Thomas Allen Shields (born July 11, 1991) is an American competitive swimmer. He is a two-time Olympian and the current American record-holder in the short course 50-meter butterfly and 200-meter butterfly. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay, swimming the butterfly leg of the relay in the prelims. Later the same year, he became the first American to swim faster than 44 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly, setting a new American record of 43.84 seconds.
For the 2020 Summer Olympics, he swam the butterfly leg of the 4×100-meter medley relay in the prelims, winning a gold medal when the finals relay finished first. At the Kazan stop of the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup, Shields was the only swimmer representing the United States to compete, winning two gold medals and one silver medal in individual events. For the whole 2021 World Cup, Shields was the highest scoring American competitor and second-highest scoring male competitor.
Background Shields was born in Panama City, Florida, while his father was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base. When he was two years old, his parents moved him and his older sister, Lindy, to Huntington Beach, California. Once in Orange County, he began swimming competitively when he was eight years old."Tom Shields - Bio". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
For high school, Shields attended Edison High School where he swam on the Varsity Swim Team all four years, receiving multiple awards, breaking the National High School record in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:33.83, and ending his high school career with an induction into the Edison High School Hall of Fame in 2009. He attended the University of California, Berkeley from 2010 to 2013, where he swam under Head Coach Dave Durden and graduated with an undergraduate degree in religious studies in 2013."2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Roster: Tom Shields". California Golden Bears. 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
2008–2015 At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Shields placed 45th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:51.74, 54th in the 400-meter freestyle at 4:00.83, 72nd in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:04.78, and 89th in the 100-meter butterfly in 55.77 seconds.Omega Timing (July 6, 2008). "2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Results". USA Swimming. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
2010 NCAA Championships At the 2010 NCAA Division I Championships, he won the 100-yard butterfly, placed second in the 200-yard butterfly, and was 16th in the 200-yard freestyle. Both of his butterfly efforts broke 17-18 National Age Group records setting new records of 44.91 in the 100-yard butterfly and 1:41.59 in the 200-yard butterfly. He was on the winning 4x100-yard medley relay, and the winning 4x100-yard freestyle relay. He helped his university team, the California Golden Bears, finish second to the Texas Longhorns in the championships. For his performances in the NCAA his freshman year, Shields won the "Freshman/Newcomer of the Year" award from the Pac-12 Conference.
2011 NCAA Championships At the 2011 NCAA Division I Championships, Shields won the 100-yard backstroke in 45.02 seconds, finished in second place in the 100-yard butterfly at 44.91 seconds, and placed third in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:41.20. He was the first champion from the California Golden Bears in the 100-yard backstroke at an NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships."NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships Day 2 Notes". Minnesota Golden Gophers. March 25, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2021. He anchored the second place 4×50-yard freestyle relay, the winning 4×100-yard freestyle relay, and the second place in 4×200-yard freestyle relay. For the medley relays, Shields swam the butterfly leg of each relay. His team won the championships, narrowly defeating the Texas Longhorns who won the championships the year before.
2011 Summer Universiade At the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, Shields earned the first international medal of his career, a gold, in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay for his contribution in the heats."Universiade Shenzhen 2011: Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Medalists". International University Sports Federation. August 16, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2021. Shields earned his first individual medal, a silver, in the 100-meter butterfly, finishing behind compatriot Tim Phillips."Universiade Shenzhen 2011: Men's 100m Butterfly Medalists". International University Sports Federation. August 17, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2021. Shields also earned a silver medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay for his contribution in the heats."Universiade Shenzhen 2011: Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Medalists". International University Sports Federation. August 19, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
2012 NCAA Championships Shields finished first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 44.76 and first in the 100-yard backstroke in 44.86 seconds at the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships."Tom Shields Wins NCAA 100 Fly and 100 Back". California Golden Bears. March 23, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2021. He finished second to teammate Will Hamilton in the 200-yard butterfly with his time of 1:41.07. He also anchored the 4x100-yard freestyle relay with a split of 41.79 seconds, and led-off the 4x200-yard freestyle relay. He swam the butterfly leg in both the 4x50-yard medley relay, splitting 19.80, and the first-place finishing 4x100-yard medley relay, splitting a 43.56. His team, the University of California, Berkeley, California Golden Bears repeated as champions, and he received the "Swimmer of the Meet" award from the NCAA and the "Swimmer of the Year" award from the Pac-12 Conference."Cal Sweeps Pac-12 Swimming Awards". Pac-12 Conference. April 5, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
2012 US Olympic Trials At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Shields finished fourth place in the 100-meter butterfly behind Michael Phelps, Tyler McGill, and Ryan Lochte, with a time of 51.86. He placed ninth in the 200-meter butterfly semi-finals with a time of 1:58.75.USA Swimming (June 27, 2012). "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming: Men's 200m Butterfly Semifinals Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved October 10, 2021. Additionally, he competed in the 100-meter freestyle, finishing twenty-first in the heats at 49.96 seconds.Omega Timing (July 2, 2012). "2012 Olympic Trials Results". USA Swimming. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
2012 World Short Course Championships
Shields competed at the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Istanbul, Turkey. He placed second in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 49.54, finishing 0.72 seconds behind gold medalist Chad le Clos of South Africa, and third in the 50-meter butterfly in 22.46 seconds, which was 0.24 seconds slower than gold medalist Nicholas Santos of Brazil and 0.20 seconds slower than silver medalist Chad le Clos."Lochte sets world mark at short-course worlds". The Gainesville Sun. December 15, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2021. Shields's time in the 50-meter butterfly was a new American record.FINA (December 15, 2012). "11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Men's 50m Butterfly Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved October 9, 2021. Additionally, the relay team of Matt Grevers, Kevin Cordes, Shields, and Ryan Lochte swam to a gold medal finish in the 4×100-meter medley relay with Shields splitting a 48.66 for the butterfly leg of the relay in the final.FINA (December 16, 2012). "11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
2013 NCAA Championships Concluding his collegiate career in 2013, Shields achieved two first-place finishes at the 2013 NCAA Division I Championships, one in the 100-yard butterfly with his time of 44.59 and the other in the 200-yard butterfly where he won with a time of 1:39.65. He also earned a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke in 45.21 seconds. Shields's time in the 200-yard butterfly tied Michael Phelps's time for the fastest short course yards time by an American swimmer in history, tying the American record in the event."Shields Wins National 200 Fly Title". California Golden Bears. March 30, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2021.Keith, Braden (April 14, 2019). "Tom Shields Swims 1:40 In 200 Fly At Pacific SCY Masters". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 17, 2021. His team, California Golden Bears, finished second in the year's championships to the University of Michigan.
2013 Swimming World Cup and Duel in the Pool After not qualifying for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships, Shields swam a new American record time in the short course 200-meter butterfly at the 2013 World Cup stop in Eindhoven with a time of 1:51.38, which broke the record set in 2011 by Davis Tarwater at 1:51.90.Shivakumar, Varun (August 7, 2013). "Le Clos Cracks World Record/Shields Smashes American Record In 200 SCM Butterfly In Eindhoven". Swimming World. Retrieved October 9, 2021. He also posted a personal best of 49.32 in the 100-meter butterfly at the same meet. A few days later at the World Cup stop in Berlin, Shields lowered his own American record in the 200-meter butterfly to 1:51.31 and broke the American record set by Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly in 2004 at 49.07 seconds with his time of 49.01 seconds.Shivakumar, Varun (August 11, 2013). "Tom Shields Sets Pair Of American Records in 100/200 SCM Butterfly". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 9, 2021. A few months later, at the World Cup stop in Doha, Qatar, Shields set a new American record in the short course 100-meter butterfly, becoming the first American swimmer to break 49 seconds in the event by lowering the American record of 49.01 to 48.80 seconds.FINA (October 21, 2013). "FINA Swimming World Cup 2013 Doha: Men's 100m Butterfly Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved October 17, 2021. Bringing 2013 to a close, Shields broke his American record of 1:51.31 in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:50.61 at the 2013 Duel in the Pool in Glasgow, Scotland."Tom Shields Breaks 1:51 Barrier For American Record in 200 Fly". Swimming World. December 21, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
2014–2015