Championships > Search via Athletes". Budapest 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  17. Ross, Andy (May 15, 2019). "Re-Ranking the Best NCAA Men's Swimmers in Division I From 1-25". Swimming World News. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
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