Getty Swimmer Elizabeth Beisel attends the 37th Annual Salute To Women In Sports Gala
Elizabeth Beisel is a former “Survivor” castaway and Olympic medal-winning swimmer. Find out how she is involved in the 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, and what record-setting feat she is going to attempt in September 2021.
Beisel Is a 2-Time Olympic Medalist and is Covering the Tokyo Olympics for NBC
Beisel may not be the most decorated U.S. swimmer, but she qualifyed for the 2008 Beijing, 2021 London and 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. She medaled twice in 2012 — a silver in the 400m individual medley and a bronze in the 200m backstroke. She was also voted by her peers to serve as team captain for the 2016 games. Beisel is also the only female swimmer to swim for the U.S. National Team for 12 consecutive years, according to her website. She retired in 2017.
After her retirement, Beisel appeared on “Survivor” season 39, “Island of the Idols,” where she finished in ninth place. She did take home a prize other than the title of “Sole Survivor,” however — a new partner. Beisel started seeing fellow “Island of the Idols” castaway Jack Nichting after filming wrapped. Based on their recent Instagram posts, the two are still going strong. Nichting was recently there for Beisel when her father Ted lost his battle with cancer on July 1, 2021.
For the 2021 Olympics, Beisel auditioned for and was selected to act as both a swimming analyst and the host of a brand-new Olympics podcast. We say “auditioned” because Beisel recently posted two photos to Instagram where the first one was captioned “how it started” and shows her holding a “Tokyo 2020 Talent Auditions” placard and the second is captioned “how it’s going !!!!! let the games begin!” and shows her sitting in press row at the Olympic swimming venue.
In addition to commentating on NBC’s swimming coverage, Beisel is the host of “In the Village,” a daily podcast where Beisel gives “an athlete’s view of what happens in the Olympic Village when they aren’t competing,” according to the press release. The press release also says, “Beisel, who is in Tokyo, will be speaking remotely to athletes who are in the Olympic Village.”
You can check out all the NBC Olympics podcasts at the official site here.
In September 2021, Beisel Will Attempt to Swim to Block Island
Beisel also recently announced that she is swimming for cancer research in the wkae of her father’s death from pancreatic cancer.
“I swim to raise funds for groundbreaking research and clinical trials. I do so not just for my Dad who lost his courageous battle against cancer, but for everyone who has been touched by cancer,” Beisel wrote on Instagram.
She works with the organization “Swim Across America,” which funds “cancer research, clinical trials and patient programs by hosting charity swims,” according to its website.
Beisel’s event is called “Block Cancer.” On September 9, she will swim a 20km route from Pt. Judith, Rhode Island to Block Island. Her fundraising goal is $100,000; as of this writing, they are almost 84 percent of the way there. On the page for her event, Beisel shares how they received her father’s diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer on Christmas Day 2020; he died a little over six months later.
“I felt the overwhelming need to help anyone and everyone battling this dreadful disease. I figured with my swimming platform (albeit small, but mighty!) [was] the most impactful way I could help would be through a charity swim. I chose to swim from Pt. Judith to Block Island, something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl. I named the swim ‘Block Cancer’ and teamed up with Swim Across America. 100 percent of funds raised will be donated to cancer research and clinical trials,” writes Beisel.
The 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics take place from Friday, July 23 until the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, August 8. “Survivor” returns on Wednesday, September 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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