Career
At the 2009 United States National Championships and World Championship Trials, Carlson placed second to Rebecca Soni in the 100 m breaststroke with a time of 1:06.54, earning a place to compete at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome. In the preliminaries of the 50 m breaststroke, Carlson broke the American record with a time of 30.34. Carlson advanced to the final and placed sixth with a time of 30.65.
Carlson"s day-old American record was broken by Soni, who took the silver medal in 30.11.
Her mother is a former national level swimmer who competed for Florida State.