CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – Jenny Thompson still loves speed. Only now, she performs in an operating room rather than the pool.
One of America’s greatest Olympic swimmers, Thompson is on the front line of the fight against coronavirus as an anesthesiologist at the VA hospital in Charleston, South Carolina.
FILE – In this July 25, 1996, file photo, President Clinton congratulates Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson after Thompson and the U.S. team won the gold medal in the women’s 4 X 200 meter freestyle relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. One of America’s greatest Olympic swimmers, Thompson is now on the front line of the fight against coronavirus as an anesthesiologist at the VA hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk) 
FILE – In this Jan. 15, 1998, file photo, Jenny Thompson shows off the gold medal she won in the womens 100 meter butterfly final at the World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia. One of America’s greatest Olympic swimmers, Thompson is now on the front line of the fight against coronavirus as an anesthesiologist at the VA hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Rick Stevens)
She competed in four Olympics, winning eight golds and 12 medals overall before retiring after the 2004 Athens Games.
Then she turned to her other passion: medicine.
Thompson chose anesthesiology because it fit the persona of a swimmer who specialized in sprint races.
The coronavirus outbreak has added a whole new element to her job.
