Wendy Trott

Wendy Trott was born on the 14th of February 1990 in Sandton. She attended Springfield Convent school in Cape Town where she swam with coach Karoly von Törös at the VInyard SC. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India, she won a silver medal in the 800m freestyle. 

She won a scholarship to the University of Georgia in 2009 and won the NCAA title in the 1,650 freestyle three times. At the SEC Championships, Trott became the first woman in league history to win the 1,650 freestyle championship four times. In her senior year, she was chosen as the 2012 H. Boyd McWhorter Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Southeastern Conference on Friday. In 2023 she worked at ALT Advisory in Johannesburg and is completing an LLB law degree through UNISA.

At the 2008 Olympic Games Wendy finished 9th in the 800m freestyle, and 12th in the 2012 London Olympic Games. 

(L-R) Medalists Melissa Gorman of Australia (Bronze), Rebecca Adlington of England (Gold) and Wendy Trott of South Africa (Silver) pose during the medal ceremony for the Women's 800m Freestyle Final at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Wendy Trott Wins 800 Free at South African Championships

Durban, April 12 2007.

THE 400 freestyle title already in her pocket, Wendy Trott added the 800 free championship Thursday at the South African National Championships. Trott was far from overwhelming, as she was well off her time from the World Championships, but her outing of 8:50.17 delivered an eight-second win over Kathryn Meaklim (8:58.23). Trott went 8:31.53 at the World Champs. "I have been tapering for almost six weeks now so it was going to be difficult to get close to my record again," Trott said. "Melbourne was fantastic and it was amazing to swim next to Laure Manaudou of France in the final of the 800 freestyle at the World Championships. I was so happy to be in the final of this event in Melbourne as it is my favorite."

North Carolina’s Stephanie Peacock Edges Triple Champ Wendy Trott for 1650 Free Win; Breaks Oldest NCAA Record in Books 17 March, 2012 AUBURN, Alabama, March 17. IN what had the entire crowd on its feet cheering on a record-setting performance, North Carolina's Stephanie Peacock shot down the oldest NCAA record in the books 22 years to the day from when Janet Evans first set it in the 1650 free. Peacock clipped three-time defending champion Wendy Trott of Georgia, 15:38.79 to 15:38.94, to take down Evans' legendary time of 15:39.14 set back in 1990 in Austin, also on March 17. Peacock jumped up to third-fastest all time behind only Katie Hoff (15:24.35) and Kate Ziegler (15:29.15) with the win to give North Carolina only its 11th team title of all time. Trott, meanwhile, had been looking to become the 12th person ever to sweep an event during their career. She broke her lifetime best of 15:40.32 that claimed the title last year, and also moved her past Evans into fourth all time in the event's history.

TROTT NAMED RECIPIENT OF TODAY'S TOP 10 AWARD FROM NCAA

Nov. 1, 2012 ATHENS, Ga. ---

Former Georgia swimmer Wendy Trott has been selected as a recipient of the Today's Top 10 Award, according to an announcement Thursday by the NCAA. The award recognizes student-athletes who completed their eligibility during the 2011-12 academic year for their success in academics, athletics and in the community. Trott and the other nine recipients, including former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, will be recognized at the Honors Celebration Jan. 18, 2013, during the NCAA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.

Trott, a native of Cape Town, South Africa, was a three-time NCAA and a four-time SEC champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle for the Lady Bulldogs. She was the first woman in conference history to win the 1,650 freestyle four times. Trott also claimed an SEC title in the 500 freestyle. She has represented South Africa in several international competitions, including the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Trott was a two-time Capital One Academic All-American and a four-time member of the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team.

She earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and won the Elite 89 Award as the swimmer at the NCAAs with the highest grade point average. Trott was named the H. Boyd McWhorter Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for all sports by the SEC and received a second postgraduate scholarship from the conference. She won UGA's Joel Eaves and Marilyn Vincent awards as the senior with the highest grade point average and she received a Ramsey Scholarship for Academic and Athletic Excellence. Trott also was named to the SEC Community Service Team.

She served as a team captain her senior season and was a member of UGA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. "I've never met a more well-rounded person than Wendy," Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. "She does everything the way it should be done. She worked equally hard at her studies and her swimming, and she did both with a smile on her face. Her level of commitment to whatever she undertook was amazing. Wendy was an absolute treasure to coach and be around these last four years. She was an outstanding ambassador for our program. We're excited about Wendy receiving this honor, and there's no question that she deserves it."

Where Are They Now? – Wendy Trott

29 Sept 2015

Former swimmer, Wendy Trott, shares her experiences since she graduated from UGA in 2012.

Hometown:

Cape Town, South Africa

 Major at UGA:

A.B. in International Affairs with a minor in French

Graduate degree:

Masters in International Development, Concentrations in Africa and Emerging Economies from SciencesPo (Paris, France)

 University highlights, achievements and awards:

—NCAA Top 10 Award
—UGA L.E.A.D. and S.A.A.C member
—NCAA and Southeastern Conference Post-Graduate Scholarships, Recipient
—2012 SEC Boyd McWhorter Female Student-Athlete of the Year
—2012 UGA Clifford Lewis Leadership Award
—2012 Elite 89
—2012 UGA Marilyn Vincent Award
—NCAA Champion in the 1650-yard freestyle (2009, 2010, 2011)
—2012 Joel Evans Scholar Athlete (highest GPA)
—Graduated Summa Cum Laude
—South African Olympic Team Member, 2012 

What are you currently doing?

I just started a new job with the Jameel Poverty Action Lab, an academic research network headquartered at MIT. My regional office works out of the University of Cape Town and I am based in Johannesburg where I’m working on a Randomized Control Trial evaluating the impact of low-cost information tools in overcoming market frictions for unemployed young people in Johannesburg.

I am incredibly happy to be doing what I do because I feel like I am working on one of the most significant issues in South Africa (and the rest of the world) today: youth unemployment. I particularly love it because it is a concrete, practical job. I get to work with an National Governing Organization and unemployed young people on the ground, but I also get to be on the forefront of cutting-edge academic research and see how what I do every day fits in with the larger economic literature, so that I feel like I could really make a difference. Everything we do is about building up the evidence base and getting it out to policy-makers so that I don’t feel like the work I do is too abstract.

What about being a student-athlete prepared you for the workforce?

Being a student-athlete at UGA was instrumental in helping me cultivate a fantastic work-ethic. I think that employers were really able to recognize that motivation and ability to work hard when I was interviewing, and it is an incredibly tough job market out there right now so this is hugely valuable. The other thing being a student-athlete gave me was time-management skills, which are a massive asset in the working world. Even when I was in graduate school I felt like I was better able to manage my time and responsibilities than my peers because I’d been forced to do it my whole life. While others were stressing and staying up late the night before papers were due, I had managed to get them done ahead of time and then go for a run.

In a job the same thing goes. Being organized, planning ahead and anticipating then managing delays are fundamental to project management, and every job involves large amounts of project management.

What did you do well or what could you have done differently during your time as a student-athlete at UGA?

The most important thing I wish I had done when I was a student-athlete is making connections with my professors and getting to know them. Recommendation letters are absolutely vitally important, and no professor will remember you if you don’t make a significant effort to go talk to them (even then they may not). It can also be hugely helpful in finding out about job opportunities and connecting to others in your field. Finally, it’s a good way to find out more about what job options there are in your field and which way you want to take your career. I highly recommend asking your professor how they got into what they do, what options they faced when they were your age, what made them choose the route they did, and if they have anyone who chose a different route that they can put you in contact with.

The other thing I wish I had done a better job of was learning the technical requirements of my field as soon as possible (in my case statistics and statistical packages). These hard skills look amazing on your resume, and a wide variety will be helpful. The best suggestion I can give is go onto Coursera, or Edx or any other free online course website and sign up for things you find interesting, that could be Excel, R, Python, photo editing software, anything! As long as you find it interesting, chances are it’ll seem interesting to whoever’s looking at your resume.

What career advice would you give to current or former student-athletes?

My only other advice is to do what makes you passionate. This sounds like a cliché, but it is so true and so rarely followed. The world had plenty of people who do typical things, and it’s very rare that anyone becomes successful at something they only do because they think they’re supposed. There is however plenty of space for the weird, innovative and niche ideas. Do what you love and you will find a way to be successful at it, and once people see how good you are at it they’ll stop trying to convince you otherwise.