14 Facts About Claudia Poll

Claudia Poll is Costa Rica's only Olympic gold-medalist, having won the country's first Olympic gold medals at the 1996 Olympics in the 200 meter freestyle.

Claudia Poll is a multiple national record holder in the freestyle events.

Claudia Poll is the first person from Central America to win an Olympic gold medal.

Claudia Poll was the only to do so until the 2008 Olympic Games when long jump athlete Irving Saladino of Panama won a gold medal.

Claudia Poll began swimming in 1979 under coach Francisco Rivas and quickly became one of the best in Central America, winning many regional titles.

At the Sydney 2000, Claudia Poll continued with her medal run and won two bronze medals.

Claudia Poll's ban was later reduced by FINA to two years.

Claudia Poll claimed that the test and sampling methods were flawed and protested her innocence.

Claudia Poll served as a swimming analyst for the US Telemundo network's Spanish-language coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, though she and most of the Telemundo broadcast crew performed their duties at the network's studios in Hialeah, Florida, accompanied by video provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services.

Claudia Poll's parents are both German, but they moved to Nicaragua before starting a family.

Claudia Poll and her sister Silvia were both born in Managua, Nicaragua, but moved shortly after Claudia Poll's birth in 1972.

Claudia Poll is not related to Marlene Ahrens, another Olympic athlete and medalist and another Latin American of German descent.

Claudia Poll graduated in Business Administration from the Universidad Internacional de las Americas, San Jose, Costa Rica, in 1998.

Claudia Poll had her first child, a daughter named Cecilia, on August 8,2007.