Heather Olson Position: Head Coach Experience: 8th Season Alma Mater: Stanford, 1999

Heather Olson enters her eighth season as the head coach of the Stanford synchronized swimming program in 2008. A former synchronized swimmer at Stanford, Olson graduated from Stanford in 1999 with a B.A. in English. As both a student-athlete and coach, Olson has been instrumental in building Stanford into one of the top collegiate synchronized swimming programs in the nation. In her time on The Farm, she has played a role in five of the six Cardinal national championships, as a student-athlete in 1998 and as a coach for four straight seasons from 2005-08. Olson has also been responsible for bringing some of the nation's top student-athletes to The Farm, boasting some of the best recruiting classes in collegiate synchronized swimming history.

Olson brings the enthusiasm and dedication necessary to dominate in synchronized swimming, as seen in 2007 and 2008 with Stanford's sweep of the U.S. Nationals and Collegiate Nationals.

Last season, Olson led Stanford to its fourth consecutive Collegiate National Championship after winning gold medals in Solo, Duet, Trio and finishing with the silver in team. Olson was also honored as Collegiate Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season. The 2008 campaign also marked a breakthrough in synchronized swimming as Olson led the Cardinal to the U.S. National Championships, making Stanford the first collegiate team to accomplish that feat, an achievement usually reserved for club teams.

In 2007, Olson led the team to its third straight Collegiate National Championship, after sweeping the gold medals in Solo, Duet, Trio and Team. For her efforts, Olson was honored as the Collegiate Coach of the Year, in addition to being named the 2007 U.S. Coach of the Year. In April, she led Stanford to the gold medal at U.S. Nationals in solo, duet and team, the first time in history for a collegiate program. Olson's team also dethroned club powerhouse Santa Clara Aquamaids in all events. The Cardinal was also unbeaten during the regular season.

In 2006, Stanford won its third Collegiate National Championship and took silver at U.S. Nationals. Olson's squad earned the gold medal in the Duet event, becoming the first collegiate team ever to do so. Named the Collegiate Coach of the Year, Olson also led Stanford to the silver medal at U.S. Nationals, and brought the team within a point of gold. Olson's student-athletes did earn the gold medal in the duet event, becoming the first collegiate team ever to do so.

In 2005, Olson's team swept Collegiate Nationals and claimed four medals at U.S. Nationals, including a gold by Katie Norris in the Solo Event. The team finished second overall, the highest placement in Stanford's history at the competition. Olson was inducted into the Synchro Hall of Fame, named the Collegiate Coach of the Year and received the Esther Williams Creative Achievement Award.

Overall, Olson has led the Cardinal team to four first place finishes and three second place finishes at Collegiate Nationals in just seven seasons at Stanford. She has also led the team to two first place finishes, two second place finishes and a fourth place finish at U.S. Nationals.

During her collegiate athletic career, Olson captained the Stanford squad in 1998 and led the Cardinal to its first-ever NCAA Championship. She was a four-time U.S. Synchronized Swimming All-American (1994, 1995, 1996, 2000) and Collegiate All-American (1997, 1998). She also received the Stanford "Block S" Outstanding Athlete Award her junior year (1998).

Olson was a two-year member of the Junior National Team, a five-year member of the First National Team, and a two-time U.S. Olympic Team member (1996, 2000), winning a gold medal in 1996. She was honored as the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Athlete of the Year in both 1996 and 2000 and as Olympic Team Captain in 2000. Olson coached for one of the top clubs in the country, the Walnut Creek Aquanuts, and led nationwide Olympic clinics from 1996-2001. She served as a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford before assuming head coach responsibilities in the fall of 2001.

During the 2008 Olympic Games, Olson served as a broadcaster for synchronized swimming for NBC. She was also a four-year AAC Athlete Representative for the USOC. In 2005, she won the Ninetta Davis Athlete Representative Award for service as an Athlete's Representative. She is a member of the National Team Program committee and has been selected among the top coaches in the country to be a potential National Team coach. She also served as a 2004 USOC Summit Committee member alongside seven other Olympic Gold Medalists. In addition, Olson coached the U.S. Junior National team in the summer of 2008.

Olson and her husband Erick, a firefighter/paramedic,have been married for nine years. Their first chid, Patrick Kemmerick Olson, was born March 7, 2009.