Nationality Romania Role Swimmer Sport Swimming Height 1.74 m | Strokes Freestyle, butterfly Weight 70 kg Name Alexandru Coci Coach Ioan Gherghel | |
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Born 31 October 1989 (age 34) ( 1989-10-31 ) Baia Mare, Romania Club LPS Baia Mare (ROU), CSM Brasov (ROU), Universitatea Cluj (ROU), Crimson Tide (USA), Sun Devil Aquatics (USA), Phoenix Swim Club (USA) College team Alabama Crimson Tide (USA), Arizona State University (USA) | ||
Swimming EC 2010, Budapest: Men's 200 m butterfly - 1st semifinal
Alexandru Coci (born October 31, 1989 in Baia Mare) is a Romanian swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He is a Romanian swimming champion and record holder in the freestyle relay, and an honorable mention All-American in the 100 m butterfly. Coci also became the first swimmer for the University of Alabama to break a 47-second barrier, when he posted a time of 46.50 seconds in the same stroke at the NCAA Division I Championships.
Coci qualified for the men's 200 m butterfly at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, by eclipsing a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:58.42 from the European Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. He challenged seven other swimmers on the second heat, including former semifinalist Hsu Chi-chieh of the Chinese Taipei. Coci cruised to fifth place by 0.02 of a second behind Ukraine's Illya Chuyev in 1:59.67. Coci failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed twenty-ninth overall in the preliminaries.
Coci is a member of the swimming team for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and a former undergraduate student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He is coached and trained by former finalist, butterfly swimmer, and three-time Olympian Ioan Gherghel (2000, 2004, and 2008).